• Rating:
• Genre: Thriller
• Movie Type: Supernatural Thriller, Black Comedy
• Themes: Driven Insane, Split Personalities
• Director: Roman Polanski
• Main Cast: Roman Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet, Bernard Fresson, Shelley Winters
• Release Year: 1976
• Country: US/FR
• Run Time: 125 minutes

Plot

Director Roman Polanski casts himself in the lead of the psychological thriller The Tenant. Trelkovsky (Polanski) rents an apartment in a spooky old residential building, where his neighbors -- mostly old recluses -- eye him with suspicious contempt. Upon discovering that the apartment's previous tenant, a beautiful young woman, jumped from the window in a suicide attempt, Trelkovsky begins obsessing over the dead woman. Growing increasingly paranoid, Trelkovsky convinces himself that his neighbors plan to kill him. He even comes to the conclusion that Stella (Isabel Adjani), the woman he has fallen in love with, is in on the "plot." Ultimately, Polanski assumes the identity of the suicide victim -- and inherits her self-destructive urges. Some critics found the movie tedious and overdone; others compared it to Polanski's early breakthrough, Repulsion. The film was based on Le Locataire Chimerique, a novel by Roland Topor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Roman Polanski - Trelkovsky
• Isabelle Adjani - Stella
• Melvyn Douglas - Monsieur Zy
• Jo Van Fleet - Madame Dioz
• Bernard Fresson - Scope
• Shelley Winters - Concierge

Lila Kedrova - Gaderian; Rufus - Badar; Claude Dauphin - Man in Car; Folco Jacques Monod - Cafe Owner; Jean-Pierre Bagot - Policeman; Josiane Balasko - Viviane; Michel Blanc - Scope's Neighbor; Florence Blot - Mme. Zy; Romain Bouteille - Simon; Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu - Bar Waiter; Alain Frerot - Beggar; Helena Manson - Head Nurse; Maite Nahyr - Lucille; André Penvern - Cafe Waiter; Claude Piéplu - Neighbor; Serge Spira - Philippe; Gérard Jugnot - Trelkovsky's co-worker; Eva Ionesco - Mme. Gaderian's Daughter; Francois Viaur - Police Sergeant

Credit

Françoise Bonnot - Editor; Gérard Brach - Screenwriter; Andrew Braunsberg - Producer; Marc Grunebaum - First Assistant Director; Pierre Guffroy - Production Designer; Sven Nykvist - Cinematographer; Roman Polanski - Director; Roman Polanski - Screenwriter; Albert Rajau - Art Director; Hubert Rostaing - Musical Direction/Supervision; Philippe Sarde - Composer (Music Score); Alain Sarde - Associate Producer; Eric Simon - Production Designer; Eric Simon - Set Designer; Roland Topor - Book Author; Claude Moesching - Art Director

Similar Movies

Barton Fink; Don't Look Now; Kafka; Repulsion; Rosemary's Baby; The Trial; Il Profumo della Signora in Nero; Stir of Echoes; Common Wealth; 13 Gantry Row; Spider; Secret Window; Rhinoceros Eyes; Freeze Frame; The Machinist; Stay; Shadows and Fog; Blackwoods; 1408