The film is the story of a man who rents an apartment as its previous tenant had attempted suicide where the man believes that it wasn’t a suicide as he deals with his elderly neighbors and landlord who make complaints about him while he is baffled by these little complaints. It’s a film that explores a man who just rented this apartment unaware about what happened to its previous tenant as he believed something isn’t right as he grows into paranoia. The film’s screenplay by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach is largely straightforward in its narrative yet it largely follows the life of its protagonist Treklovsky (Roman Polanski) who arrived in the apartment looking for a place to live as he sees that this apartment has a room opened though the apartment’s landlord Zy (Melvyn Douglas) is reluctant to take him but does under certain conditions. Still, Treklovsky often finds way to agitate other tenants including Zy though he doesn’t mean to while also refusing to sign the petition against a tenant because of the noises her child makes.
The script also has Treklovsky befriend Stella (Isabelle Adjani) who is a close friend of the previous tenant who had died as the two begin a relationship even though she never visits the apartment her friend was in. Treklovsky would learn that the tenant had indeed died from her injuries yet he would also notice little things in his apartment such as a tooth but also the fact that he switched cigarette brands from Gauloises to Marlboro. It adds to these little things that would play into Treklovsky’s psyche as he also believes he’s becoming his previous tenant due to the fact that he’s putting on finger polish and dressing up like a woman.
Polanski’s direction is definitely stylish for the way he uses the crane tracking shot as the opening shot has him going inside the center of the apartment building in Paris to showcase the rooms and other tenants as the building itself is a character in the film. Shot on location in Paris, Polanski does play into a city that is vibrant but also going through changes where the apartment building itself is filled with an eccentric group of people with much of the tenants being elderly including Zy and the concierge (Shelley Winters) running the place as they don’t want any trouble or chaos. Yet, Polanski maintains an intimacy through medium shots and close-ups to play into the dramatic tension as well as the paranoia that Treklovsky would go through. There are wide shots for some scenes in Paris including a scene at a park where Treklovsky is watching kids sailing their toy boats on a fountain where he would act strangely towards a child. Polanski also play into certain visual motifs where mirrors are all over his apartment as it would add to this sense of paranoia that Treklovsky would endure.
Polanski would also play into this world where the city is vibrant where Treklovsky would meet some of Stella’s friends though there is this air of isolation within him as the life outside of the apartment building where his co-workers and the people in his age group or younger are thriving. Still, Polanski would also play into this blur of reality in its third act as it relates to Egyptian imagery that Treklovsky would find in the apartment’s main bathroom as well as a postcard from a man who was in love with the previous tenant. The third act plays into Treklovsky’s paranoia as it relates what he watches as it relates to a couple of tenants whom many have been complaining about where Treklovsky becomes the target. The film’s ending is ambiguous into what Treklovsky experiences as it adds to this idea of reality and fiction as well as his own brief encounter with the previous tenant. Overall, Polanski crafts a mesmerizing and offbeat film about a man who finds himself troubled in a new apartment he bought as well as learning about its previous tenant.
Cinematographer Sven Nykvist does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key lights for many of the nighttime interior/exterior scenes in the apartment as well as its emphasis on cold grey winters for the daytime exterior scenes as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Francoise Bonnot does brilliant work with the editing as it play into the suspense with some unique jump-cuts and other rhythmic cuts that help add to the sense of terror. Production designer Pierre Guffroy, with art directors Claude Moesching and Albert Rajau, does amazing work with the look of the apartment building in its interiors including Treklovsky’s apartment as well as the apartment home of Stella. Costume designer Jacques Schmidt does fantastic work with the costumes from the suits that Treklovsky wears along with some of the fashionable clothing that Stella wears.
Hair stylist Didier Lavergne and makeup artist Ludovic Paris do terrific work with the look of Stella with her hairstyle but also Treklovsky when he goes in drag and wear women’s clothing. Optical effects work by Jean Fouchet does nice work with some of the shots including a key shot late in the film as it play into the terror that Treklovsky would endure. Sound editor Michele Boehm does superb work with the sound as the way noise sounds from another room and such add to the dramatic suspense. The film’s music by Philippe Sarde is wonderful for its orchestral score that feature themes that play into its suspense with its orchestral flourishes as well as somber pieces that play into the drama.
The casting by Catherine Vernoux is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Albert Delby as a neighbor in the apartment, Eva Ionesco as the disabled daughter of a neighbor that Treklovsky helps out, Jacques Monod as a café owner who often gives Treklovsky hot chocolate instead of coffee and Marlboros instead of Gauloises, the trio of Josiane Balasko, Romain Bouteille, and Patrice Alexsandre as co-workers of Treklovsky, Bernard Fresson as a friend/co-worker of Treklovsky in Scope who gives him advice about dealing with the neighbors, and Rufus in a superb small role as a man who was in love with the previous tenant who laments over not expressing his love to her. Lila Kedrova is fantastic as Madame Gaderian as a woman who has a disabled daughter that is getting complaints as she despises her neighbors for being mean to her while she has her own idea of revenge.
Shelley Winters is excellent as the concierge who is a no-nonsense woman that helps run the apartment building though she doesn’t take a liking towards Treklovsky believing he’s causing a lot of trouble. Jo Van Fleet is brilliant in her brief yet effective role as a tenant in Madame Dioz who has created a petition to get rid of Madame Gaderian which Treklovsky refuses to do as she warns him about the trouble she and the others would bring to him. Melvyn Douglas is incredible as Monsieur Zy as the landlord who reluctantly takes Treklovsky in as a tenant while lecturing him about what to do as he brings a lot of ambiguity into his character. Isabelle Adjani is amazing as Stella as a friend of the previous tenant as she befriends Treklovsky that later becomes a romantic relationship as she is this young woman that is just trying to make sense of what happened. Finally, there’s Roman Polanski in a phenomenal performance as Treklovsky as this young man who rents this apartment as he deals with all of the chaos around him where he becomes paranoid and confused where Polanski brings that sense of humility in his physical performance but also some humor when he starts to camp it up in drag.
The Tenant is a sensational film from Roman Polanski that features great performances from Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet, Rufus, Lila Kedrova, and Shelley Winters. Along with Sven Nykvist’s cinematography, its eerie visuals, chilling music soundtrack, and its exploration of isolation and paranoia in a claustrophobic setting. It is a film that explores a man dealing with his new surroundings while trying to figure out what happened to the previous tenant as he wonders is it really happening to him or is it in his head. In the end, The Tenant is a phenomenal film from Roman Polanski.
Roman Polanski Films: Knife in the Water - Repulsion - Cul-de-Sac - The Fearless Vampire Killers - Rosemary's Baby - Macbeth (1971 film) - (What?) – Chinatown - Tess (1979 film) - (Pirates) – Frantic - Bitter Moon - Death and the Maiden - The Ninth Gate - The Pianist - Oliver Twist (2005 film) - The Ghost Writer - Carnage (2011 film) - (Venus in Fur) – (Based on a True Story) – (An Officer and a Spy) – (The Palace)
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Directed by Ernst Lubitsch and screenplay by Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Walter Reisch from a story by Melchior Lengyel, Ninotchka is the story of a Russian woman who goes to Paris for official business relating to her government as she meets and falls in love with a man who represents everything she stands against. The film is a romantic comedy in which a woman who is on a mission to retrieve three men in trouble who are tempted by the offers in Paris as she tries to avoid that sense of temptation. Starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, and Bela Lugosi. Ninotchka is an enchanting and splendid film from Ernst Lubitsch.
The film revolves around a Soviet envoy who travels to Paris, after three men working for the government in retrieving jewels that once belonged to a grand duchess, where she comes to get the jewels and return them to the Soviet Union until she meets a Russian count who is working for the grand duchess. It’s a film that has a lot in not just being this romantic-comedy but also a film involving dueling political ideals as a woman with very socialist views arrive into a country that is more democratic with some leanings toward capitalism. Yet, the character of Nina Ivanova “Ninotchka” Yakushova (Greta Garbo) is a woman that would be new to this world as she struggles to be loyal to her own beliefs but also become tempted by what the free world has to offer. The film’s screenplay begins with the arrival of these three Soviet officials who hope to get these jewels from the Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire) that they can use for government funding. Instead, the three men meet Swana’s friend Count Leon d’Algout (Melvyn Douglas) who charms them with lavish gifts as they lose sight of why they’re in Paris.
