Film Review: Repulsion

                                                             (Fig 1, movie poster)

Roman's Polanski's Psychological horror 'Repulsion' (1965) follows the life of Carol who suffers from Androphobia (fear of men). When her older sister Helen leaves to go on Holiday in Italy, Carol is left alone in their London flat which she then retreats into. Following this Carol begins to hallucinate and becomes more aggressive. Throughout the film Carol displays signs of nervous ticks such as brushing herself off a lot and biting her nails and as mentioned before these ticks stem from her fear of men.

(Fig 2 and 3, Movie still)

The film presents a lot of the male roles as sexual predators and because of Carols phobia the fear of males is amplified not only in Carol but the audience. It becomes clear at a point that the majority of men in the film are only interested in sex or will constantly pursue Carol which creates the idea that the men are always trying to get something from Carol where it's sexual or something else.  "The horny, chauvinistic attitudes that ruled the day during this decade keep any of the male characters who have direct interaction with Carol from realizing that she’s more than just a “woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown.” (Glass Jr. S, 2016) In the film Carol is pursued by Colin who  seems to be a genuinely nice person and considering the other men in the film is not only interested in sex. However, he thinks he is being gentlemanly and following his heart, whereas the woman he is pursuing is having a paranoid episode which he fails to acknowledge. On the other hand there's the landlord who seems to take Carol's shyness as a sign that he can touch her and attempt to kiss her. this can all link to the ending where the camera focuses in on the family photo of Carol as a child. It seems like the lighting is used to draw attention to Carol and a male family member. This is very suggestive that something  around that time is what lead to her phobia, as she looks at this man with what seems to be resentful eyes. 

(Fig 4 and 5, Movie stills)

The hallucinations in the film build up through out. At the beginning Carol sees smalls cracks appear, but with more interaction with men as well as isolating herself in her flat they become more frequent and real to her. "Small cracks in the walls of the apartment flow into crunching indicators of the heroine's crumbling mind." (Crowther. B, 1965) What Crowther says links to what I just said the interactions with men in the film as well as isolation strain Carol's mind. She seems very reliant on her sister to be there for her and without her being there it pushes her more over the edge. Furthermore, it's not just cracks that she sees, all along the corridor   

(Fig 6, Movie still)

Sound also plays a role in the film as mentioned by Morgan. K, 2009 (updated 2011) "Polanski relies more on amplifying the sounds of everyday life [...] convey the acute awareness Carol acquires in response to her fear.". As well as that it also becomes an indicator to the audience that Carol is going to be sexually violated by a stranger. However, during these scene Carol's screams can't be heard it goes very quiet until it's over. This creates a unsettling  feeling, the scene already is but seeing the desperation in Carol's face as well as not hearing her, creates an overall more discomforting scene. 

Bibliography:

Morgan. K, 2009: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-morgan/roman-polanski-understand_b_301292.html

Crowther. B, 1965: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=ee05e7df1739e471bc4c53dfb667838e679ede

Glass Jr. S, 2016: http://beneaththeunderground.com/film-review-repulsion-1965/

Illustration List: 

Fig 1: http://beneaththeunderground.com/film-review-repulsion-1965/

Fig 2: https://alexonfilm.com/2016/08/14/repulsion-1965/

Fig 3: https://alexonfilm.com/2016/08/14/repulsion-1965/
Fig 4: http://michaelklingerpapers.uwe.ac.uk/projectimages/repulsion/2.htm
Fig 5: https://alexonfilm.com/2016/08/14/repulsion-1965/
Fig6: https://alexonfilm.com/2016/08/14/repulsion-1965/