When her sister goes away on holiday, leaving Carol alone in the big apartment she begins her descension into madness.
REPULSION was Polanski's first film in English and is a classic that takes its time but is worth the wait. Much of the time in the movie is spent in silence which sometimes makes it seem slow but the use of silence is also very rewarding as it creates this certain feel and atmosphere which is essential to get a better picture of our the lovely lead Carol's slow descension into madness. Filmed in black & white, REPULSION takes place in 60's London where we get to follow this young Belgian girl living with her sister. Carol pretty much has no social skills whatsoever and when her sister goes on vacation, leaving Carol on her own in the apartment, she gradually goes completely mad.
 
Basically it's a drama with lots of surrealism baked into it but that flirts with horror quite a lot through the course of the film. Even though REPULSION may not be a scary film that'll make you have to go to sleep with your lights on, it's somewhat unsettling, eerie and pretty much breathes isolation and emptiness. First 30 minutes of the flick takes a lot of time get through due to the fact that nothing really happens but still happens if you know what I mean. It kinda establishes the character of Carol which is necessary to later on in the film give the viewer that uneasy feel that the film delivers so well. Meaning that you gotta get to know her to feel for her and Polanski do make you know her, that is as long as you're willing to.
Saying that REPULSION is a great film does not mean that it is for everyone as it will definitely bore some due to its sometimes extremely slow pacing. Like I said before, it sure takes its time and it's easy to doze off while it does but personally I feel that it is interesting all the way, much of that thanks to the lead actress Catherine Deneuve striking performance. Pretty much all time during the last hour or so is spent inside the apartment, a decaying apartment that both feels like a prison as well as a fortress against the outside world. In there we get to see Carol suffer from horrible dreams to sexual repression and once in a while a visitor comes knocking which only makes her life even worse. All of the rest of cast and their character are all very interesting and all makes every scene work even though Catherine Deneuve carries the weight on her shoulders.
REPULSION is a great eerie classic but that requires its viewer to be a bit patient with it. It is slow, no question about it and to some it won't be worth the wait and the payoff won't be that remarkable. Still, with all shit coming out these days I'd say that REPULSION is more than well worth watching.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
MOVIE YEAR: 1965
DIRECTOR: Roman Polanski
WRITING CREDITS: Roman Polanski, Gérard Brach
GENRE: Thriller, Horror, Drama
CAST: Catherine Deneuve, Yvonne Furneaux, John Fraser
COUNTRY: UK
RUNTIME: 106 min
RATING: 9/10
Repulsion Website/IMDB Click here
Repulsion Trailer
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