WTF?
WTF indeed! We stand for Films, Tunes, and Whatever else we feel like (not necessarily in order!) Professor Nonsense heads the 'Whatever' department, posting ramblings ranging from the decrepit, to the offbeat, to the just plain absurd! The mysterious Randor takes helm of the 'Tunes' front, detailing the various melodic messages he gets in earfuls. Weekly recommendations and various musings follow his shadows. Finally, our veteran movie critic, Lt Archie Hicox, commands the 'Film' battlefield, giving war-weathered reviews on flicks the way he sees them. Through the eyes of a well-versed renegade, he stands down for no man! Together we are (W)hatever(T)unes(F)ilms!
Feel free to comment with your ideas, qualms, and responses, or e-mail them to RandorWTF@Hotmail.com!
Jan 5, 2010
Review: "Repulsion"
Polanski takes his first English-language debut and whips up a potently paranoid tale of sexual frustration gone terribly wrong. Composing one of the three films of his so-called “Apartment” trilogy (the others being “Rosemary’s Baby” & “The Tenant”), “Repulsion” is compelling not because of the racy nature of what it depicts (since this was actually the first film to pass British censors in which female orgasm is alluded to), but rather the disturbingly calm manner with which Polanski delivers it. While less patient viewers might become tired fairly quick, anxiously tapping their feet or biting their nails with the same keen neurosis as the near-mute Carol (Catherine Deneuve) compulsively curls her hair or wipes at the bugs beneath her flesh, the payoff is definitely for those who can stand the suspense of a ticking clock. Or in the case of the psycho-virginal Carol: a ticking time bomb. Yet while there are long stretches of time in which nothing much seems to happen, as cinematographer Chico Hamilton’s camera meditatively halts time and again on Denueve’s curves, as if trying to pin down her insecurity like an entomologist splaying a butterfly, we can sense, either consciously or subconsciously, that something bad is going to happen sooner or later and we watch on to see just how her androphobia (“fear of men”) will take her to that inevitable and disturbing terminus. True, the film is marked by its own moments of ultra-creepiness and surrealism tailored to ruffle our feathers (be warned that there are numerous images of rape), but it’s safe to say that this is decidedly not your typical horror flick. The short bursts of naturalism, casual talk and jazzy lightness between the sane members of the cast only serve to define those wordless, wide-eyed moments which bookmark Carol’s spiraling descent into murderous confusion. In effect, it is the movie’s greatest feature, since it feels much more accessible than your average art-house soliloquy. With Polanski, you don’t get the impression he’s trying to trick you into feeling stupid for not understanding something even though it always seems to be a present danger with these sorts of movies. In short, there are no images too beyond the average imagination’s ability to understand. No elusive esoteric barbs. Only the horror of madness.
Most agreeable when: A.) You haven't been laid in a while. B.) You enjoy psychological horror movies. C.) You dig Polanski or Deneuve. D.) You like reading sub-textual things about sex and gender.
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I could make a joke at your expense for point A, but maybe not in a public forum. Oh wait.. oops. :P
ReplyDeleteYou're just firing all the genre guns right at the start here, aren'tya? Still lookin' forward to your Avatar rant though!