The Tenant (1976)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Bob S

  
  I think I know what happened. But I'm not sure. Opening shots of apartment windows are amazing.

• Chris W

  
  Let's just say that the rating is somewhere between 3.5-4, and that the grade is around a strong B to a B+. Part of Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy", this is a surreal psychological horror/suspense thriller about a timid and quiet file clerk named Trelkovsky whose… More
  Let's just say that the rating is somewhere between 3.5-4, and that the grade is around a strong B to a B+. Part of Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy", this is a surreal psychological horror/suspense thriller about a timid and quiet file clerk named Trelkovsky whose life starts to go downhill after moving into a new apartment. He is told that the previous tenant went mad and took a swan dive out a window. Trelkovsky himself starts to feel that his neighbors all have something against him and are trying to get him to follow the same path taken by the previous tenant. Is this really the truth though, or is it all just in his head? The set up is great, and I love how Polanski plays with ambiguity here, all the way through. It's also funny how he plays the lead role, but isn't even listed in the credits, something that is both odd and cool. This is a psychological horror/suspense thriller, but it is also rather funny at times, albeit the comedy is of the really dark variety. Like I said, I love the set up, but the film isn't perfect. The biggest issue is that it is just way too drawn out. I really don't think it needed to be 125 minutes long. It could have been way condensed. However, haviing a long running time does allow for a tremendous amount of mood, tone, and atmosphere to be really expanded upon, even if it does start to become a tad much. The cast is international, and they are all great. Polanski does a great job in the lead, and it is a shame he really doesn't act too much. He's pretty talented in this department. Isabelle Adjani is great with her frilly hair and oh so 70s glasses, but probably my favorite is Shelley Winters as the concierge. She's a hoot. All in all, a mostly pretty satisfying film. The soundtrack is nice, the cinematography top notch, and the storyline wonderfully Kafkaesque. Give this one a shot.

• Anthony L

  
  Roman Polanski makes a good point on over population and the role of the neighbour/community. It's hard to describe really, to call it a physiological thriller seems a bit lazy and reading the synopsis makes it sound a bit rubbish. It's an interesting idea though, full of… More
  Roman Polanski makes a good point on over population and the role of the neighbour/community. It's hard to describe really, to call it a physiological thriller seems a bit lazy and reading the synopsis makes it sound a bit rubbish. It's an interesting idea though, full of terror and intrigue. I like the idea of putting schizophrenia on a loop, I guess that's what it's actually like in a way. How's that for bit of pop psychology!

• AJ V

  
  My favourite Polanski movie of all! He stars in it as well, and he's so cute! The story is really strange and suspenseful. I love it, and I highly recommend it.

• Robert C

  
  Probably my least favorite of the Polanski "Apartment Trilogies", but certaily not without merit. I have to say that (for the most part) my first impression of the film was one of confusion, to spite the great performaces of the cast. But it is one of those films that… More
  Probably my least favorite of the Polanski "Apartment Trilogies", but certaily not without merit. I have to say that (for the most part) my first impression of the film was one of confusion, to spite the great performaces of the cast. But it is one of those films that you may have to spend a little time thinking about, to really appreciate just how good it really is. Definately worth seeing for fans of the genre and another fine example of just how talented Polanski is.

• Conner R

  
  An extremely underrated Roman Polanski film and actually one of his most well done thrillers. It combines a lot of the elements from Repulsion and Rosemaryâ??s Baby, but has a very original way of consistently going in bizarre and unexpected directions. Roman Polanski does a great job… More
  An extremely underrated Roman Polanski film and actually one of his most well done thrillers. It combines a lot of the elements from Repulsion and Rosemaryâ??s Baby, but has a very original way of consistently going in bizarre and unexpected directions. Roman Polanski does a great job of acting as well, he really plays a great character that anyone can relate to in the beginning. However, he elegantly turns into a monster throughout the film, almost becoming unrecognizable at the end. His visual style is flawless here and incredibly disturbing in a lot of ways. It will make anyone living alone feel very creeped out.

• Stella D

  
  a man is driven insane by his evil apartment? perhaps the egyptology angle is worth considering. i'll have to think on it some more. ranges from black comedy to really fucked up psychological horror. some bad dubbing and adjani is terrible but the overall effect is pretty… More
  a man is driven insane by his evil apartment? perhaps the egyptology angle is worth considering. i'll have to think on it some more. ranges from black comedy to really fucked up psychological horror. some bad dubbing and adjani is terrible but the overall effect is pretty brutal

• El Hombre I

  
  Much like Rosemary's Baby, The Tenant deals with the dark side of apartment life where the maincharacter, Trelkovsky, played by Polanski himself, moves into a apartment complex and begins to suspect there is a plot to get rid of him. There is a steady sense of dread within the… More
  Much like Rosemary's Baby, The Tenant deals with the dark side of apartment life where the maincharacter, Trelkovsky, played by Polanski himself, moves into a apartment complex and begins to suspect there is a plot to get rid of him. There is a steady sense of dread within the suffocating walls of Trelkovsky's apartment that, as the film progresses, follows him out into the streets, cafes, and bars of Paris. The Tenant is a very bizarre film that borders on dark comedy at times, especially during the film's final act. It's a fantastic "No fucking way!" kinda film, even with its' weakest point being Adjani. Overall, it's very cool to see how Polanski progresses as a filmmaker from Repulsion to Rosemary's Baby to Chinatown to The Tenant, with some others in between. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=thetenant.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/thetenant.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Lady D

  
  The biggest problem with this film, is that it is incredibly drawn out, however, it?s storyline is captivating and Polanski plays a great main role as well as Directing this piece, plus all the characters have been very well developed. The story evolves well into a world of… More
  The biggest problem with this film, is that it is incredibly drawn out, however, it?s storyline is captivating and Polanski plays a great main role as well as Directing this piece, plus all the characters have been very well developed. The story evolves well into a world of conspiracy and paranoia, this was conveyed well from the build up of the story. There were a few badly dubbed scenes, but despite it?s drawn out length, this is a film to be remembered.

