Panic Room review

Panic Room does not feature on any iteration of the top 1000 films of all time. However, as I watched it recently, I'm giving my views nonetheless.

Recently divorced mother Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her diabetic daughter (Sarah) have just moved into a new four-storey house in New York City's Upper West Side. The house has its own panic room. After Meg and Sarah are invaded by a trio of burglars the ring-leader Junior (Jared Leto,) the psychotic Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) and the more compassionate Burnham (Forest Whitaker,) mother and daughter take shelter in the panic room. However, that's exactly where the home invaders want to be too.

Panic Room was David Fincher's fifth full-length directorial film. He is well-represented on the 2024 edition of the top 1000 films of all time with 8/12 of his films being featured on there. It's no surprise Alien 3 isn't on the list - maybe it would be on a list of the 1000 worsen films of all time. And perhaps Mank and the Killer are too modern to be featured. But it was a surprise that Panic Room didn't make it onto the list. Don't ask me how the mind of an IMDB audience works, but they obviously love Fincher as the majority of his films make some appearance on this list.

Panic Room had all the hallmarks of your classic Fincher thriller including low lighting, tight camera angles and morally grey characters. It also had a rousing score by frequent collaborator Howard Shore. However, what separated Panic Room from other Fincher thrillers was its sense of claustrophobia. Much of the film takes place in the Altman's panic room meaning you feel every second of its stuffy atmosphere.

 Having been exhausted by the multiple sets on Fight Club, Fincher wanted to direct something far simpler and more pared down. Considering the multiple production issues he had including Jodie Foster being a last-minute replacement for Nicole Kidman (who still appears in a tiny voiceover role) or having to reshoot some of the film with Foster returning on maternity leave, I'm not sure whether this production was much simpler for him really.

Regardless of the simplicity of the shoot, I still thought Panic Room was an entertaining film. It might have lacked some of the social commentary of his most famous film Fight Club or the gore of Se7en, but it had a cracking cast. Jodie Foster, Jared Leto, Nicole Kidman and Forest Whitaker share four acting Oscars between them while Kristen Stewart is also Oscar-nominated. This was only her third film, but proved to be her breakout role. 

Jared Leto brought a great manic energy to Junior who desperately tries to keep control while his well-thought strategy to rob the panic room crumbles around him. He contrasted well with the more calm and controlled Forest Whitaker. However, I think the dark horse of the three was the psychotic Dwight Yoakam who brought a scarily calm energy to the role of Raoul. Although Yoakam is better known as a country music singer this was definitely not his first rodeo as he starred in the earlier 1996 film Sling Blade.

True, as the film progresses, it goes get slightly more absurd eventually concluding in an anti-climatic disappointing ending. 

*spoilers to follow*

Having spent much of the film locked up in the panic room with minimal mobile phone signal, Meg finally gets through to 911 only for them to put her on hold, which rather beggared belief. This was a plot point a bit too fantastical to really believe. In the final confrontation between Meg, Sarah and Raoul, it isn't the women who kill Raoul, but Burnham who has a change of heart. 

This change of heart means he is inevitably caught by the police. Right at the start, it was established that Burnham was the most compassionate of the three burglars due to his outright declaration of not wanting to kill anybody, so I guess I could buy him coming back to save the women. However, Panic Room received a lot of critical praise for its feminist themes - much of the film prior to the climax shows the female Meg and Sarah outsmarting the male burglars yet they were ultimately saved by a man - Burnham. 

True, it might be unlikely for a mother and twelve-year-old girl to overpower a murderous man like Raoul, but we already saw Meg's intelligence. I would have been willing to suspend my disbelief to have seen her fatally outsmart Raoul. While Sarah was attacking Raoul from behind, perhaps Meg could have found the wherewithal to have picked up Raoul's gun and shoot him. To not have done so, slightly countermanded the feminist messaging. But maybe I'm looking too much into it.

The film ultimately ends on a bit of damp squib with Meg and Sarah discussing new places to live. Perhaps this is what stopped it from featuring on the top 1000 films of all time - that and all the unnecessary slow-motion. 

Although it didn't earn its place on the top 1000 films of all time, Panic Room was still an entertaining and thrilling film to watch. 

Saving Mr Banks review

 Number 488 on the top 1000 films of all time is the biographical drama 'Saving Mr Banks.'

