The TenantA man who fails to confront his fears becomes a victim of them. The Tenant is a psychological thriller by Roman Polanski, who stars as Trelkovsky, the eponymous new tenant of an ominous apartment building in Paris, who moves in after the prior lodger--an Egyptologist named Simone Choule--committed suicide. As Trelkovsky settles into his new home, he perceives that some of the other residents and the landlord, Monsieur Zy (Melvyn Douglas), begrudge his presence, as though he were more of a nuisance than a neighbor. Trelkovsky gradually becomes convinced that he is the victim of an elaborate conspiracy to make him kill himself in the same fashion as Simone.
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Trelkovsky is a soft-spoken man who appears a bit shy and submissive--the kind of guy who people like the grumpy concierge (Shelley Winters) treat with disdain and brusqueness because they can get away with it. Trelkovsky is a French citizen, and even has a French accent, but because his name sounds "foreign", he is treated like a foreigner by almost everyone he meets. He is prone to a few white lies here and there, like when he claims that he was informed about the apartment's availability by the not-yet-dead Simone, or when he goes to visit her at the hospital and claims that he is a "friend", when he has never met her before. This is a far cry from who he becomes by the end of The Tenant--frantically clawing his way across the lobby floor, covered in blood, envisioning the sneers and ghoulish countenances of his neighbors while dressed in drag. The question becomes how Trelkovsky arrived at this point--whether it was as a result of the cruelties inflicted upon him by others, or because of a mental breakdown compounded by a persecution complex. The Tenant is included with Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby is what is called Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy", named for being set in environments conducive to fostering feelings of claustrophobic paranoia. Trelkovsky shares similarities with the protagonist of Repulsion, Carol; there is evidence that Trelkovsky is mentally ill, although whether he was prior to occupying the late Simone's apartment is left ambiguous. Virtually nothing is known of Trelkovsky's past, save that his name is Polish; the way he declares that he is a French citizen implies that he became one and was not born one, although this could be merely the result of his nervous way of expressing himself. Although the film is set in France, most of the actors occupying the apartment building are American, and many other actors speak in an American accent. From the point of view of an American audience, this makes it seem that Trelkovsky is the only one with an accent. This deliberate casting choice emphasizes Trelkovsky's feelings of alienation that contribute to his nervous breakdown.
There is something ghoulish about the way that Trelkovsky chases Simone's apartment while she has a foot in the grave. It's also suspicious that he claims that he heard about it from a "friend" or "relation", when that person is never spoken of again; it is more likely he read about it in the paper. Why would Trelkovsky misrepresent this detail, or so many others? It's possible that he has a compulsive need to lie to make himself appear more likable to other people, like Simone's lovely friend, Stella (Isabelle Adjani), who he meets by Simone's bedside. Aside from his fondness for Gauloises cigarettes, the only other detail known about Trelkovsky is that he works for some kind of urban development branch of the government, although what he does there is not important. As unfriendly and even hostile as his neighbors seem, his "friends" and co-workers aren't much better, including one brutish lout who is too lazy to walk to the apartment's toilet--located inconveniently on the other side of the building--and micturates in his sink during a party instead. Regardless of however milquetoast Trelkovsky may be about his vindictive neighbors, it seems unconscionable that he would permit this treatment from a friend, or even tolerate the abuses that the jerk showers onto his own neighbor when Trelkovsky drops by his apartment. The Tenant is often described as "Kafkaesque" in its oppressive and conspiratorial undercurrent. Because of Trelkovsky's latent mental instability, his objectivity is unreliable. This becomes evident when he hallucinates vivid encounters like one of his neighbors strangling him, or gloved hands clawing at his window, and many more nightmarish visions. This implies that moments where characters like the concierge or Monsieur Zy treat him cruelly are really just his interpretation of what happened. Polanski is subverting one of the commonly accepted conceits in film--that the events depicted by the camera are objective unless directly identified as unreliable. Polanski removes this cinematic safety net to engender sympathy for Trelkovsky and make the revelation that he is crazy a more gradual one.
