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The Apartment Trilogy is a set of three films directed by Roman Polański with a leitmotiv in the form of heroes' neurosis and alienation as well as claustrophobic architecture. This cinematographic loose triptych, consisting of Repulsion (1965), Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Tenant (1976), is the essence of intellectually stimulating horrors. The foregoing classification was created by cinemagoers as a result of a comprehensive interpretation.

Repulsion

Repulsion is a 1965 British psychological horror film showing the phantasmal every-day reality of a Belgian manicurist who is left alone by her vacationing sister at their apartment. The film director aims to invoke a thoroughly anxious atmosphere in Carol’s flat through infinitesimal variations in lighting and framing. Feeling solitary and threatened, she begins progressively sensing the mystery of her past. Escalating hallucinations lead the woman to protect her sexual autonomy in every possible manner. As a result, Repulsion becomes a portrait of a female killer. The movie vaguely suggests that the reason for Carol’s depression and neuroses may be the fact that heroine’s father sexually abused her as a child. ^[1]Carol refuses to undergo a transformation to expected adult feminity, desperately clinging to neuter, childish identity. It may constitute a cinematic reaction to the process of degrading a woman to the role of a sexual object within ’swinging sixties' London. ^[2]

Rosemary's baby

Rosemary’s baby is a 1968 American film based on the 1967 novel of the same title by Ira Levin. ^[3] The plot concentrates on a terribly passive pregnant woman who revealed that her husband may have made a pact with their strongly interfering neighbors. As no-one reacts to Rosemary’s feeling lethargic and apathetic, she starts doubting in the good intensions of her loved ones. Trying to investigate, she enters into the inner circle of occult rituals, Satanism and black magic. The film artfully combines realistic shots of dynamic and bustling New York City with emaciated Rosemary and her ominous fears. The denouement provides the transformation of sacrified institution of childbirth into the apocalyptic vision of a fiendish domination. Thereby, the director makes his concern about Post- Second World War reality explicit: the illusory presence of God and tangible signs of Satanic interference. ^[4]

The Tenant

The Tenant is a 1976 French film with a man taking center stage (Trelkovsky played by Roman Polański himself) based on the 1964 novel Le locataire chimérique by Roland Topor. ^[5] Trelkovsky, who is the classical example of every non-charismatic man, rents a flat in an abysmal neighbourhood. Upon discovering that the apartment's previous tenant commited suicide jumping from the window, the main character begins obsessing over the dead woman. Growing increasingly paranoid, he convinces himself that the neighbors plan to kill him. At the same time, he experiments with transgendered fashion and half-consciously manifests his feminine side. Trelkovsky’s suicide attempt is considerd to be the most painfully prolonged and the least dignified death scene in the whole of cinematography. ^[6]

The interpretation

In all these films main characters rarely and apprehensively leave apartments. They are secluded from society (Carol and Rosemary) or live in the vicinity of hostile neighbours (Trelkovsky). At the same time, heros' private space is firmly invaded by suitors, family members or other residents.

The viewer is diligently familiarized with the flats' topography as the camera slowly moves around rooms and furnishings. This spatial penetration interacts with narrative discipline and intensifies the sense of confinement. Polanski strengthens the perception of a distorted home through the vigour of the visuals. Reflections, shadows, acute close-ups and optical delusions are shown to create a literal deconstruction of the idyllic image of a home. ^[7] Characters are suspicious of being observed and talked about. They constantly hear muffled voices coming from the walls. To indicate the variable and elusive reality, Polański does not try to explain what happens inside and outside of the minds of main characters.

Polański also manipulates sound to obscure the distinction between fantasy and reality. The ticking of a clock is heard throughout Repulsion. The distorted sound of the clock is repeated in Rosemary’s Baby, but the amplified volume may suggest links with the woman's internal turmoil. ^[8]

Carol, being at the end of her tether, barricades a door and cuts a phone line to finally dissociate herself from the world. Rosemary is practically detained in the apartment as she has to be constantly manipulated and isolated from external sources of information. Trelkovsky falls prey to break-in and loses all his personal belongings. Then, the apartment becomes the sole basis of his identity.

Paradoxically, all the films end with crowd scenes, but there are only about overly curious eyes of neighbours and strangers and do not constitute any reconcilliation with society. Polański’s fervent refusal to provide satisfaction in his films is not an abstract concept, but a thoughful statement in a wider theoretical discourse.

The Apartment Trilogy is also called a tale of three cities moving the story of urban psychosis from London (Repulsion) and New York (Rosemary’s baby) to a third major metropolis New York (The Tenant). ^[9]

The Trilogy's reception

At the 15th Berlin International Film Festival Repulsion won the FIPRESCI Prize and the Silver Berlin Bear-Extraordinary Jury Prize. ^[10] Being critically acclaimed, it paved the way for Polanski's international career. Rosemary’s baby was a box-office hit and established the director's reputation as an influential commercial filmmaker. Polanski’s screenplay adaptation earned him a second Academy Award nomination. However, some critics were lukewarm, pointing out that: „the movie—although it is pleasant—doesn't quite work on any of its dark or powerful terms”. ^[11] The Tenant was poorly received on its release. According to the review: "As a film by Polanski, it's unspeakably disappointing". Now, it is clasiified as a cult horror, in which the originator most artfully utilized his talent. ^[12]

References

[1] David Bordwell, Noel Carroll (1996). Post-Theory: Reconstructing Film Studies. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 213–214.

[2] McDonald, Tamar (2010). Virgin Territory: Representing Sexual Inexperience in Film. Wayne State University Press. pp. 145–152.

[3] Thurber, Jon (14 November 2007). Ira Levin, 78; his novels include 'Rosemary's Baby,' 'Stepford Wives. Los Angeles Times.

[4] Tom McCormack (9 September 2011) Roman Polański's Apartment Trilogy at Moma.

[5] Vincent Canby (21 June 1976). The Tenant. The New York Times.

[6] Wojtas, Michael (31 October 2013). The keys to Polanski's apartment trilogy and Rosemary's Baby. Impose Magazine.

[7] Nick Yarborough. On Polanski's Apartment Trilogy. Retrieved 10 January 2015.

[8] Devon Supeene. Fear of the Other: The Horror Genre in Polanski's Repulsion, The Tenant and Rosemary's Baby. Retrieved 18 January 2015.

[9] Davide Caputo (2012) Polanski and Perception: The Psychology of Seeing and the Cinema of Roman Polanski. Intellect Books, pp.147.

[10] Berlinale 1965: Prize Winners. berlinale.de. Retrieved 2015-02-13.

[11] Renata Adler (13 June 1968) Rosemary's baby. The New York Times.

[12] Roger Ebert (27 September 1976). Repulsion Reviews.

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