Saving Mr Banks tells the true story of famed Mary Poppins author P.L Travers (Emma Thompson) in the latter stages of her career. Resisting Walt Disney's (Tom Hanks) requests to turn the Mary Poppins books into films for years, Travers finally relents after her dire finances are revealed. She travels to LA to oversee the process. Flashbacks also show her childhood growing up in Australia as well as her troubled relationship with her alcoholic father Travers Goff (Colin Farrell.) B.J Novak, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Giamatti and Ruth Wilson co-star.

As I'm sure sick of hearing by now, I am generally not a fan of biopics or period dramas. This is particularly true of films like Saving Mr Banks where I have no interest in the subject matter. I've never given Mary Poppins a second thought beyond it being an entertaining film. I did not expect to enjoy Saving Mr Banks, but I'm glad to say I was proven wrong.

Much of that was down to Emma Thompson's absolutely delightful portrayal of P.L Travers. She really proved why she is a double-Oscar winning actress. Although Disney heavily lobbied for Thompson to receive what would have been her fourth Oscar actress nomination, she ultimately ended up being nominated for the BAFTA best actress award. Either way, she was great as the Mary Poppins author. I loved her portrayal of the author as this uptight, prim-and-proper, no nonsense Brit who soon clashes with the more laidback and easy-going Americans.

Despite that, we see her icy veneer begin to melt as she is worn down by the executives at Disney. This includes Walt Disney but also by her chauffeur Ralph (Paul Giamatti,) screenwriter Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford,) and composers Richard and Robert Sherman (Jason Schwartzman and B.J Novak.) The actors all had great chemistry together and, despite my general grumpy old manness, I couldn't help but smile along at their antics. This was especially true with Paul Giamatti who was truly endearing as Travers' chauffeur Ralph. Despite Travers' initial hostility, Ralph's optimism never waivers, making him one of the best characters in the film.

Yet beyond the humour and warmth, there was some strong emotional depth. This was saved for the flashback scenes to Travers' childhood where we see her mother Margaret (Ruth Wilson) desperately trying to keep their family and marriage together while her father Travers (Colin Farrell) battles against his alcoholism. Like many alcoholics, he isn't an inherently bad person, but somebody who has just dug himself into a hole. Despite how his actions drive Margaret to the absolute edge, Travers still absolutely adores him. All credit to Colin Farrell for this portrayal.

I said earlier that although Disney lobbied for this film heavily at the Oscars, it was ultimately only nominated for the Best Original Score. This was a well-earned nomination, as the musical numbers were some of the best moments of the film.

Saving Mr Banks really surprised me as a film. Just like the initially icy PL Travers was worn down by American enthusiasm and optimism, so was I. And I'm all the better for it.

The Dirty Dozen review

 Number 484 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1967 war film 'The Dirty Dozen.'

In March, 1944, Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin) is ordered to command Project Amnesty - a top secret mission to take twelve convicts, turn them into commandos in an effort to eliminate as many high-ranking Nazis as possible while they wine and dine in a Rennes chateau. Some of the dozen include loud-mouth and hot-headed mobster Victor R. Franko (John Cassavetes,) gentle giant Samson Posey (Clint Walker) the German-speaking Joseph Wladislaw (Charles Bronson,) the black Robert T. Jefferson (Jim Brown,) the psychotic Maggott (Terry Salavas) and Vernon L.Pinkley (Donald Sutherland.)

This was a thoroughly entertaining film and one I enjoyed immensely. It is very much your standard action film with gunfire and explosions galore, but it also had a great and memorable cast of characters. You had the psychopathic Maggott who is disliked and mistrusted by most of the gang and with good reason - he had previously raped and killed a young woman. Terry Salavas created a scary character. I also liked the gentle giant Posey who traumatised by his previous crimes becomes scared of his own strength. Clint Walker really helped to give some humanity to this goliath of a man.

You also had the iconic Charles Bronson and Donald Sutherland - two great actors who share the distinction of never being Oscar-nominated. One of the most striking characters was the rebellious Franko who goes onto becomes one of the gang's loudest voices. Cassavetes received a well-earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Tying this all together was Lee Marvin playing the army major forced into an undesirable position, but determined to see his mission through.

Inevitably by having such a large ensemble cast it's natural for some characters to overshadow others. This happened here with big personalities like Maggott, Wladislaw, Franko and Posey dominating screentime over some of the less memorable members of the operation. Nowhere is this more present than Jiminez (Trini Lopez) who, due to Lopez midway leaving production, receives a rather rushed off-screen death. 

