The Tenant (1976) ****

It's difficult to write about Roman Polanski without mentioning his sexual abuse case, particularly since The Tenant (1976) was the last film he made before that came to light (plus look at the tagline on the poster—ew). But it's an excellent film (as is almost every film he made prior to his arrest) regardless.

Polanski successfully played the lead and impressively directed this Kafkaesque psychological horror film, considered to be the last in his "Apartment Trilogy" (which includes 1965's Repulsion and 1968's Rosemary's Baby (review)). Indeed, much of the imagery and themes are similar, but nothing feels repeated—all three films have a distinctive voice, yet work together cohesively.

Like 1973's Don't Look Now (review) before it and 1980's The Shining (review) after, The Tenant has an oppressive sense of ambiguousness and mystery that truly draws the viewer in. And as with both of the aforementioned films, particularly the latter, The Tenant contains some truly terrifying blink-and-you'll-miss-it imagery. Speaking of, director of photography Sven Nykvist's (Ingmar Bergman's frequent collaborator) contribution is truly breathtaking. The film has a very bland color pallet, but it suits the atmosphere and mood perfectly. Polanski also made use of the Louma Crane (one of the earliest films to use it, I believe) to capture some truly fantastic, searching shots (in particular a sequence reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954).

The Tenant is a superb thriller—a cyclical tale of paranoia, isolation, and sexual repression—with a great cast, first-class cinematography and design, and a somber score. It blows my mind that the film was poorly received in its day, but it's definitely highly regarded now and comes recommended.

Roman Polanski Feature Films Ranked