The Belly of an Architect

In Brief: The Belly of an Architect (1987) is probably the closest thing there is to a straightforward movie (in a wholly relative sense) from Peter Greenaway. That may account for the fact that I've never particularly cared for it. Give me the full Greenaway treatment (preferably with a Michael Nyman score) or give me no Greenaway at all. That said, I should note that I am working from a 20-plus-year-old memory of the film, since I did not have access to it for this review. I don't know how I might feel about this story of a Chicago architect (Brian Dennehy) who comes to Rome to be the director of an homage to 18th century French Architect Etienne-Louis Boullee, and becomes convinced that his wife is poisoning him. I know that it's visually striking — it's Greenaway — but my memory is that it's not all that compelling as drama. But bear in mind that's a pretty vintage memory.