The Tenant

Rating:
Summary: An amazing suspenseful thriller that keeps you on edge.
Review: "She didn't even recongnize me", said her friend Stella. This story made me want to see it the second I saw the story. Simone Chuele is the tenant of a small apartment in an old building on a quiet street in Paris. One day she jumped out the window and was put into acoma for a couple of days. A quiet man named Trelkovski comes to the building and settles himself down in the vacant apartment that Simone left. Trelkovski later forms a good realationship with one of Simones friends, Stella. He slowly becomes frustrated with his neighbors accusing him of causing noise when he didn't and insane because of the ghostly figures in the bathroom window. If you pay attention to all of the happenings, you will know exactly why all of these things happened. Just the perfect ammount of horror here. Especially Simone screaming in the hospital bed. See it A.S.A.P.

Rating:
Summary: Polanski at his best!!!!
Review: "The Tenant" is not everyone's cup of tea. If you enjoy Roman Polanski, this small 1976 film is truly a masterpiece. To tell too much of the plot gives away a great deal. It deals with madness, tragedy and is truly a creepy movie. There is also a great deal of humor and wit. A standout cast including Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas and Shelley Winters lend tremendous support to Polanski's riveting performance.
Not a film to watch late at night when you are alone.

Rating:
Summary: "No One Does It to You like Roman Polanski"
Review: "No One Does It to You like Roman Polanski," sure. But how one is likely to interpret that tagline from Polanski's 1976 film THE TENANT (a.k.a LE LOCATAIRE) depends on which Polanski film is being considered. If referring to Polanski's 1968 masterpiece ROSEMARY'S BABY, it is easy to assume that the advertisers mean to say that no one SCARES you or DISTURBS you like Polanski. On the other hand, when regarding THE TENANT, it is tempting to assume that the ad-men might have been using a slang-related double entendre. Because even though THE TENANT is well acted--Polanski, in the titular role, delivers what is arguably his best acting performance--and despite the fact that the ambiguous plot is both creepy and engaging, the film's conclusion is wholly dissatisfying and anti-climactic. The questions that Polanski thrusts into the audience's face throughout the movie are left unanswered at the end, and while that vagueness works for the plots of some films, it utterly fails in THE TENANT. One is left with the feeling that Polanski has behaved like a cinematic bully, taunting the audience with esoteric events and thereby forcing them beg for ultimate clarity, but then pushing them aside at the film's end and exiting the playground without delivering what was tacitly promised.

THE TENANT is a filmic exercise in existentialist paranoia. It begins with the eponymous character, Trelkovsky (Polanski), attempting to rent a Paris apartment that he has heard is now vacant. As he previews the flat and negotiates rent, he gets snippets of information about the former tenant--a girl who committed suicide by flinging herself out the apartment's only window. As the film progresses, Trelkovsky learns more and more about his predecessor, and the more he learns, the more obsessed he becomes with the details of her life. And this obsession eventually leads to Trelkovsky's undoing.

Casual Polanski fans who are expecting THE TENANT to be another CHINATOWN (1974), ROSEMARY'S BABY, or even THE PIANIST (2002) will be sorely disappointed. Horror fans remembering ROSEMARY'S BABY will enjoy the film's distortion of reality and creepy ambiguity but will likely be disappointed with the conclusion...or lack thereof. On the other hand, hardcore Polanski aficionados will probably love it from opening scene all the way to closing credits.

As mentioned before, the mostly top-notch acting in THE TENANT is its true redeeming quality. Polanski is very effective at depicting the mental deterioration of the title character, Trelkovsky, and gorgeous French actress Isabelle Adjani is compellingly bizarre as Stella, Trelkovsky's occasional love--or is it lust?--interest. Veteran American actor Melvyn Douglas delivers a delightful performance as the landlord, and it's fun to see American actress Shelly Winters in a cameo role as the concierge of the apartment complex.

As is the norm for many Paramount DVDs, the only real bonus item is the film's theatrical trailer. However, the clear, visually rich widescreen digital transfer indicates that the creation of the disc involved a quality print.

In short, the DVD is well worth the cost for students of cinema and hardcore fans of Polanski. Those who watch films solely for the enjoyment of good acting may also feel the disc will make a worthy addition to their film collections, but most casual filmgoers will probably be irked by the film's ending and are therefore advised to look elsewhere for movie entertainment.

Rating:
Summary: It makes no sense.
Review: 'The Tenant' is a film by Roman Polanski that has been forgotten by most of the film community, and for good reason because it makes no sense and is downright awful. It stars Polanski himself as a shy and timid new tenant to an apartment complex. He soon realizes that his neighbors are extremely sensitive and don't like the slightest disturbance. He learns the former tenant before him had committed suicide. A dress of the former tenant is left behind, and for some reason, not explained in the film, Polanski keeps the dress throughout the entire movie. As the story progresses, Polanski grow increasingly paranoid of his neighbors, having bizzare hallucinations at night.
The movie is well done because of the talented director, but the story is too far-out and absurd to take seriously. There are some creepy moments, while others are embarrassing, but the entire film is ruined by the ridiculous ending


Rating:
Summary: Polanski's Penultimate Parable of Paranoia
Review: ...... or, "Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are In My Wall."

