On the big screen, the late American actorBrian Dennehywas known primarily for his supporting roles in crime thrillers, Westerns, and action flicks, frequently playing intimidating and often corrupt law enforcement officers and politicians in films likeFirst Blood(1982) andSilverado(1985), while also sometimes playing kind-hearted father figures in more family-friendly films likeTommy Boy(1995) andRatatouille(2007). But,in a 2007 interview with CBS, Dennehy revealed that he personally considered his best performance to be a leading role in a relatively unknown art film from 1987:The Belly of an Architect,directed by British filmmakerPeter Greenaway. A perhaps apocryphal quote has Dennehy saying, “I’ve been in a lot of movies, but this is the first film I’ve made.”
The film, which was recently given its first Blu-ray release in the U.S., shows a more vulnerable side of Dennehy that has more in common with his on-stage portrayal of Willy Loman inDeath of a Salesmanthan with any of his other film roles. Set against the picturesque backdrop ofRome and its ancient ruins, Dennehy plays a renowned architect who suddenly finds his marriage, reputation, and even his health all suddenly beginning to deteriorate. The contrast between Rome’s stunning and colorful scenery (accentuated by the cinematography) and Dennehy’s uncharacteristically vulnerable and angsty character results in a viewing experience that feels simultaneously like a dream and a nightmare.
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The Belly of an Architect
Dennehy plays Stourley Kracklite, a well-respected American architect who travels to Rome with his younger pregnant wife, Louisa (Chloe Webb), to oversee an exhibition dedicated to one of his heroes, 18th-century French architect Étienne-Louis Boullée. However, shortly after arriving, Kracklite begins experiencing repeated bouts of acute stomach pain. After hearing a rumor that Caesar Augustus, the First Emperor of the Roman Empire, was poisoned by his wife, Kracklite becomes paranoid that his own wife is poisoning him and having an affair. In what feels like a plot straight out of a Kafka story, Kracklite’s life gradually starts falling apart as his anxiety, stomach pains, and obsession with Augustus' stomach all increase in intensity.
Although Dennehywas never nominated for an Academy Award, this performance could have merited consideration had the film been seen by a bigger audience. Not only does Dennehy deliver his dialogue with a sincerity, subtlety, and depth beyond many of his other big-screen roles, but his physical performance also conveys his character’s decline just as effectively.
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Whereas Dennehy’s heavy-set physique and gruff demeanor typically give his characters an air of menace and unease, both of those traits instead make Kracklite seem pitiful and out of his depth as he struggles to complete his project and retain his dignity. Whatever respect and prestige he once had seems to slip away by the minute, culminating in perhaps his most impressive display of physical acting when he breaks down and drunkenly makes a scene at an outdoor restaurant in front of the Pantheon.
And yet, no matter how unhinged or cantankerous Kracklite gets, we can see genuine fear and sadness in his eyes whenever the film provides a close-up shot of his aged and worn-down face, showing that Dennehy is just as capable of eliciting empathy and humanity as fear and loathing.
Nothing Lasts Forever
Aside from Dennehy’s against-type casting, the most notable aspect ofThe Belly of an Architectis its visuals. Shot on location in Rome, the film prominently features so many iconic Ancient Roman sites (i.e. the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Mausoleum of Augustus, and the Vittoriano) that it might as well be a tourism guide for would-be visitors to the city. But the omnipresence of these many architectural remnants of Ancient Rome also serves an important thematic purpose.
The cinematography (shot by Sacha Vierny, a frequent collaborator ofFrench New Wave auteur Alain Resnais) consists almost entirely of long shots filmed with a wide-angle lens, making the characters look tiny and insignificant compared to the sheer majesty of Ancient Roman architecture. It drives home the fact that, even though the lives of architects like Kracklite are temporary and fleeting, the innovation and artistry of their buildings can preserve their names in history for millennia — a legacy that Kracklite desperately wants to, but fears he cannot, attain.
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But the distant cinematography also illustrates the state of Kracklite and Louisa’s marriage. By filming even their most intimate scenes from a distance, the film emphasizes how the couple’s relationship is gradually becoming cold and loveless, due to Kracklite’s absorption in his project. At the same time, the film makes it clear that the need for sexual companionship is still on both people’s minds, as symbolized by the proliferation of nudity and other sexual imagery in the film’s set design, most overtly in the many shots of nude male and female statues throughout Rome.
Furthermore,the colors red and green(which often symbolize romantic/sexual desire and envy, respectively) are prominently sprinkled throughout several shots, giving the film’s otherwise realistic visuals a dab of dream-like expressionism. All of these elements subtextually imply that Kracklite’s frustration and anxiety might be sexual, rather than architectural, in origin.
From Inaccessible to Available
While art films have a reputation for being too confusing, pretentious, or inaccessible to the average moviegoer, those who do find the time and willingness to sit through them will open themselves up to a whole new world of filmmaking methods and thematic ideas outside the mainstream. By stepping out of his comfort zone and starring in an art film so dramatically different from his usual action or thriller fare, Dennehy implicitly extended the invitation to his usual viewer base to his fans to check out this film and broaden their own horizons.
Although the film was released on Blu-ray by the British Film Institute in 2012, it didn’t become available in the U.S. until film restoration and distribution companyVinegar Syndrome released it on Blu-Rayless than a week ago. The film is also available to be streamed on Prime Video through the link below.
