Repulsion

1965 Directed by Roman Polanski

Halloween Marathon Day 2 - Film 4

Catherine Deneuve plays a young woman who seems adrift in her day to day life. Each encounter with men casually on the street makes her pause a step. The slow and deliberate progression of how the editing takes just another few moments to pay attention for her obsessive tendencies to an otherwise dull interaction. She stares deeply at the cracked foundation of the sidewalk- her mind has started to break as well. A lot of the visual direction feels voyeuristic as the following of her day to day seems normal, but the catcalls and interactions with men show subtle intrusive invasions of her space.

Men seem to try to woo her at every turn, but she flees- locking herself away at home after she's left to housesit. She leaves out meat to rot- and the walls seem to crack and reach out under the pressure of her own anxious mind. These signs are physical manifestations of her mind's deterioration. The sound of specific whistles and clocks remind of her of past sexual trauma. The festering visuals lead to violent dream fugues and wicked spurts of black and white bloodletting. There is no escape for her- only the void. It's a very atmospheric film that pulls the audience in to the personal horror. Considering Deneuve goes from romance and comedies to this undermines some of the expectations of the audience too. There's something unsettling about madness taking form in the outwardly normal.