That Trelkovsky may be crazy doesn't discount the possibility that there is some other force working against him. There are details that suggest that Trelkovsky might be the victim of a curse by the late Simone Choule--a kind of revenge for looming over her like a vulture in her final moments, waiting to snatch up her succulent walk-up. When he and Stella are looking over the bandage-encrusted Simone, she lets out a piercing scream; even more bizarre events begin to happen to Trelkovsky afterwards. Simone resembles the kinds of mummies that she studied as an Egyptologist, and this outburst represents the "curse" she puts on Trelkovsky, causing him to gradually "become" her. Simone has left "treasures" behind in her tomb-like apartment, ranging from dresses and makeup to one of her missing teeth wrapped in cotton and hidden in a hole in the wall--a dismembered body part recalling a canopic jar. Simone was a regular at a local cafe, and when Trelkovsky first visits, he happens to sit in the same seat she used to occupy. The owner comments that she always used to order hot chocolate and smoked only Marlboros, and proceeds to serve Trelkovsky hot chocolate--despite his preference for coffee--and eventually Simone's preferred brand of cigarettes, too. Trelkovsky sees people staring at the walls of the bathroom across from his window for hours at a time. When he finally visits the bathroom--physiological impracticalities aside--the walls are all decorated in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Trelkovsky believes that because of his refusal to take sides in a petty tenant petition, that he is being targeted by Monsieur Zy and the others out of retaliation, and that the form of their vengeance is to convince him to kill himself, like Simone before him. Despite being convinced of this unlikely conspiracy, he takes to dressing himself as Simone. It could be that part of this comes from being overwhelmingly bored--he is not allowed to turn up his music or have friends over, and his TV was stolen when his apartment was burgled. But it is more likely that he does this to reinforce his delusions about the conspiracy, even going so far as to buy his own wig to complete the costume. Trelkovsky is "cursed" with guilt since he found an apartment when--if Monsieur Zy is to be believed--it is notoriously hard to do so in the city, heightened by the circumstances under which he obtained it. Trelkovsky seems to be subconsciously trying to sabotage his own happiness, finding fault and discomfort in his new home, and constantly envying the living conditions of virtually everyone else he encounters. The Tenant often banks toward dark comedy; consider when Trelkovsky has to retreat from his own apartment by paying to rent out a smaller, shoddier one elsewhere. The climax of The Tenant is borderline satire when Trelkovsky reenacts Simone's suicide attempt not once but twice. If it is to be believed that Simone has "cursed" Trelkovsky, it is to make him feel empathy with the horrors she endured--even if he just had the bad fortune to bear the brunt of her anger. This interpretation also supports the final, cryptic scene and the ironic fate of the unfortunate Trelkovsky.
Recommended for: Fans of a psychological thriller that is deliberately ambiguous as to whether the conspiracy is all in Trelkovsky's head or is for real, courtesy of an unreliable protagonist. Although marketed as a horror film, The Tenant is better viewed as an absurd and surreal drama that carries a wicked sense of humor--especially for those who've always felt their landlord is out to get them.
