{"id":2558,"date":"2013-01-03T18:13:36","date_gmt":"2013-01-03T17:13:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=2558"},"modified":"2013-01-03T18:13:36","modified_gmt":"2013-01-03T17:13:36","slug":"repulsion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2013\/01\/03\/repulsion\/","title":{"rendered":"Repulsion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Repulsion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> Cinema

\nRelease date:<\/B> 4 January 2013

\nVenues:<\/B> Key cities

\nDistributor:<\/B> BFI Distribution

\nDirector:<\/B> Roman Polanski

\nWriters:<\/B> Roman Polanski, Gerard Brach, David Stone

\nCast:<\/B> Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux

\nUK 1965

\n105 mins
\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

French philosopher Gaston Bachelard\u2019s book The Poetics of Space<\/i> was in circulation when Roman Polanski made Repulsion<\/i>. Published in 1958, it appeared in English translation in 1964 just one year before the film\u2019s release. Bachelard observes an intimate relationship between the form of a domestic dwelling and its inhabitants. Corners, garrets, drawers, chests all affect a way of being. In turn, the occupant leaves a trace on their home both physically and in the realm of memory and the imaginary. Polanski too made much of this interdependence in each of his \u2018Apartment Trilogy\u2019 films: Repulsion<\/i> (1964), Rosemary\u2019s Baby<\/i> (1968) and The Tenant<\/i> (1976). They all encapsulate the feng shui nightmare of cheapskate landlords\u2019 conversions: thin walls, creaking floor boards, damp and drafts. Polanski\u2019s architecture of choice is the late Victorian flat with its excesses of cornicing, cast iron radiators and sash windows, which all provide details for his lingering camera. These are pads with \u2018character\u2019, ornate abodes which have an agency that makes them unsung stars in his films. For Carol, played by Catherine Deneuve, the South Kensington flat she rents serves as an escape from the busy streets and bustling beauty salon where she works. It is a place where she can resist the advances of suitors and relax with her sister, Helen (Yvonne Furneaux). Gradually, it houses and mimics her mental collapse as she becomes locked into an alternate reality of paranoid visions and catatonia. Polanski\u2019s scenes of \u2018living walls\u2019 are some of the most memorable in the psychological horror genre.<\/p>\n

Many writers have tried to decipher Carol\u2019s mental state. Is she depressed? Schizophrenic? Is she \u2018sex repressed\u2019, or possessed by \u2018demons\u2019 of the unconscious mind as Bosley Crowther reviewing for The New York Times<\/i> would have it in 1965? Or, more delicately, was she abused as a child? The cryptic family portrait we see in her lounge might suggest this. The film shrugs off definite answers, but what is clear is that Carol is terrified of being \u2018broken into\u2019. Her comfortable routine is shattered by her sister\u2019s oafish boyfriend and his clumsy stuffing of his toothbrush and razor into her water glass. Sexual imagery here speaks for itself. It is often mentioned in write-ups of the film how openly Polanski exposes the intricacies of Carol\u2019s demise. But just what does this involve? My interpretation is that Polanski creates a psychological space with his sophisticated use of the mechanics of cinema \u2013 a space where a woman is terrified of intruders \u2013 and then he invites us in. We are with Carol every step of the way, perceiving the world as it is to her: when she is alone in the house, when she is visited in the night by the imagined rapist grabbing and pushing in close. We are given the spare key and taken up a kind of multiple occupancy of Carol\u2019s mind. Polanski makes us psyche-cine intruders, able to come and go as we please. It is this that makes the film so unsettling and perversely enigmatic. <\/p>\n

So what of this filmic architecture \u2013 how does Polanski build this cine interior? To me his methods are Lovecraftian. By fragmenting and dislocating sound and image Polanski creates monstrous and unearthly reconfigurings of the banal. One observation I made in seeing the film again was the fracturing of one of the early moments where Carol is walking outside and passes by a roadworks site. Piles of rubble suggest disintegration and recall the cracks in the pavement and wall that fascinate Carol. One of the workers, sweating and wearing a soiled vest, leers at her and suggests \u2018a bit of the other\u2019. This one scene then splits into tiny shards that resurface during the remainder of the film. A similar vest keeps reappearing in the flat, as if it moved of its own accord. It is a sign of Carol\u2019s curious disgust of male sexuality \u2013 one she finally absorbs into her own horrific version of domesticity. Later and quite separately from the initial workmen scene, Carol appears even more disturbed on her walk home. Here, within the drums and percussion of Chico Hamilton\u2019s jazz score it is possible to hallucinate the sounds of car horns and drilling. The film is shaped by these explosions and dream logic arrangements. Cinematography (Gilbert Taylor) sound editing and mixing (Tom Priestley and Leslie Hammond), editing (Alastaire McIntyre) and art direction (S\u00e9amus Flannery) are the building materials of this psychic folly for Polanski. <\/p>\n