The script does show Ninotchka as a no-nonsense woman who knows what she is in Paris for as she presents herself as someone that isn’t afraid to spout her own socialist beliefs as well as doing things for herself. In meeting Count d’Algout, she tries to resist all of his temptation as he would try to humor her to see if she can crack and eventually does. The film’s first half is about Ninotchka’s resistant towards the frivolities and capitalist ventures in Paris while its second half is about her conflict with what Count d’Algout wants to give her as well as her loyalty to the Soviet Union. The third act would begin with Ninotchka meeting the Grand Duchess where it is a key moment in the film where it is about Ninotchka’s idea for the new Russia versus everything the Grand Duchess had stood for and why those jewels mean a lot to her. It’s a meeting that would showcase what the Grand Duchess would sacrifice but also what Ninotchka would have to do for her country as it would come at a price for herself.
Ernst Lubitsch’s direction does have an air for style but much of the film’s compositions throughout the film are quite straightforward. Shot mainly in studio backlots at MGM, the film dos play into this world of pre-World War II Paris as it play into this very thriving and lavish world where everyone is staying at posh hotels or eating at cafes that are quite affordable. Much of Lubitsch’s direction include some close-ups to play into the expression of the characters as well as some medium shots to play into the world of the characters and the growing attraction between Ninotchka and Count d’Algout. Lubitsch’s approach to humor is straightforward but also has this slow build into the way it would show Ninotchka as someone becoming less stern and more outgoing. Even as she would buy this very silly hat as it would play into her development as a person as well as scenes that showcases some of the flaws of socialism and capitalism as it’s shown with some very subtle humor.
The dramatic moments would have Lubitsch use some unique compositions that include the meeting between Ninotchka and the Grand Duchess as it is this very simple yet evocative scene that showcase a game kind of being played. Yet, it is a moment in the third act that would shift things a bit but also play as a key moment of development for both Ninotchka and Count d’Algout for the film’s third act as it relate to their growing infatuation for each other. Even as the latter would do something to get Ninotchka out of the Soviet Union in an inventive way but also have scenes set in Moscow into the life that Ninotchka and her comrades are living in as it show a world that is changing where both socialist and capitalist ideals do have their good but also the bad as it’s all about how one could compromise for the good of the world. Overall, Lubitsch creates an evocative and engaging film about a Soviet envoy who falls for an exiled count in Paris.
Cinematographer William H. Daniels does brilliant work with the film’s black-and-white photography from the usage of low-key interior lighting for some of the scenes set in Moscow for its third act to the very gorgeous array of lighting and textures for much of the film’s interiors including the club scene in Paris. Editor Gene Ruggiero does excellent work with the editing as it is very straightforward with a couple of transition wipes and fade-outs that play into the drama and comedy. Art director Cedric Gibbons and set decorator Edwin B. Willis do fantastic work with the look of the Parisian hotel sweet the Soviet officials and Ninotchka stay in as well as Count d’Algout’s apartment and the interiors of the nightclub and cafe.
Gown designer Adrian does amazing work with the look of the dresses that Ninotchka would wear at the nightclub as well as the dresses that the Grand Duchess wears. Sound editor Wally Heglin does nice work with the sound as it play into the world of the cafes and clubs as well as some of the exterior scenes set in Paris. The film’s music by Werner R. Heymann is wonderful for its sumptuous orchestral score that play into some of the funnier moments of the film as well as the dramatic and romantic moments in the film.
The film’s marvelous cast include some notable small roles from George Tobias as a Russian visa official, Charles Judel as a café owner, Rolfe Sedan as the hotel manager, Tamara Shayne as Ninotchka’s Moscow roommate, and Bela Lugosi in a small but superb performance as Ninotchka’s superior Commissar Razinin who is concerned about Ninotchka’s behavior and her time in Paris. The trio of Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, and Alexander Granach are fantastic in their respective roles as Iranoff, Buljanoff, and Kopalski as three government officials who give in to the temptation of what Paris has to offer as they have a hard time wanting to stay loyal to the Soviet Union as they become more enamored with the world of capitalism.