There is something ghoulish about the way that Trelkovsky chases Simone's apartment while she has a foot in the grave. It's also suspicious that he claims that he heard about it from a "friend" or "relation", when that person is never spoken of again; it is more likely he read about it in the paper. Why would Trelkovsky misrepresent this detail, or so many others? It's possible that he has a compulsive need to lie to make himself appear more likable to other people, like Simone's lovely friend, Stella (Isabelle Adjani), who he meets by Simone's bedside. Aside from his fondness for Gauloises cigarettes, the only other detail known about Trelkovsky is that he works for some kind of urban development branch of the government, although what he does there is not important. As unfriendly and even hostile as his neighbors seem, his "friends" and co-workers aren't much better, including one brutish lout who is too lazy to walk to the apartment's toilet--located inconveniently on the other side of the building--and micturates in his sink during a party instead. Regardless of however milquetoast Trelkovsky may be about his vindictive neighbors, it seems unconscionable that he would permit this treatment from a friend, or even tolerate the abuses that the jerk showers onto his own neighbor when Trelkovsky drops by his apartment. The Tenant is often described as "Kafkaesque" in its oppressive and conspiratorial undercurrent. Because of Trelkovsky's latent mental instability, his objectivity is unreliable. This becomes evident when he hallucinates vivid encounters like one of his neighbors strangling him, or gloved hands clawing at his window, and many more nightmarish visions. This implies that moments where characters like the concierge or Monsieur Zy treat him cruelly are really just his interpretation of what happened. Polanski is subverting one of the commonly accepted conceits in film--that the events depicted by the camera are objective unless directly identified as unreliable. Polanski removes this cinematic safety net to engender sympathy for Trelkovsky and make the revelation that he is crazy a more gradual one.
That Trelkovsky may be crazy doesn't discount the possibility that there is some other force working against him. There are details that suggest that Trelkovsky might be the victim of a curse by the late Simone Choule--a kind of revenge for looming over her like a vulture in her final moments, waiting to snatch up her succulent walk-up. When he and Stella are looking over the bandage-encrusted Simone, she lets out a piercing scream; even more bizarre events begin to happen to Trelkovsky afterwards. Simone resembles the kinds of mummies that she studied as an Egyptologist, and this outburst represents the "curse" she puts on Trelkovsky, causing him to gradually "become" her. Simone has left "treasures" behind in her tomb-like apartment, ranging from dresses and makeup to one of her missing teeth wrapped in cotton and hidden in a hole in the wall--a dismembered body part recalling a canopic jar. Simone was a regular at a local cafe, and when Trelkovsky first visits, he happens to sit in the same seat she used to occupy. The owner comments that she always used to order hot chocolate and smoked only Marlboros, and proceeds to serve Trelkovsky hot chocolate--despite his preference for coffee--and eventually Simone's preferred brand of cigarettes, too. Trelkovsky sees people staring at the walls of the bathroom across from his window for hours at a time. When he finally visits the bathroom--physiological impracticalities aside--the walls are all decorated in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Trelkovsky believes that because of his refusal to take sides in a petty tenant petition, that he is being targeted by Monsieur Zy and the others out of retaliation, and that the form of their vengeance is to convince him to kill himself, like Simone before him. Despite being convinced of this unlikely conspiracy, he takes to dressing himself as Simone. It could be that part of this comes from being overwhelmingly bored--he is not allowed to turn up his music or have friends over, and his TV was stolen when his apartment was burgled. But it is more likely that he does this to reinforce his delusions about the conspiracy, even going so far as to buy his own wig to complete the costume. Trelkovsky is "cursed" with guilt since he found an apartment when--if Monsieur Zy is to be believed--it is notoriously hard to do so in the city, heightened by the circumstances under which he obtained it. Trelkovsky seems to be subconsciously trying to sabotage his own happiness, finding fault and discomfort in his new home, and constantly envying the living conditions of virtually everyone else he encounters. The Tenant often banks toward dark comedy; consider when Trelkovsky has to retreat from his own apartment by paying to rent out a smaller, shoddier one elsewhere. The climax of The Tenant is borderline satire when Trelkovsky reenacts Simone's suicide attempt not once but twice. If it is to be believed that Simone has "cursed" Trelkovsky, it is to make him feel empathy with the horrors she endured--even if he just had the bad fortune to bear the brunt of her anger. This interpretation also supports the final, cryptic scene and the ironic fate of the unfortunate Trelkovsky.
Recommended for: Fans of a psychological thriller that is deliberately ambiguous as to whether the conspiracy is all in Trelkovsky's head or is for real, courtesy of an unreliable protagonist. Although marketed as a horror film, The Tenant is better viewed as an absurd and surreal drama that carries a wicked sense of humor--especially for those who've always felt their landlord is out to get them.