The Tenant

Horrorphile

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The Tenant

September 13th 2007 05:12

I’m a huge fan of Roman Polanski. He’s one of my favourite directors. This psychological suspense thriller with horror overtones is one of his best movies. The Tenant was released 1976 and like many other co-productions of the time (this one was French/US), it was released in dual languages, which is why throughout the movie the dialogue often doesn’t synchronise very well with the actors’ lips.

Originally released as Le Locataire, it deals with a young man Mr Trelkovsky (Roman Polanski) of nervous disposition who moves into a claustrophobic apartment block in Paris. The landlord, concierge and other tenants are a nightmare (hmmm, sounds like the apartment block I live in myself).

Roman Polanski as Trelkovsky

Trelkovsky learns of the apparent suicide attempt of the previous tenant, a poor woman named Simone Choule. He visits her in hospital where she is bandaged head to foot. It is there he meets the eccentric Stella (Isabelle Adjani), and the two quickly become attached. However after a boisterous evening with visiting friends Trelkovsky is given the hard word by the apartment authorities, chiefly landlord Monsieur Zy (Melvyn Douglas). But the concierge (Shelley Winters) has it out for him as well.

Isabelle Adjani as Stella

The Tenant was written by regular Polanski collaborator Gérard Brach, from the novel by Roland Topor. It’s a superbly sustained account of one man’s growing unease and gradual descent into paranoia and desperation. But what I love also about the movie, which is suggested, but never explained, is the air of the supernatural. There are hints of arcane Egyptian occult dabblings and diabolical visions which pushes the movie into a strange, unsettling realm of its own.

The poor previous tenant Simone Choule

The acting is sensational (despite the bad dubbing), with Polanski and Adjani delivering quietly hysterical performances perfectly pitched to match the movie’s dark and troubling themes of deceit and manipulation. Melvyn Douglas and Shelley Winters almost steal the show as the apartment buildings “Pluto” and “Cerebus”.

Shelley Winters as The Concierge

The movie sports a superb score from Phillipe Sarde and vivid cinematography from the late Ingmar Bergman’s regular Sven Nykvist, especially the brilliant opening tracking shot across the outside of the apartment building (look closely and you’ll spot both Polanski and Adjani peering from behind dark windows).

A neighbour and landlord Monsieur Zy (Melvyn Douglas)

Although The Tenant is set when it was made, there is something timeless about the movie’s atmosphere, even its obviously mid-70s fashion style (Isabelle Adjani’s ostentatious wardrobe is terrific) somewhere doesn’t seem to date the movie. I love 70s filmmaking, there’s an inherent earthiness and delicate pungency which was lost during the 80s.

Nothing creepier than a strange hole in your wall

The Tenant has been a big influence on me as a budding screenwriter and filmmaker, and every time I view it I discover something fresh and inspiring about it. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, as it has a languid pace, especially for a thriller, and it strays from the path from time to time, but this ultimately adds to the movie’s cinematic milieu.

Trelkovsky is pushed outside of his comfort zone

The movie’s final ten minutes or so are sensationally over-the-top, yet manage quite cleverly to tie all the frayed ends together into a thoroughly ghastly knot.

Here is a fevered scene from late in the movie (beware contains spoliers):

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

9 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

September 13th 2007 11:03

I really love Polanskis style and eye for detail.
I think his way of looking the whole set in the same way the audience does is a real plus.
This does look like a film I would enjoy.

Comment by Bryn

September 17th 2007 01:06

Horrorphile

Damo, yeah, gab yourself a copy mate, very good.

Comment by Cibbuano

September 17th 2007 05:40

Hunt Famous
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coooool.... I've only a couple of Polanski films, but this looks like one to search out...

Comment by Bryn

September 18th 2007 03:07

Horrorphile

Cibby, Polanski rarely puts a cinematic foot wrong.

Comment by JohnDoe

October 3rd 2007 04:43

Film & TV on DVD

Great review Bryn and I have to agree this is one of Polanski's best...the tension is so precisely controlled and the screenplay unfolds with a deftness to rival Hitch.

Comment by Bryn

October 8th 2007 05:27

Horrorphile

Cheers JD ... A big influence on me this movie, especially when I was writing my own feature.

Comment by polanskifan

October 31st 2011 03:03

Question:

I love polanski but I utterly hate dubs. It completely shuts me out of the movie as I always notice the problem iwth lip syncing and it gives an unwanted surreal effect...

I live in europe but I can watch US import without any problem, or any version for that matter. Maybe someone here could help me with this problem I have for years now as the movie is quite unknown in my country...

Which version is the one to get which has the least amount of dubbing?

Nice site and description by the way.

Comment by Bryn

October 31st 2011 22:01

Horrorphile

polanskifan, As far as I know The Tenant, although shot in Paris, was filmed in English. It would have been dubbed in French for French audiences, but it was originally designed for an international audience. Although that said, both Polanski and Adjani can speak fluent French, so it wouldn't have been a problem for them, but some of the other American actors (Melvyn Douglas and Shelley Winters) would have had to have had French actors dubbing their voices. The reason it was first released in the French language would have been a contractual agreement because it was French funded. Get the English language version. The only Polanski movie that should be watched with sub-titles is Knife in the Water as he made that in Poland in Polish.

Comment by Anonymous

November 1st 2011 02:56

Hm hm, the release available here has every major european language (french/it/uk), save for french, if I have to pick, I'd have preferred the main protagonist to be undubbed.

I remember watching it and not noticing lip sync, but it was a long time ago.

Anyway thanks for your clarification.

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