Film Review - Repulsion (1965)

Repulsion (1965)

figure. 1

Roman Polanski’s 1965 film, Repulsion, focuses on Carole (Played by Catherine Deneuve, figure. 2), an awfully withdrawn and isolated young woman living in the 1960’s but with none of the fun, glamour and excitement to go along with it. Equally, “the film is both weird and uncompromising, beginning with a close up of a huge gelatinous eye, squeamishly overlaid by the opening titles.” (Macintyre, n.d.) and squeamish it is. But with this squeamishness we are faced with Carole herself. - Made to be the very essence of beauty and French at that; it plays with all types of romanticism towards her. As the film progresses further several people do try to reach out to Carole with her reluctance yet always fail to ask why. - Or when any inquisition to why someone as beautiful as Carole could be so down, an interruption or distraction would occur and the questions dropped and forgotten about.

figure. 2 Carole 

For the beginning of Repulsion the terrified manicurist who bites her nails’ reasons for being like she is are left in shadow. Her uneasiness towards men can only be described as a “shy quirk” as that is what we see from her sister, Yvonne’s perspective. “The Beautiful Younger Sister” when asked how does she do? pulls away in reluctance. The view of nuns ringing a bell as if declaring their chastity to the oddly guilty Carole described as “what lurks beneath the orgasms of pleasure and pain.”(Morgan, 2009) followed by Yvonne and her partner declaring lechery instead, and thinking of such films like Black Narcissus (1947) shows great symbolism in it’s meaning. As Carole slams a pillow into her head to drown out the ever-growing moaning it becomes clear that maybe her plight is more sexual in nature than first believed.

figure. 3 Nuns in a Courtyard

Eventually Carole’s state of mind starts to deteriorate, her environment around her showing this as cracks in the walls appear and a lingering dampness floods the small apartment. An always-present rabbit - a metaphor of Carole’s fertility - rots away slowly and as a NY Times reviewer describes all of these.. “crunching indicators” (Crowther, 1965) for Carole’s deteriorating sanity.

figure. 4 Carole sitting on a bench staring at a crack in the floor

Throughout Repulsion it is extremely honest and raw with what it does show, but with the reasons behind why shadowed in complex hidden meaning. We will never be told why the sheer distressing scene of Carole in her bed being intruded on, the wardrobe she had put in front of the door shoved out of the way happens, or why it is so frequently revisited in dreams and hallucinations. - But as the film ends with a family photo, with everyone else in shadow but Carole and her father we are left feeling the worst sense of lingering…. repulsion.

figure. 5 Protruding hands from the walls of the apartment

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Illustration List: 

Polanksi, R. (1965). Film Still 2. [image] Available at: http://puu.sh/damn9/9464b9d98e.png [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].

Polanski, R. (1965). Film Poster. [image] Available at: https://gallerytheimage.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/Original_Watermark/repulsion_frgrand.jpg [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].

Polanski, R. (1965). Film Still 1. [image] Available at: http://puu.sh/dambw/42e0ec139b.png [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].

Polanski, R. (1965). Film Still 3. [image] Available at: http://puu.sh/damU6/39c8051ce7.png [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].

Bibliography:

Crowther, B. (1965). Movie Review - Repulsion - REPULSION - NYTimes.com. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=EE05E7DF1739E471BC4C53DFB667838E679EDE [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].

Macintyre, E. (n.d.). Cult Classic Film Review: Repulsion. [online] Elainemacintyre.net. Available at: http://www.elainemacintyre.net/film_reviews/repulsion.php [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].

Morgan, K. (2009). Roman Polanski Understands Women: Repulsion. [online] The Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-morgan/roman-polanski-understand_b_301292.html [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].