I can't in all honesty tell you if this is supposed to be a comedy or a thriller or a psychological character drama. It has elements of them all but is neither one nor the other. I liked it a hell of a lot. But I don't think I quite got it. Whatever misgivings I have about Polanski the man- and I genuinely don't have an informed opinion, just concerns- he is an artist when it comes to film-making. If I was pushed to name the single best film I have ever seen I'd choose Polanski's Chinatown because it has everything that it possibly could have. Well this isn't a film of that calibre by any means, but it is a marker on the road to it. Filmed in sharp monochrome in an isolated Northumbrian castle the visuals are stunning (the DoP was Gilbert Taylor who had done Dr Strangelove and Ice Cold in Alex and would go on to do Flash Gordon, Star Wars and The Omen (1976)).
The main characters are retired businessman George (Donald Pleasance), his younger restless French wife Teresa (Françoise Dorléac) and a criminal intruder Richard (Lionel Stander- Max the gruff-voiced old guy from the titles of Hart to Hart) and much of the strength of the film stems from their interdependence and mutual loathing. George and Teresa are clearly unsuited, she appears to be conducting an affair with a neighbour which he condones for fear that confrontation may mean the loss of her. They are bored of one another and appear bored of their life of isolation- hence the scene where Teresa dresses and makes up George as a girl. Richard enters their lives as one of two wounded criminals seeking refuge. They arrive in a presumably stolen driving instructor's car (this is never explained and it's these little details that make the film so interesting) and are soon cut off from leaving by the incoming tide. Richard's partner Albie dies and the dynamics of the film changes- Richard buries him without a flicker of remorse and then we see the three relationships build (or in the case of the married couple disintegrate), learning more about them by from what they don't say than what they do. The focus of all three's attention is the due arrival of criminal boss Katelbach, by the standard theatrical device of concentrating upon someone that the audience hasn't seen Cul-de-sac eases up the tension a little.
The tension is broken when some friends of George arrives unannounced. Richard pretends (extremely unconvincingly) to be a handyman/butler and the guests, including a young Jacqueline Bissett who called herself Jackie in those days, make themselves at home. Their spoilt young child Nicholas runs amok ("That Froggy bitch pulled my ear off!"), William Franklyn schmoozes Teresa, Marion looks down her nose at everyone and everything and her husband Philip simply bores everyone. Anticipating the arrival of Katelbach, George ushers them out at first abruptly and then with great rudeness.
The denouement of the film includes one of the all-time screen deaths and rounds the whole thing off wonderfully. It is bleak and bizarre and unsettlingly neurotic. The frustration and alienation that each character feels is brilliantly conveyed. 8/10
Incidentally, isn't this Japanese promo poster rather wonderful:
