Film Review - Repulsion

Repulsion was made in 1965 by Roman Polanski. It features a young woman descending into madness in her flat and also shows her repressed fear of men and their sexual advances. The surreal design in the film helps the audience to understand Carol and her hallucinations, and also helps the viewer to see the decaying state of her mental health as the days pass.

Fig. 1

From the very start of the film, the audience can see that Carol's mental state may not be very stable. As the story progresses and her sister leaves on holiday, isolating Carol in her flat, Polanski creates distinct parallels between "the decay of her mind with the rotting of a rabbit she intended to cook but has just left out on the sideboard." (Newman, 2015). This image helps to show the time passing in the flat, as well as how Carol's hallucinations gradually get worse and lead her into a deep madness.

Fig. 2

Along with the strong images Polanski uses to show the gradual passing of time, he also employs sound to emphasize Carol's madness and make the audience feel uneasy. Many examples include "the ticking of a clock, the voices of nuns playing catch in the convent garden, the dripping of a faucet." (Morgan, 2011). This is the only connection that Carol has to the real world, and this helps Polanski to fashion a bubble of isolation that both Carol and the audience are trapped in.

The idea of Carol murdering two, probably strong, men is a progressive one. Despite being a woman Polanski has no problem with transforming Carol into a deranged and dangerous person, who seriously harms the men who "unwittingly invade" (Crowther, 1965) her flat. The invasion of the men into her personal space, like her suitor literally breaking the door down the get to her, is very telling of how the world once worked in the way of gender equality. The men intruding is something Carol doesn't want, and this is probably relatable to a lot of women. The fact that these men so brazenly disrespect Carol's space could be a big driving force behind her murdering them.

Fig. 3

Bibliography
Crowther, B (1965). "Repulsion" in The New York Times [online]. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=ee05e7df1739e471bc4c53dfb667838e679ede
Morgan, K (2009). "Roman Polanski Understands Women: Repulsion" in Huffington Post [online]. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-morgan/roman-polanski-understand_b_301292.html
Newman, K (2015) "Repulsion Review" in Empire [online]. Available at: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/repulsion/review/

Illustration List
Fig. 1 - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Repulsion_%281965_film_poster%29.jpg
Fig. 2 - http://www.thingswewatch.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/repulsion1_tww.jpg
Fig. 3 - https://medialifecrisis.com/files/images/articles/201509-Popgap/Repulsion-1965/Repulsion-1965-01-08-34.jpg