No matter, as everything culminates in an exciting conclusion which sees most of our heroes dying (I don't think this is much of a spoiler - this was always going to be a suicide mission) There were plenty great set pieces and special effects.

All in all, I enjoyed the Dirty Dozen. Yes, some of the characters were better characterised than others, but it was still entertaining nonetheless.  

My Name is Khan review

 Number 495 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Indian-produced social drama film 'My Name is Khan.'

Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) is an Indian Muslim with severe Asperger's Syndrome. Searching for a better life, he emigrates to San Francisco where he meets the single mother and Hindu, Mandira Rathod (Kajol.) However, in the wake of 9/11 and the rise of Islamaphobic attitudes, Mandira and her son suffer awful discrimination. Rizwan Khan resolves to travel across the US to speak with the president.

I've seen a few Bollywood/Indian films since starting this list, but this is the first time I've seen the Bollywood style in an American setting. It was refreshing to see. There was strong acting especially from the leads which should be no surprise considering they are both stars of Indian cinema having won 22 Filmfare awards. Shak Rukh Khan researched autism extensively and spent long periods of time with them to ensure the most accurate representation of the condition. Sure it might not have been Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man or Priyanka Chopra in Barfi! but Khan played the role with great sensitivity.

My Name is Khan also offered some pertinent social commentary regarding the immigrant, more specifically, Muslim experience in the US. Hatred of the other has always existed. This is as true now as it was twenty years ago as it was two hundred years ago. Humans are unfortunately a tribal society who distrust anybody who doesn't look like them,

Unfortunately, the film's social commentary was almost lost in its melodrama. Indian Cinema loves melodrama and that was certainly the case here. To say that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's score was over-the-top would be the understatement of the century. It reminded me of bad reality TV trying to manipulate your emotions. Director Karan Johar could have relied on his strong actors or Shibani Bathija's script for that. Similarly, we didn't need the slow-motion, montages or multiple camera angles of the same thing. It was all so unnecessary. At least there wasn't any spontaneous singing and dancing.

I would also agree with some reviewers who said that the film became lost in its own lofty ambitions. The first half of the film was definitely tighter than the second, even if it did spend too much time setting up Rizwan and Mandira's relationship. Indian film critic Vinod Mirani criticised Karan Johar's direction as being meandering and slow-paced through his desire of trying to say too much. 

This is especially true of the film's second half where Rizwan embarks on his journey across the US getting involved in lots of different obstacles along the way, most of which were either resolved too easily - like how he was falsely imprisoned by the FBI or too diversionary from the main plot like how Rizwan befriends a mother and son in Georgia, later protecting them during Hurricane Wilhemina.

My Name is Khan was an admirable film with strong characterisations and good social commentary, but a lot of that was lost in its melodrama.

Atonement review

 Number 483 on the top 1000 films of all time is the romantic tragedy 'Atonement.'

Based on the 2001 Ian Mcewan novel of the same name and set in 1930's England, Atonement tells the story of Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) the oldest sister of the Tallis family and her relationship with the housekeeper's son Robbie Turner (James Mcavoy.) However, when Cecila's younger sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) confesses that she saw Robbie commit an awful crime, he is sent to prison, ripping apart the family.

In my Finding Neverland review, I said that Kate Winslet is one of those actresses who gets type-cast as upper-class aristocratic English ladies. I would lump Keira Knightley into the same camp. Whether that's Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean or the Imitation Game, she more or less plays the same character. In Atonement, it was more of the same, but Cecilia had a killer emotional depth. As this was a hard-hitting film. 

*Spoilers to follow*

As much of the film harbours on a lie. The young and naive thirteen-year-old Briony, who has her own feelings for Robbie, misconstrues his affections for Cecilia as rape and abuse. Yet things don't stop here. She then believes she witnesses him raping her cousin Lola (Juno Temple.) And this is all the evidence needed to send Robbie to prison for years. Upon realising her mistake, an elderly Briony (Vanessa Redgrave) tries atoning for her mistakes, but it is too little too late. In many ways, she is an unreliable narrator which gave this film a rather devastating dramatic irony.

Briony Tallis was only Saiorse Ronan's third film role, but it was also her breakout role. For Briony Tallis, she received her first of four Oscar nominations. It was well-earned too, as she showed her early promise as an actor. Similarly, this film helped to establish James Mcavoy as a leading man. Although he wasn't Oscar-nominated, he did receive a Bafta nod for Best Supporting Actor.