Ina Claire is brilliant as the Grand Duchess Swana as a former royal who had lost her jewels during the Russian Revolution as she is eager to get them back while making a major compromise that would affect Ninotchka greatly as she believes this compromise would be good for herself and her former country. Melvyn Douglas is amazing as Count Leon d’Algout as a former Russian royal who is a friend of the Grand Duchess as he is eager to get her jewels back only to be intrigued by Ninotchka whom he would fall for as he decides to help Ninotchka and do whatever he can to be there for her. Finally, there’s Greta Garbo in a magnificent performance as the titular character as a no-nonsense Soviet envoy who goes to Paris to do her job and get out as she tries to resist temptation where Garbo starts off as humorless and mechanic only to loosen up as someone full of charm and radiance while being vulnerable later on as it is one of her defining performances.
Ninotchka is a phenomenal film from Ernst Lubitsch that features incredible performances from Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, and Ina Claire. Along with its gorgeous visuals, top-notch art direction, and a witty script co-written by Billy Wilder. It’s a film that isn’t just a fun romantic-comedy but also a study of social classes and ideals that play into two people with different ideals who come together for one common goal. In the end, Ninotchka is a spectacular film from Ernst Lubitsch.
Ernst Lubitsch Films: (Shoe Palace Pinkus) – (When Four Do the Same) – (Die Augen Der Mumie Ma) – (Carmen (1918 film)) – (Intoxication (1919 film)) – (The Doll) – (My Wife, the Movie Star) – (The Oyster Princess) – (Meyer from Berlin) – (Madame DuBarry) – (Sumurun) – (Kohlhiesel’s Daughter) – (Anna Boleyn) – (The Wild Cat) – (The Loves of Pharaoh) – (The Flame (1923 film)) – (Rosita) – (The Marriage Circle) – (Three Women (1924 film)) – (Forbidden Paradise) – (Kiss Me Again) – (Lady Windermere’s Fan) – (So This is Paris) – (The Honeymoon Express) – (The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg) – (The Patriot (1928 film)) – (Eternal Love) – (The Love Parade) – (Monte Carlo (1930 film)) – (Paramount on Parade) – (The Smiling Lieutenant) – (Broken Lullaby) – (One Hour with You) – (Trouble in Paradise (1932 film)) – (Design for Living) – (The Merry Widow) – (Angel (1937 film)) – (Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife) – (The Shop Around the Corner) – (That Uncertain Feeling) – (To Be or Not to Be (1942 film)) – (Heaven Can Wait (1943 film)) – (A Royal Scandal) – (Cluny Brown) – (That Lady in Ermine)
© thevoid99 2017
Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 6/8/05 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.
Based on the novel by Jerzy Kosinski, Being There is the story about a simpleton gardener with no background and no past as he encounters the wife of a political figure as his colleagues mistake him for someone who could be a political adviser. Directed by Hal Ashby and screenplay by Kosinski and Robert C. Jones, the film is a continuation of Ashby's themes of naive men who step into a world they don't know about only to be confused as the focus is on a middle-aged gardener named Chance played by Peter Sellers. Also starring Shirley MacLaine, Jack Warden, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Dysart, and Richard Basehart. Being There is a witty yet captivating film from Hal Ashby.
For all of his life, Chance is just a simple-minded gardener whose only knowledge of the outside world was through radio and later television as he works for a rich benefactor while always being in the care of a maid named Louise (Ruth Attaway). When the benefactor dies and Louise leaves, Chance is suddenly forced out of his home by two real estate agents in Sally Hayes (Fran Brill) and Thomas Franklin (David Clennon) where he takes a step into the outside world for the very first time with a suitcase, an umbrella, and a remote control. While walking around Washington D.C. where he stops at a TV shop, he is accidentally hit by a car owned by the wife of a millionaire in Eve Rand (Shirley MacLaine). She takes Chance to her home where she misinterprets his name as Chauncey Gardiner where she takes him to Dr. Robert Allenby (Richard Dysart) to look over Chance as he's is the caretaker for the ailing millionaire Benjamin Rand (Melvyn Douglas).