In Poems to My Other Self<\/i>(1927) Albert-Birot pre-empts Polanki\u2019s concerns in Repulsion<\/i>, and indeed his words suggest one of Polanski\u2019s interior tracking shots. Bachelard selects this quotation in Poetics<\/i>: <\/p>\n

\u2026Je suis tout droit les moulures<\/i>
\nqui suivent tout droit le plafond<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2018I follow the line of the moldings
\nwhich follow that of the ceiling\u2019<\/p>\n

Mais il y a des angles d\u2019o\u00f9 l\u2019on ne peut plus sortir.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2018But there are angles from which one cannot escape.\u2019<\/p>\n

Nicola Woodham<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Polanski\u2019s architecture of choice is the late Victorian flat with its excesses of cornicing, cast iron radiators and sash windows.
\nReview by Nicola Woodham<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[169,549,548,290],"class_list":["post-2558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-cinema-releases","tag-60s-cinema","tag-architecture-and-film","tag-catherine-deneuve","tag-roman-polanski"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-Fg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2007\/05\/03\/knife-in-the-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":2558,"position":0},"title":"KNIFE IN THE WATER","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"May 3, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Showing as part of the Roman Polanski season at the Barbican, the Polish director's first feature is a landmark of sixties cinema, an outstanding debut that more than holds its own among the New Wave masterpieces of the time. Review by Virginie S\u00e9lavy","rel":"","context":"In "Cinema releases"","block_context":{"text":"Cinema releases","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/cinema-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":826,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2009\/12\/01\/film-writing-competition-repulsion\/","url_meta":{"origin":2558,"position":1},"title":"Film Writing Competition: Repulsion","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"December 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the winning entry in the Repulsion film writing competition, run in connection with our film club at the Prince Charles Cinema.","rel":"","context":"In "Cinema releases"","block_context":{"text":"Cinema releases","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/cinema-releases\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Repulsion","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/repulsion_website-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2172,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2012\/02\/01\/carnage\/","url_meta":{"origin":2558,"position":2},"title":"Carnage","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"February 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This is cinema as scab-picking and the characters are all cursed with an inability to let anyone else have the last word. Review by John Bleasdale","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/review_carnage-594x393.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/review_carnage-594x393.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/review_carnage-594x393.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6394,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2016\/05\/12\/symptoms\/","url_meta":{"origin":2558,"position":3},"title":"Symptoms","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"May 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Spanish director Jos\u00e9 Larraz\u2019s take on the English ghost story is beautifully atmospheric and subtly disturbing. Review by John Bleasdale","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Symptoms 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Symptoms-1-594x442.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Symptoms-1-594x442.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Symptoms-1-594x442.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4537,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2014\/06\/21\/greyhawk\/","url_meta":{"origin":2558,"position":4},"title":"Greyhawk","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"June 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Guy Pitt's London housing estate drama is one of several imaginative British features screening at EIFF. Review by David Cairns","rel":"","context":"In "Check it out"","block_context":{"text":"Check it out","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/check-it-out\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Greyhawk","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Greyhawk-594x324.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Greyhawk-594x324.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Greyhawk-594x324.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":231,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2007\/12\/02\/the-shout\/","url_meta":{"origin":2558,"position":5},"title":"THE SHOUT","author":"VirginieSelavy","date":"December 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Although less well-known than some of his compatriots, Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski has built a unique, although little seen, collection of films both in his native Poland and elsewhere. Early in his career he served as a screen writer for both Andrzej Wajda and Roman Polanski (co-writing Knife in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Home entertainment"","block_context":{"text":"Home entertainment","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/category\/dvds-and-blu-rays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2558"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2560,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558\/revisions\/2560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}