There are differing views on this somewhat small film, but I think in the big picture of RP's filmmaking career, The Tenant will stand out as his most personal work. If you know anything about this man's life, what he went through (and what he was about to go through, a scandal that caused him to flee the U.S.), the events in this very darkly humorous tale become all the more haunting.

The basic story: a socially awkward clerk moves in to an apartment previously occupied by a young woman who just died from injuries sustained by hurtling herself from that very apartment window. What he doesn't realize is that, by his moving in, the stage has been set for him to inherit the very miserable despair that possessed the former tenant. In the course of his solitary tenency, he hears disturbing sounds, sees strange things inside and outside his flat, and encounters inexplicable hostility from others in the building. Over time, he becomes increasingly unnerved and obsessed, incapable of controlling his own behavior, and the line between reality and delusion ultimately dissolves, giving way to psychosis.

This dark ride is not without Polanski's trademark warped, absurdist humor, and one gets a sense from sharing the deteriorating experience of his self-portrayed protagonist that he himself was trying to find a way to laugh at his own miseries and fears. This could be a therapeutic element of this film; by watching the ridiculously hopeless and wretched scenario unfold, hopefully we can laugh at our own vulnerabilities, while at the same time seeing that element in other peoples' callous behavior that drives others into such a state.

With Polanski's new found recognition in a film industry that cautiously turned its back on him nearly 30 years ago, we are finally given a chance to see this forgotten treasure, and it's about time. I've read many comparisons to Taxi Driver, but the subtle supernatural implications found in The Tenant's more surreal moments remind me more of The Shining, wherein an alienated individual renders himself prone to dark, irrational powers by way of his own obsession. A quiet, well-paced primal scream of a movie, this number will definitely give the viewer a twisted chuckle, and more than a few shivers after it ends. A no-holds barred, lights out masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: Neighborly Horror...
Review: An apartment is available for rent after that the previous renter has thrown herself out through the apartments window. The modest Trelkovsky (Roman Polanski) decides that he wants to rent it, since it is hard to find apartments in Paris. After a house-warming party he is warned by the owner that he cannot hold such a racket late at night, and this is the beginning of the neighborly stalking of Trelkovsky as he moves within his own apartment. As the plot thickens, the motive behind suicide of the former tenant seems to reveal itself to Trelkovsky and it warns him to proceed with caution. Everyone who once lived wall-to-wall with a neighbor can relate to The Tenant as it produces an unsettling cinematic experience that will give grounds for thoughts to question the character of your neighbors.

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Summary: Great mystery, but I'm so confused....
Review: Anyone who reads this review and hasnt seen the film, you may want to stop now. If you have seen the film and understand what was going on in the last twenty minutes let me know. I watched the movie late at night and thought it was very well made, but I still couldnt comprehend the ending. I have two options, but one seems so obvious that it couldnt be correct. Maybe you're not supposed to know the ending? I dunno, (; Can anyone clue me in?

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Summary: BONE-CHILLING PSYCHOLOGICAL SHOCKER...
Review: Deliberately paced, ultimately gripping film about a seemingly nice, normal single man who moves into an apartment whose previous tenant, named Simone, committed suicide by jumping out the window. He meets her friend Stella (Isabelle Adjani) and finds himself unwittingly in the unfortunate girl's footsteps. Her brand of cigarettes, her favorite chocolate drink, her clothes and even her tooth (stuck in a hole in the wall) haunt him. No one seems to understand his concerns...least of all the difficult and bizarre tenants he's surrounded by who complain of his every move. He comes to believe it's a plot to drive him to suicide...like Simone. Roman Polanski (who co-wrote and also directed) is brilliant as Trelkovsky, the quiet tenant who's plunged into a nightmare that may or not be real. He's believable as an Everyman who suddenly finds himself alienated and in the grips of something he can't control. Is he going mad? Or is it...something else? Shelley Winters (as the concierge), Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet and Lila Kedrova as the other tenants contribute their considerable panache---making Trelkovsky's paranoic nightmare world even more sinister. A fascinating and haunting psychological journey that keeps you intrigued (and disturbed) right up until the final, bone-chilling scream. Not for every taste, but still "The Tenant" is pure cinema terror all the way. The DVD is a fine widescreen print that includes the original theatrical trailer. Even IT'S scary. Enjoy this macabre masterpiece. But I don't recommend watching it alone.

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Summary: A criminal, how pathetic
Review: Does anybody care that this guy is a rapist and pediphile? Obviously not. Let's stop supporting such scum.

Rating:
Summary: Polanski's personal history
Review: For the person claiming that we should judge the work of an artist by his personal failings, especially those that are imposed by the culture of the moment, I would ask that you at least libel with authority. Yes, Polanski had sex with an underage girl, however the underage girl and the mother have always maintained that the sex was consensual and therefore Polanski while being a pedophile(not pedephile) is not a rapist. That being said, this is one of the greatest films to ever be produced. I saw it only once in 1978 and I am still telling people that they need to see it.