The Draughtsman's Contract
| The Draughtsman's Contract | |
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Cover of the 1999 Fox Lorber DVD release of The Draughtsman's Contract
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| Directed by | Peter Greenaway |
| Produced by | David Payne |
| Written by | Peter Greenaway |
| Starring |
Anthony Higgins Janet Suzman Anne-Louise Lambert Hugh Fraser |
| Music by | Michael Nyman |
| Cinematography | Curtis Clark |
| Edited by | John Wilson |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | United Artists Classics (USA) |
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Release date
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1982 |
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £320,000 |
| The Draughtsman's Contract | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by Michael Nyman | ||||
| Released | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Contemporary classical music, Film scores; minimalism | |||
| Length | 40:42 | |||
| Label |
Piano DRG (Italy) Charisma/Caroline (CD) |
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| Producer | David Cunningham | |||
| Michael Nyman chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
The Draughtsman's Contract is a 1982 British film written and directed by Peter Greenaway – his first conventional feature film (following the feature-length mockumentary The Falls). Originally produced for Channel 4 the film is a form of murder mystery, set in rural Wiltshire, England in 1694 (during the reign of William and Mary). The period setting is reflected in Michael Nyman's score, which borrows extensively from Henry Purcell and in the extensive and elaborate costume designs (which slightly exaggerate those of the period for effect). The action was shot on location in the house and formal gardens of Groombridge Place. The film received the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association.
Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins), a young and arrogant artist and something of a Byronic hero, is contracted to produce a series of 12 landscape drawings of an estate, by Mrs. Virginia Herbert (Janet Suzman) for her absent and estranged husband. Part of the contract is that Mrs. Herbert agrees "to meet Mr. Neville in private and to comply with his requests concerning his pleasure with me." Several sexual encounters between them follow, each of them acted in such a way as to emphasise reluctance or distress on the part of Mrs Herbert and sexual aggression or insensitivity on the part of Mr Neville. Whilst living on the estate, Mr. Neville gains quite a reputation with its dwellers, especially with Mrs. Herbert's son-in-law, Mr. Talmann.
Mrs. Herbert, wearied of meeting Mr. Neville for his pleasure, tries to terminate the contract before all of the drawings are completed and orders Mr. Neville to stop. Neville refuses to void the contract and continues as before. Then Mrs. Herbert's married but as yet childless, daughter Mrs. Talmann, who has apparently become attracted to Mr. Neville, seems to blackmail him into making a second contract in which he agrees to comply with what is described as her pleasure, rather than his — a reversal of the position in regard to her mother.
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Wikipedia