Julia Ormond, Ralph Fiennes, Philip Stone, Jonathan Lacey, Don Henderson, Celia Gregory, Jeff Nuttall, Jessica Hynes, Kathryn Hunter, Gabrielle Reidy, Frank Egerton, Phelim McDermott, Tony Vogel, Tatiana Strauss, Louisa Milwood-Haigh
Set halfway through the 17th century, a church play is performed for the benefit of the young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.
I've always found Peter Greenaway films rather hit or miss, and this rather theatrical effort I found more the latter. It all centres around a sort of immaculate conception birth at the Medici court and follows the anticipatory and resultant shenanigans as human nature is (quite literally) laid bare for all to see (and that nature doesn't always come off so well!) It has something of the bawdy rom...