The Baby of Mâcon
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.
Cast
Julia Ormond
as The Daughter
Ralph Fiennes
as The Bishop's Son
Philip Stone
as The Bishop
Jonathan Lacey
as Cosimo Medici
Don Henderson
as The Father Confessor
Celia Gregory
as The Mother Superior
Jeff Nuttall
as The Major Domo
Jessica Hynes
as The First Midwife (as Jessica Stevenson)
Kathryn Hunter
as The Second Midwife
Gabrielle Reidy
as The Third Midwife
Reviews
CinemaSerf
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...
