Film of the Week: 'The Draughtsman's Contract'

What we have here is a mystifying puzzle. Peter Greenaway directed this very unusual film and he presented it with eroticism and elegance. It's the sort of film that you will talk about for hours after watching.

It's a simple enough plot: a neglected wife, Mrs Herbert commissions Mr Neville, a draughtsman to draw her estate while her husband is away. They draw up a contract which include that Mrs Herbert is to "comply with his requests concerning his pleasure with me". So Mrs Herbert is forced to sleep with Mr Neville. Thus commences a regime alternating between the easel and the bedroom. Mr Neville becomes the subject of scrutiny by the members of Mrs Herbert's household because the drawings are drawn according to very strict rules. These are rules that he imposes on the members of the household, so as not to disturb the order of his drawings. He is a perfectionist aiming for complete realism.

However, changes do start to creep in: a window is left open, a ladder is found standing against a wall, a shirt is found slashed and draped across a statue of Bacchus. Mrs Herbert's daughter Mrs Tallman calls on the artist and suggests that all this might have something to do with a plot that is underway and that her father may have been murdered. She hints at the possibility of the draughtsman being framed for the crime and offers her protection with a contract that is similar to the one struck up with her mother. I'll describe no more of the plot to save you from any spoilers. There is more to it than that, however. A rivalry between Mrs Tallman's husband and Mr Neville. A statue that moves. The ribald gossip and intrigues of the rich acquaintances and members of Mrs Herbert's household.

Besides all the clues to the murder mystery, you may also notice the symbolism. If not, however, you will notice that the costumes are very stylised and a bit over the top. That all the characters speak in elegant, precise, literary sentences. That the camera strategies are all formal and mannered. And that there is a novel-like quality to the dialogue and the way the film progresses.

Peter Greenaway, besides being interested in film is also interested in language and how things are classified. You may pick up on his interests in these things when you watch the film. He stated that the film is influenced by Renais Last Year at Marienbad. This film, described by one critic as "a crossword puzzle for the senses" is definitely worth watching. A superb balance between fun and sophisticated.

Check out Mark Kermode's review of it for the BFI, below.