Catherine Deneuve is mesmerizing as a deeply troubled soul in Roman Polanski’s REPULSION
SEE IT BIG! REPULSION (Roman Polanski, 1965)
Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
Saturday, October 26, free with museum admission, 2:00
718-777-6800
www.movingimage.us
In 1965, Polish-French auteur Roman Polanski followed his Oscar-nominated debut feature, Knife in the Water, with his first English-language film, the psychological masterpiece Repulsion. Catherine Deneuve gives a mesmerizing performance as Carol Ledoux, a deeply troubled, beautiful young woman who shies away from the world, hiding something that has turned her into a frightened childlike creature who barely speaks. A manicurist who lives in London with her sister, Hélène (Yvonne Furneaux), Carol becomes entranced by cracks in the sidewalk, suddenly going nearly catatonic at their sight; in bed at night, she is terrified of the walls, which seem to break apart as she grips tight to the covers. A proper gentleman (John Fraser) is trying to start a relationship with her, but she ignores him or forgets about their meetings, unable to make any genuine connections. Deneuve’s every movement, from the blink of an eye to a wave of her hand, reveals Carol’s submerged inner turmoil and desperation, leading to an ending that is both shocking and not surprising. Shot in a creepy black-and-white by Gilbert Taylor (A Hard Day’s Night, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) and featuring a pulsating score by jazz legend Chico Hamilton, Repulsion is a brilliant journey into the limitations and possibilities of the human mind, with Polanski expertly navigating through a complex terrain. Winner of a pair of awards at the fifteenth Berlin International Film Festival, Repulsion, the first of Polanski’s Apartment Trilogy (followed by 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby and 1976’s The Tenant), will be having a special screening October 26 at 2:00 at the Museum of the Moving Image in honor of Polanski’s eightieth birthday and will be introduced by James Greenberg, author of the new book Roman Polanski: A Retrospective, who will be signing books after the screening.