Review of Repulsion (1965) by Tim W — 24 Jan 2014

I watched this film during a 20 movie horror marathon that my friends and I had over Halloween. I netflixed it, because I love Polanski and I heard good things. When we put it on, not one of us really knew exactly what to expect. What we got was mind-blowingly awesome. It had been a few years for me, being out of film school, that I had seen such a fantastic genre bend of a film. Polanski is a genius, there's no denying that. But his visual style back when a visual style was up to two people, the director and the D.P.

The way he commanded every element in the scene from the first shot all the way until the climax was flawless. Utterly flawless. The scares rack up in the meat of the film, which means the second act if you don't read my reviews, and keep on coming. The story is all a guessing game. Not much need here to go into plot other than to say that the overall arch here is a young girl driving herself completely insane. Some argue that she is schizophrenic after having seen it. I believe it is up for debate therefore left to the imagination. That's another element that Polanski focuses on so deeply. What the F*ck is wrong with this chick?

The main focus here is Carole, played with subtle brilliance by Catherine Deneuve. She is staying at her sister's flat, which is sometimes does when her sister travels with her boyfriend, and watches her animals. The great thing about minimalist film maing is that's all the set up you need right there. That's it. A simple plot set up, a few intriguing characters, and a decent location. Boom! Now give me explosions and loud digitally enhanced effects. (Kidding!).

So, basically she stays in most of the time, smoking, drinking, and apparently thinking. She is hit on by a few cats who think they are smooth. She bangs a few of them, denies a few, but has this reoccurring nightmare every night that she is being savagely raped. Now the big mystery here is, does she like it? Is it going to really happen? Or is it even a f*cking dream? We really never know. But who cares. Its the journey you're taken on as the viewer that keeps you intrigued in this film. Not the overall conclusion. Even though, this film does eventually have one (and its a good one at that) its not about that.

In the end, after viewing this film, you're left thinking. Not about how many years till the sequel comes out? Or how did they make Uranus look so real? But about reality versus illusion and life versus death. Maybe even questioning your own sanity. To me, it makes all the difference in the world when an older film such as this one sticks with you and has you thinking about it years later. That's the kind of director Polanski has always been to me. A visionary. His films actually stick out in a crowd. This film in someone else's hands? Who knows.