The Tenant (1976)

I recently saw previews for a new film, the Ghost Writer, by Roman Polanski. It looks good and despite all his bad press in recent months, I wanted to see one of his older films. Of course, we all know about the creepy 1968 film, Rosemary's Baby. The Tenant is another psychological thriller, starring Polansky as Trelkowski, a quiet young man who rents an apartment somewhere in France and soon discovers that the previous occupant was a woman named Simone, who had flung herself out the window and was dying in the hospital. He actually goes to visit her and some kind of exchange of energy occurs that kills her and begins to unsettle his calm world. Complaints from neighbors and strange occurances begin to mount up. He becomes involved with a girlfriend (Isabelle Adjani) as he begins having a mental breakdown. That leads him to dressing up as the deceased Simone and lots of other crazy behaviors follow. I had to laugh when I received an email from my landlord the day after watching this bizarre film listing me along with a slew of other people. Beside my name was the word "tenant." Yes, anyone who has lived alone in old buildings knows how these places can rattle one's wellbeing at times. The occasional psycho thriller is enjoyable in a weird way.