• Drew S

  
  The Tenant isn't a bad movie by any means, but my biggest problem with it is that Polanski is just not an actor. I had a lot of trouble taking it seriously because he was both inexpressive and prone to making really bizarre faces and noises. Further, it felt talky to no real… More
  The Tenant isn't a bad movie by any means, but my biggest problem with it is that Polanski is just not an actor. I had a lot of trouble taking it seriously because he was both inexpressive and prone to making really bizarre faces and noises. Further, it felt talky to no real effect, as if he didn't understand what needed to be abridged. That's fine for neo-realist film but this is supposed to be a dark, atmospheric piece - cut out the fat, dude. There are some vaguely creepy sections and the movie is more interesting than not. As far as Polanski's efforts in the "apartment living sucks" genre, though, Rosemary's Baby was miles better. There, Mia Farrow was playing both a character and a concept, rather than just a stand-in for insanity like Polanski is acting like here.

• Ken S

  
  SOOOOO CREEPY...oh my god I saw this 2 years ago and I'm still having nightmares

• Stephen M

  
  The third and least acclaimed part of Polanski's 'Apartment Trilogy', which was preceded by "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby", is still a great movie loaded with creepy, haunting imagery. Although, inevitably, Polanski was accused of repeating… More
  The third and least acclaimed part of Polanski's 'Apartment Trilogy', which was preceded by "Repulsion" and "Rosemary's Baby", is still a great movie loaded with creepy, haunting imagery. Although, inevitably, Polanski was accused of repeating himself with "The Tenant" it's actually quite different from the earlier films. For one thing, it's a black comedy rather than a straightforward psychological horror. The plot is wonderfully cyclical, fairly obscure in meaning, but not irritatingly so as with, for example, "The Ninth Gate". Ingmar Bergman's great cameraman Sven Nykvist's photography is superb and the film is only let down by some poorly re-recorded dialogue; excepting Polanski, Melvyn Douglas and Shelley Winters, nearly all of the vocal parts are dubbed.

• Pierluigi P

  
  Polanski finishes the apartment dwelling trilogy with a unique, strange and captivating film loathed by critics back on its release. it goes from a regular, existential black comedy unrelentingly transmuting itself into a paranoid, atmospheric journey of macabre visions and insanity.

• Lafe F

  
  Whoah! This movie is great at creating un-easiness and paranoia. In the vein of "Rosemary's Baby", a man moves into an apartment building in Paris and slowly goes insane. Neighbours become suspicious. The scene when he's looking out the bathroom window to the… More
  Whoah! This movie is great at creating un-easiness and paranoia. In the vein of "Rosemary's Baby", a man moves into an apartment building in Paris and slowly goes insane. Neighbours become suspicious. The scene when he's looking out the bathroom window to the building across the way freaked me out. The plot builds tension throughout, to an unforgettable climax.

• Mike T

  
  A compelling, albeit mildly flawed descent into madness. Polanski makes a strong mark on this project as a visual director, and his work as an actor is respectable as well. The film's lack of convention worked in its favor, as far as I'm concerned. The shoddy dubbing in some… More
  A compelling, albeit mildly flawed descent into madness. Polanski makes a strong mark on this project as a visual director, and his work as an actor is respectable as well. The film's lack of convention worked in its favor, as far as I'm concerned. The shoddy dubbing in some scenes was irritating, and at times the experimentation falters, but for the most part it's an intriguing and suspenseful piece.

• John M

  
  "The Tenant" may not be for everyone, those interested in psychological horror and surreal story lines will be pleased by the experience. "Le Locataire"

• Stefan P

  
  Polanski didn't manage to recreate the same creepy atmosphere as in his masterpiece Rosemary's Baby. The Tenant is still suspenseful and interesting, but gets a bit too slow and weird for my taste. Either way, Polanski really proved to me that he is not only a terrific… More
  Polanski didn't manage to recreate the same creepy atmosphere as in his masterpiece Rosemary's Baby. The Tenant is still suspenseful and interesting, but gets a bit too slow and weird for my taste. Either way, Polanski really proved to me that he is not only a terrific director, but also a very good actor. I will definitely check out his other films.

• Marion R

  
  Starts off really creepy and weird. Yet towards the end of the film I felt it lost steam and I was pulled out of the picture.

• alan j

  
  nice atmosphere, sort of rosemary's baby part 2 though..similar setting..not sure roman was right actor as it requires some heavy duty acting....thought the ending was a bit too absud and laughable..ruined the tension and mood at the end..isabelle adjani does a nice job in her… More
  nice atmosphere, sort of rosemary's baby part 2 though..similar setting..not sure roman was right actor as it requires some heavy duty acting....thought the ending was a bit too absud and laughable..ruined the tension and mood at the end..isabelle adjani does a nice job in her limited role..has some eerie moments that you wont soon forget....overall im mixed about this one....slow pacing and inconsistent..but worth a watch

• Tom S

  
  It's pretty much a sequel to Repulsion, but still very good.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings