In perhaps one of the best and most intelligent horror films of all
time, director Roman Polanski transformed Catherine Deneuve from an ingenue
into a character actress to be reckoned with. The actress' fragile beauty
provided just the right note for the role of Carol, the frigid, emotionally
disintegrating Belgian girl left alone in her sister's London apartment.
Carol's descent into madness is an expertly calibrated performance.
With her sister and brother-in-law gone, she becomes reclusive, falling
into a world dominated by fantasies and nightmares which turn murderous
when she is visited first by a would-be suitor (John Fraser) and then the
gloating landlord (Patrick Wymark). Using visual and aural effects to realise
the inner turmoil of his character, Polanski's handling of the material
is exquisite. The chemistry between director and star is apparent in her
effective, goose-bump raising performance. The breaks in the pavement,
disembodied hands, eerie shadows and rotting rabbit flesh are all masterfuly
rendered. Even the sound of someone practising piano scales off in the
distance increases the suspense.
Repulsion was Polanski's second feature and was eagerly awaited after
the success of his first, widely hailed, feature Knife in the Water. Much
discussed at the time by critics and compared to Alfred Hitchcock thrillers
like Psycho and Marnie, Repulsion secured Polanski's international reputation
and led to such prestigious projects in the US as Rosemary's Baby. For
Deneuve's acting career, Repulsion was a watershed. No longer merely
considered just another pretty face, her multi-textured performance
moved her into the realm of 'serious' acting. Unfortunately, it's the only
time director and star collaborated. Repulsion was Polanski's first English-language
production and picked up the Silver Bear at the 1965 Berlinale. Owen Levy
Synopsis
Repulsion, which is shown as part of the homage to the French actress
Catherine Deneuve, won the Silver Bear at the 1965 Berlin Film Festival.
In Roman Polanski's second film made outside his native Poland, Catherine
Deneuve played Carol, a young woman living with her sister and her married
lover in London.
When the couple goes away on vacation, the delicate and weak Carol
stays behind in the apartment alone. She is tormented by sexual nightmares
and delusions. Panic-stricken, desperate and close to madness she commits
a double murder. Creating a dense atmosphere, Polanski's black-and-white
film increasingly adopts the perspective of its protagonist and intensifies
her daily experiences into a hellfire of destructive visions.
A dark and perfectly crafted psycho-thriller, Repulsion
is particularly threatening in its dream sequences, which play with set
pieces of horror dramaturgy. Repulsion paved the way for the director's
entry into the cinemas of Western Europe and the US, and made Catherine
Deneuve shine as a breathtaking and multi-faceted character actress.
(Dir): Roman Polanski (Scr): Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach
(Cast): Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Patrick Wymark, Yvonne
Furneaux (Running time): 105 Minutes
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