Review of The Tenant (1976) by Drew S — 17 Jul 2008

The Tenant isn't a bad movie by any means, but my biggest problem with it is that Polanski is just not an actor. I had a lot of trouble taking it seriously because he was both inexpressive and prone to making really bizarre faces and noises. Further, it felt talky to no real effect, as if he didn't understand what needed to be abridged. That's fine for neo-realist film but this is supposed to be a dark, atmospheric piece - cut out the fat, dude.

There are some vaguely creepy sections and the movie is more interesting than not. As far as Polanski's efforts in the "apartment living sucks" genre, though, Rosemary's Baby was miles better. There, Mia Farrow was playing both a character and a concept, rather than just a stand-in for insanity like Polanski is acting like here.