After Robbie is released from prison, he is drafted into the Second World War where, suffering from an infected wound, he desperately navigates to the beaches of Dunkirk so he can return home to his beloved Cecilia. Some critics argued this made the film unbalanced with a scatter-shot plot. I wouldn't agree though. Having Robbie and Cecilia separated by not only a lie but also war really underlined the tragic plot and the seriousness of Briony's lie, as well as her desperate need to atone for her sins.

This definitely won't be an easy watch. There are emotionally upsetting scenes galore, but it is also quite a powerful film with some great performances.

Finding Neverland review

 Number 481 on the top 1000 films of all time is Marc Foster's biopic fantasy drama 'Finding Neverland.'

Finding Neverland tells the true-life story of Scottish children's author JM Barrie (Johnny Depp.) After his latest play flops, he is desperately looking for a new idea. This is when he meets widow and single mother Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) - she and her children serve as the inspiration for Barrie's most famous story: Peter Pan. Julie Christie and Dustin Hoffman co-star.

Finding Neverland started slowly, but once it got going it became a touching and surprising story about connection and childhood innocence. I say surprising, because, as a general rule, I'm generally not interested in biopics/period dramas. Neither am I much interested in Peter Pan. I don't know anything of the story outside of the Disney cartoon.

Yet that didn't matter with the ever-impressive Johnny Depp at the helm. Having become better known as a character actor with eccentric and off-beat roles, it was refreshing to see him in one of his most human roles. I'm not sure how much of Finding Neverland was fact and how much was fiction, but it did portray Barrie as a wholly complicated and interesting character. It's no surprise that Depp was Oscar-nominated for the role.

As for Kate Winslet, she was good but I felt that in her early career, she was often typecast as an upper-class aristocratic woman whether that is Sense and Sensibility or Hamlet. True, she does it well and she did well opposite Depp, but it did feel like Llewelyn Davies was just another similar character in a very long list.

Although it tells a story of fantasy and escape with multiple sets and like a pirate's ship or a desert, Marc Foster always kept things firmly grounded in the real by partly how Barrie was inspired by the people or events around him basing Peter Pan on Sylvia's son Peter, Freddy Highmore in an early role.

Overall, I enjoyed Finding Neverland. I wasn't sure whether I would, but it pleasantly surprised me. Now say it with me...I do...I do... I do believe in fairies. 

The Last Emperor review

 Number 482 on the top 1000 films of all time is the epic biographical period-drama 'The Last Emperor.'

The Last Emperor tells the life story of its titular character - Pu Yi, the Last Emperor of China from his childhood where he was played by Richard Vu and then Tiger Tsau to his adolescence where he was played by Wu Tao and all the way to his adulthood, where, played by John Lone, he becomes a political prisoner of the Chinese Communist Party.

Bernado Bertolucci's story about Puyi felt very much like a Chinese version of Laurence of Arabia. The Last Emperor was almost four hours long and it also starred Peter O'Toole who played Pu Yi's Scottish tutor Reginald Johnson. Granted, I had unknowingly watched the extended cut, but I think even the one hundred and sixty-five minute theatrical cut would have still had me struggling to stay awake.

Obviously the academy didn't agree with me as they awarded The Last Emperor nine Oscars including Best Film, Director, production and Costume. The latter two were well-earned. Bertolucci was granted unprecedented access to film in China's Forbidden City and he made brilliant use of this opportunity. The production in this film was absolutely breathtaking especially in the early scenes within the city itself. It's just a shame the story itself wasn't very interesting.

The story is told from the adult Piyu's perspective - now a prisoner of the CCP, as he looks back on his life as China's last emperor. Although this part was interesting, his earlier life was less so. Considering how he was very much just a figurehead with no real power, it's no surprise that he was little more than a spoiled and lazy character, but he also became a tedious one too.

This is a film for true cinophiles. Although it looked great on-screen, the actual story left me cold and in desperate want of my bed.

Empire of the Sun review

 Number 480 on the top 1000 films of all time is Steven Spielberg's epic coming-of-age drama 'Empire of the Sun.'

Jim Graham (Christian Bale) is a young, spoiled English boy living in 1940's Shanghai China. However, after the Japanese invade, he is separated from his parents and sent to an internment camp. There he has to rely on his wits, as well as his relationship with two American hustlers Basie (John Malkovich) and Frank (Joe Pantoliano) as well as his relationship with other prisoners like Dr Rawlins (Nigel Havers) or Mrs Victor (Miranda Richardson) to survive.

