A Zed & Two Noughts - Like Tsai or Maddin or Wes Anderson, talking about Greenaway tends to involve enumerating the director's very distinctive tics. But I did that last time, so I'll just quote myself: "dense symbolism, double meanings, fringe intellectual pursuits, outrageous coincidences, bizarre names, art history, the alphabet, taxonomy, anecdotal storytelling, self-reference, and painstaking compositions". There.
The thing is, it all tends to overwhelm the subject matter. Ostensibly a film about death, decay, and grief, it's all so steeped in Greenawayisms that it doesn't actually say anything about those things. It's a little too much cool detachment and too many clever touches. One can appreciate the thoughtfulness of the script (not to mention the beauty of Vierny's compositions and Nyman's score) but it only connects on an intellectual and aesthetic level. Lots of brains, not enough heart. Not staying on the list at all, and this might not bode well for the two other Greenaways I've got. Rating: Good (79)