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7/30/2019 Repulsion film review
1/3
Repulsion
Created in the 60s where sexual liberation is in its full swing,
Repulsion is amovie that follows the mental break down of a womans
fear of sexual intimacyas it drives her insane. Being truly alone
seems to trigger her final mental break
down when her sister leaves for a one week vacation with her
boyfriend.The heroine has a vey childish nature she allows her id
to take control of heremotions, to conjure monsters from its
heroines Id remains unparralled.Deneuves Carole Ludous lives life
as a frightened mouse, (Vaux,s.d) Vaux seemsto be saying that
Caroles inner child takes control of her emotions and propelsher
fairs into an exaggerated state. This notion could mean that
Caroles innerchild was once abused for her fear of intimacy to take
control of her mind to thepoint that her fears begin to manifest
into reality.
The cracks in the walls increase as she remembers her past the
more she
remembers the more the cracks in the wall begin to appear.
Figure 1. Cracks in the walls.(1965)
Figure 1 shows carol about to switch the light off then a crack
appears in thewall. The crack is a figment of her imagination and
Polanski uses these craks to
express her increasing madness.The louder the cracks become the
more unstableshe is. Using the house as a reflection of her mind
allows the audience tounderstand her and emotional break down
without having any dialogue toexplain this.
The large ceilings and rooms really take you on a journey
through her mind asshe starts to loose a hold of reality they
spaces begin to stretch and crumble andbecome soft at times.
Macintyre explains that the Claustrophobic apartment becomes the
site of gothic horror, the castle, the dungeon, the lonely shack
(Macintyre,s.d) the stretched ceilings creates an eerie empty
feeling, andilluminates Caroles feeling of being alone.
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7/30/2019 Repulsion film review
2/3
The Poster below in figure2 shows Carole in the silhouette of an
arm . The armreminds me of the hands that were groping her in the
hallway.
Figure 2. Repulsion.(1965)
The image is a great reflection of the film the hand also
appears to be a crack ,which reflects on the caroles mind.
The film uses silence and a slow pace to amplify the last scene,
the film seems todrag in certain parts and forces us to wait
patiently as Caroles mind unravels.Biodrowski states that The
visual monotomy is combined with a storyline tha t wears down
rather than amps up. Yet strangely enough , this ultimately works
inrepulsions favou r(Biodrowski,2009) Biodrowski appears to be
saying that making the viewers wait for her to unravel is a great
way to amp up the finalscene where she is found past out under her
bed.
The film uses the house as a way for the viewer to enter Caroles
mind althoughwe never find out about what made Carole mentally
unstable. It feels as thougheverything that she goes through is
built up fear from her childhood, the figurewho repeatedly rapes
her appears to be her father, which explains her fear of intimacy
from all men.
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7/30/2019 Repulsion film review
3/3
Biliography
Biodrowski,S.(2009.Repulsion(1965)-Horror Film Review.
At:http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2009/07/repulsion-1965-horror-film-review/
(Accessed 13.12.12)
Vaux,R(s.d).Repulsion.At:
http://movies.amctv.com/movie/1965/Repulsion (Accessed
13.12.12)
Macintyre,(s.d).Repulsion 1964.
At:http://www.elainemacintyre.net/film_reviews/repulsion.php
(Accessed13.12.12)
Illustration list
Figure 1. Cracks in the walls.(1965).From Repulsion.Directed
by:RomanPolanski. [Film Still]Great
Britain.At:http://tinribs27.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/repulsion6.png
(Accessed13.12.12)
Figure 2. Repulsion.(1965)[Poster].At:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qxgMG1Q2R3M/T7HjBQci_9I/AAAAAAAAA0M/WvhOGGtUW0o/s640/repulsion-repelled-20090503111740215-000.jpg
(Accessed 13.12.12)
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