Famed film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave a mixed review of the film deciding that despite its potential it seemed like a mishmash of different ideas that never gelled together. I would agree with this assessment. Empire of the Sun struck me as a film where despite having all of the necessary jigsaw puzzles was still unable to put them together in a satisfactory way.

And the film straddled too many genres without ever fitting into one. It's set during World War Two yet its PG-13 rating stopped it from really focussing on the true horrors of the war. Although it's a coming of age drama, Tim's transformation from a naive, pompous schoolboy into a streetwise hustler was largely glossed over. As such, these emotional beats didn't land.

It's a shame as, even though, Christian Bale was playing one of those annoying characters who fuelled the narrative with their own stupidity, he showed early promise of the Oscar-winning actor he would become. Considering this was only his second film role this is saying something. And considering he was acting alongside heavyweights like John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson, this was also saying something big. Not to mention, they played less than satisfactory characters who flitted in and out of the story.

Ultimately, I think this film was wasted potential. I'm always interesting in learning more about the Japanese side of the war, but this film left me cold.

Dirty Harry Review

 Number 479 on the top 1000 films of all time is Don Siegel's 1971 action-thriller 'Dirty Harry.'

Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) is a San Fransican cop who doesn't play by the rules. He's dirty, but he always gets the job done. However, he meets his match with the psychotic and deadly intelligent "Scorpio" killer - Charles Davis (Andrew Robinson.)

Clint Eastwood has remarkable talent.  I am not referring to his directional ability netting him numerous Oscars, but his talent is starring in great films despite always playing the same character. And that character is a grumpy old man regardless of his age or if he is playing a cowboy, boxing coach or cop. Although this is the first film I've seen with Clint Eastwood playing a rogue cop, he wasn't unlike any of the famous cowboy characters who proceeded him. Not to say he wasn't good, but he wasn't different either.

Andrew Robinson was far more convincing as the psychopathic Scorpio killer. Despite being a complete unknown, he play the role so brilliantly that he struggled in escaping the shadow of the character. Thankfully, he did in the nineties, as he went onto have a prominent supporting role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

It was an interesting dynamic between the two lead actors with Eastwood acting as the old hand and Andrew Robinson, the newcomer, but he held his own well in this slick and punchy thriller. It was another triumph from Don Siegel who gave us another tense and tight film.

Yes, it has Eastwood acting the same as he always does, but don't let that put you off what was a great film with a terrific turn from Andrew Robinson.

Night on Earth review

 Number 478 on the top 1000 films of all time is Jim Jarmusch's comedy-drama anthology 'Night on Earth.'

Night on Earth tells five vignettes of five taxi drivers and their relationships with their passengers all on the same night across five different cities: Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, Rome and Helsinki.

Night on Earth was a charming film that deftly navigated a number of themes including heartbreak, connection and comedy all while getting you to care about its characters in a limited space of time. Across five different short films with all different casts, we get to see what makes us different, but more importantly the same.

The first vignette focusses on LA taxi driver Corky (Wionna Ryder.) Corky is a tomboy and has no great aspirations in life beyond being a taxi driver and a mechanic. This is in contrast with her upper-class passenger, casting director Victoria Snelling (Gena Rowlands.) Despite their differences, they form a certain rapport and understanding by the end of their journey together. Victoria even wants to cast Corky in her latest film, but Corky is happy with her current direction in life. It was a nice little insight into how we work as people. Not everybody has lofty aspirations. Some people are happy with whatever they have and that's okay.

The second vignette is probably the funniest. It follows the relationship between East German immigrant Helmut's (Armin Mueller-Stahl's) first night as a taxi driver in New York. His passenger is the loud-mouthed and obnoxious Yo-Yo (Giancarlo Esposito) who startled at Helmut's seeming incompetence decides to drive the taxi instead. The two characters could not have been more different from each other yet they embodied a brilliant odd-couple relationship. Helmut was endearing and although Yo-Yo was a bit annoying at first, he ended up being likeable too.

Our third vignette takes us to Paris where after an unnamed Ivorian taxi driver (Isaach de Bankole) abruptly turfs out two rude passengers, he accepts a new fare of a blind woman (Beatrice Dalle.) It was a pleasant enough story but largely forgettable compared to the others. Although there were a few moments of humour.

