Films

THE DRAUGHTSMAN’S CONTRACT

at Planet Ant • 2320 Caniff St, Hamtramck, MI 48212
Doors 5:00 p.m. | Film at 5:30 p.m.

In The Draughtsman’s Contract, Mrs. Herbert, an aristocratic lady, commissions an arrogant young draughtsman to sketch her husband’s property, and the compensation isn’t just room and board. As the draughtsman becomes more entrenched in the devious schemings in this seemingly idyllic country home, curious details emerge in his drawings that may reveal a murder. 

Cited by Emerald Fennell as a major influence on Saltburn, The Draughtsman’s Contract is the deliciously dark story of an outsider in a landscape of lust and cunning, and a luscious cinematic banquet for eye, ear, and mind.

“A TANTALIZING PUZZLE, WRAPPED IN EROTICISM AND PRESENTED WITH THE UTMOST ELEGANCE. The raw materials of this story could have been fashioned into a bawdy romp like Tom Jones. But the director has made a canny choice. Instead of showing us everything, and explaining everything, he gives us the clues and allows us to draw our own conclusions. IT’S LIKE A CROSSWORD PUZZLE FOR THE SENSES. I HAVE NEVER SEEN A MOVIE QUITE LIKE IT.” — Roger Ebert

“[A]nachronism has become a popular trope of the post-millennium period piece, where 18th-century Queen’s parties are soundtracked by New Order and wigged Whigs breakdance. Few films have had as profound an influence on this trend as Peter Greenaway’s The Draughtsman’s Contract, bringing an abundance of absurdity into this once prim and stuffy genre….a film of old clothes and new attitudes.” — Little White Lies

UK. 1982. Remastered 2022 by BFI
Written and directed by Peter Greenaway.
104 min.