just watch it!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

"The Tenant" focuses on Trelkovsky, a young European who moves into a crumbling apartment building in Paris where the former tenant, an Egyptologist, committed suicide by leaping out of the window and through a pane of glass. Trelkovsky finds himself pestered by the other tenants, as well as both his landlord and the concierge (Melvyn Douglas; Shelley Winters), but most bothersome is the inexplicable occurrences in the building—items disappearing in a matter of seconds; his neighbors standing motionless in the windows of the communal bath house for hours on end; and moreover, the subtle and bizarre changes to his personality.Decried by many critics upon its release but heralded as a cult film and final installment in Roman Polanski's "Apartment Trilogy," "The Tenant" is one of the weirder offerings from the auteur. One major difference is that Polanski stars and directs, which allows him a double-edge that the previous films of the trilogy ("Rosemary's Baby," "Repulsion") did not allow.As with the former two films, "The Tenant" is a slow and cerebral offering that ramps up the nightmarish qualities almost to the point that they border on surrealism, though it never quite reaches that extreme. The almost-surrealism of the film is unexpectedly unnerving and, though not nearly as claustrophobic as its precedents, the film is considerably more bizarre. The dynamics of the characters are odd from the get-go: the disaffected landlord listens to Trelkovsky practically beg for the near-derelict apartment. The same day, Trelkovsky discovers the story of Simone, the former tenant who attempted suicide in the apartment. He goes to visit her in the hospital, where he meets her eccentric friend (Isabelle Adjani); Simone dies in front of them, though the extent to which this registers with them (particularly Trelkovsky) is vague. After they leave the hospital, the two go see a Bruce Lee movie at the cinema. Many have remarked the Kafkaesque qualities of the film, and it's a valid observation. There is a distinct meeting of the arbitrary with the absurd, an element that seems to be embedded within "The Tenant," and the visual components that carry it along are striking and at times downright chilling. Polanski is memorable in the lead role, while Melvyn Douglas and Shelley Winters have unexpected turns as the disaffected owner/cold concierge of the apartment building. Adjani's character is wacky and more or less peripheral, but her scenes are great.The film's conclusion is fittingly ambiguous and frankly expected given how deep Polanski whisks his audience down the rabbit hole with the film. It is perhaps as frustrating as it is thought-provoking, and is far more equivocal than "Repulsion" or "Rosemary's Baby," both of which left more perceivable breadcrumbs. More than anything, though, the visual qualities of the film are what I found to be most striking (and most terrifying). It is, on multiple occasions, the film equivalent of a portrait of a nightmare, and for that, it is a true gem. 9/10.

You know that sinking feeling of dread you experience in nightmare before you realise it was all a dream? Until then, everything is very real, and truly horrid.Well, prepare to enter that nightmare state of mind. You will never escape, no matter how many times you tell yourself it isn't real.The nightmare will follow its own logic and torture you with its inventive and hurtful twists and turns, much like the protagonist whose fate is not only inescapable, it is inflicted with almost sadistic delight, a sort of death by a thousand cuts.I can't put words on the existential angst this masterpiece has provoked in me.I thought I'd seen everything, and I've read Kafka.This is several levels above. I can't stop listening to the haunting soundtrack which is like an anchor - every time I play it, I'm drawn back into the nightmare.

Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" is a real Tour De Force in it's portrayal of dangerous paranoia. It mixes themes so prevalent in the directors filmography past and present. Presenting a Paris apartment that's every bit as threatening as the one in Repulsion. Nasty neighbors seemingly just as demonic as those in Rosemary's Baby and the theme of identity switching as shown in Cul-De-Sac.A bureaucrat office worker Trelkovsky (Roman Polanski) moves into a Paris apartment to replace the previous tenant Simone Choule who apparently attempted suicide by jumping out of the window. Trelkovsky then either is a victim to subtle bullying or succumbs to extreme paranoia.Polanski casts himself in the main role suggesting this might be his most personal film in terms of the themes of being an outsider even though he is a citizen and constantly denying he is a foreigner. Polanski might not be the greatest actor but he certainly has presence in the form of the meek Tenant coming into his own as the film opens up. Seemingly the roles reversed of his real persona. Isabelle Adjani cast alongside him is as always stunning to watch.The use of sound is also used effectively and only adds to eeriness of the atmosphere and enhances the claustrophobic feel that engulfs the whole film. From the ambient sounds of the Paris setting to the creaking doors and floorboards, creaking pipes coming from the taps all inside the building.Filled with strange but wonderfully crafted scenes, a haunted bathroom where the inhabitants seem to stand there motionless staring back out increasing Trelkovsky descent into madness. Hallucinations of a bouncing human head outside his window is just plain creepy it's up there with some of the best spine tingling scenes in horror classics.The Tenant is a disturbing portrayal of dangerous paranoia . Poignant in its approach and full of Polanski's favorite most oppressive themes.

'The Tenant' is a thriller directed by Roman Polanski which came out in 1976 and it is the 3rd and final film in his unofficial 'Apartments Trilogy'. A man named Trelkovsky moves into a new apartment in which the previous resident had committed suicide. He constantly gets told off by the owner and other neighbours for being too noisy. These constant restrictions and a sense of alienation and guilt breaks him and leads him to a state of manic paranoia.Let me just start this review by saying that this film just didn't work for me. I felt extremely disengaged and never did I ever find myself caring for the protagonist and believing his plight. There are many reasons for this. Let's discuss them one by one : 1. The script and the screenplay is very poorly written. The first 2 films in the 'Apartment Trilogy' namely 'Repulsion' and 'Rosemary's Baby' work brilliantly because the scripts in those films are far more craftily written where you find yourself caring for the characters. There are very rich subtexts to the paranoia suffered by the characters like sexual abuse/repression, social change and religion, etc. Many people will say there are themes at work in 'The Tenant' too like isolation, guilt, self-identity,etc. But I just didn't find myself interested at all due to the lack of believable aspects of the storyline. I haven't read the original novel that it is based on, but the storyline in the film didn't seem convincing at all. There is a relationship that builds between the protagonist Trelkovsky and a female character in the film which felt very awkward. The whole paranoia aspect which was so spectacularly done by Polanski in 'Repulsion' and 'Rosemary's Baby', just falls flat here and almost laughably so. The build to the ultimate payoff of the last 30 minutes is extremely underdeveloped and unconvincing and the movie failed to make me buy the fact that someone could actually get engulfed by paranoia and go mad for the reasons that are shown here. It all happens in a very sudden and rushed way. The climactic set piece is also very dumb.2. Roman Polanski is a great director, but acting is not his cup of tea. He completely fails to properly and convincingly portray this character Trelkovsky. He just doesn't have an on-screen presence and the subtlety to pull off a character who is slipping into a state of madness. The performances from the other actors also aren't anything remarkable.3. The sound mixing for this film is terrible. This film was shot in many different languages and in some of the scenes the overdubbing in English is extremely jarring and I was put off by the grotesque quality of the dubbing.There are a few set-pieces that work and which are actually creepy and the camera work in certain scenes is good, but apart from that I have nothing positive to say about this film.'The Tenant' is one of my least favourite Roman Polanski films. The paranoia and the descent into madness of the protagonist is not convincing at all. The characters are all very uninteresting. The themes don't have any impact on the viewer due to the sloppy nature in which they are treated in the screenplay. This was a hugely disappointing way to cap off the 'Apartment Trilogy'.