The fourth story set in Rome was probably my least favourite. It focussed on eccentric taxi driver Gino (Roberto Benigni) who after picking up a priest (Paolo Bonecelli,) proceeds to make a toe-curling confession which is almost too much for the priest to bear. Although this story was played for laughs with Benigni largely improvising, I did find it far too zany and over-the-top for my tastes. Benigni was so over-the-top, he became rather annoying.

Thankfully, we had the final Helsinki storyline as a touching palate cleanser. It focusses on Finnish taxi driver Mika (Matti Pellonpaa) who relates his tragic personal history to his drunk passengers. It was bittersweet way of ending the film, but also helped to offset some of the Night on Earth's zanier storylines. It was one of my favourite stories of the five.

Being an anthology film, naturally some of the vignettes were better than others. However, I think the film worked both as a whole and individually. I definitely recommend it.

Happiness review

 Number 477 on the top 1000 films of all time is the black-comedy Happiness.

Trisha (Cynthia Stevenson) Helen (Lara Flynn Boyle) and teacher Joy (Jane Adams) are three sisters looking for happiness in one way or another. Trisha's husband Lenny (Ben Gazzara) is hiding a dark secret while Helen attracts the voyeuristic peeping Tom, Allan (Philip Seymour Hoffman.) Lastly, Joy becomes attracted to her Russian student Ivan (Jared Harris.)

My last review centred on Roman Polanski's Repulsion. Repulsion would be a better title for this film than Happiness, as it was repulsive. However, I think I was in the minority in this opinion. IMDB labelled it as misunderstood while critics said that it gave even the most depraved of characters a strong level of humanity.

Granted I may have misunderstood this film, but do I really want to understand a film with such a  depraved cohort of characters. Most notably, you have Lenny who is secretly a paedophile. He goes so far as to rape the friends of his eleven-year-old son. Director Todd Solondz played a dangerous game in having a paedophile in such a major, non-villainous role. Did he remind us that even the worse people are still human or did he run the risk of romanticising or at least humanising this awful behaviour?

Another example would be the voyeuristic peeping Tom, Alan, - Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his worse roles. Granted, Alan isn't a nonce, but he's still just as depraved considering how he jerks off while talking to Joy on the phone. Again this wasn't a character I was interested in understanding. Considering he was played by the formidable PSH, this was saying something major.

I also take issue with how this film was labelled as a black comedy. It was definitely black, but it wasn't very funny as it relied on gross-out humour like PSH spunking on the wall and using said spunk to glue a postcard onto the wall. Gross. Not something I wanted to see or laugh at. Not that I laughed much at all. I don't think I even chuckled until the forty-five minute mark.

True you could argue that Solondz' key message was that no matter how hard you try, you can never fill that void inside of you with sexual gratification. Unfortunately, this key message was lost in the gross humour and disgusting characters.

Repulsion review

 Number 473 on the top 1000 films of all time is Roman Polanski's 1965 psychological horror film 'Repulsion.'

Carol (Catherine Denueve) is a young Belgian beautician living in London with her sister Helen (Yvonne Furneaux) and Helen's husband Michael (Ian Hendry,) whom Carol hates. However, when Helen and Michael go away and leave Carol alone, she quickly spirals into insanity.

Repulsion is considered the first in an informal trilogy depicting the horrors of inner-city living along with other Polanski hits like Rosemary's Baby and Tenant. I'm not entirely sure how Repulsion could kick off such a trilogy especially since it was followed by the infinitely better Rosemary's Baby.

Much of my apathy towards the film stems from the rather tepid character of Carol who was nothing like the energetic Rosemary Woodhouse, played by Mia Farrow. Instead Carol seems to passively drift around her London flat jumping at every shadow. Even in moments where she takes agency like when she beats her sleazy landlord to death didn't seem very believable.

I understand Carol killing her would-be suitor Colin by hitting him from behind. But she kills her much bigger male landlord by slashing him to death with a straight razor. Surely, he would have been strong enough to fight her off. Carol's insipid nature also led to a rather insipid performance from the usually charismatic and empathetic Catherine Deneuve. Very much like Carol, she seemed to be going about the film in a daze.

The limited setting didn't help things either, very much making Repulsion a victim of its own success. Despite Rosemary's Baby having a similar limited apartment setting, it had so much more drama and conflict than Repulsion. Perhaps that was down to Carol being an unreliable narrator due to her declining mental health. Maybe she's hallucinating everything she saw. Maybe not. I don't know either way. And honestly? I didn't care.

And that very much sums up my reaction to Repulsion. I wasn't repulsed. Just apathetic.