With Chance at the home of the Rands to recover from his injury, he meets Benjamin where the two have a conversation where Ben mistakes Chance's simple ideas about gardening as political rhetoric that intrigues the millionaire who also has political connections. Chance becomes an inspiration for Ben while Eve is also in awe of Chance though he does nothing but watch TV as Ben later introduces Chance to President (Jack Warden) who is impressed by Chance's words as the President also mistakes it for political rhetoric. With Chance becoming a political messiah of sorts as he becomes a celebrity of sorts though only a few know who he really is. With Ben nearing death, Eve accompanies Chance to a party where a Soviet ambassador (Richard Basehart) believes that Chance's statements are influenced by Russian literature. With Eve falling for Chance as political figures try to make their move as the President's approval rating is in decline. Dr. Allenby makes a discovery of who Chance really is as no one is aware about everything Chance had been saying all along.
While the film has a softness that a more hardline audience will find to be overly sentimental, Ashby delivers a solid direction in finding the humor and idiocy of politics and the media itself. Ashby is a master of satire but here, he chooses a simple protagonist whose lighthearted innocence and mild-mannered intelligence who looks into the world of our eyes. Yet, it's the kind of protagonist that most films would expect since he is a childlike man who doesn't know very much. In many ways, Ashby is Chance because he likes to watch. It's probably the most personal film of Ashby's career, especially since it's about a decade that he has watched all of these years fall into decline. It's really a film about a man watching a time, idealism, and a nation going into decline with the world itself not getting any better with no power or mind to do anything.
The strength of the film also goes to its script by its novelist Jerry Kosinski who brings in a mix of humor and melancholia. The film also attacks the cynicism of the 1970s after the fallout of Vietnam and Watergate with a hope for optimism. Yet the film's surreal and memorable ending shows a lot of things including the end of an American innocence to be replaced by something worse as a major character dies with the film's final line of "Life is a state of mind". In many ways, this story is years ahead of its time. Especially since the state of the nation that we live in is led by not just a soulless idiot but one who doesn’t have the honesty or heart that Chance the Gardner possesses. The script isn't just satire but an attack of everything that the 70s represented in the course of its behavior and political rhetoric which made the 80s to be a decade of mindless decadence. There, Ashby and Kosinski capture the future just before it was about to happen.
Helping Ashby in bringing is quirky yet melancholic vision is cinematographer Caleb Deschanel who brings a richness and elegance to many of the film's interior scenes that captures the world of upper-class society and its alien-like tone to the eyes of Chance. Production designer Michael Haller and art director James Schoppe help capture the film’s dark-colored look of wooden furniture and look that shows the upper class world with the wood being the only thing that Chance seems to know. Even the elegant costumes by May Routh shows that richness, notably on how well-dressed that Chance is since he's the only who seems to be comfortable in those close. The film's music score by Johnny Mandel has a sad, melancholia since it conveys the innocence of Chance but also the doom he is about to face when he is about to become something he's unaware of.
The casting in the film is awe inspiring with some nice performances from Fran Brill and David Clennon as the baffled estates people who are dumbfounded by a simpleton with Richard Basehart bringing in a slightly, humorous performance as the Russian premier. Ruth Attaway stands out as the maid Louise with her maternal presence for Chance and as she sees him, she displays the cynicism of how the media and culture acts towards Chance as a messiah. Richard Dysart is excellent in the role of Ben Rand’s ever-suspecting doctor who wants to know the truth but doesn’t want to harm anyone in a masterfully executed performance. Jack Warden brings humor to his role as the President in a performance that is expertly handled as a man of power with a lot of flaws that is handled realistically. Melvyn Douglas gives a fascinating performance as a dying man who finds hope in Chance while realizing about his own fate and regrets.
Shirley MacLaine gives an understated and elegant performance as a woman who is about to become a widow while finding new hope in a man like Chance. MacLaine brings a sweetness to her performance while channeling one of her most hilarious moments in one of the film's funniest scenes. Then there's Peter Sellers in what is probably one of the best performances ever assembled on the screen. Sellers brings a restrained, subtle performance as a simpleton who isn't very smart but isn't a bad man either. He brings a childlike innocence and a well-mannered tone to a man who doesn't have much to offer or say anything profound but his kindness is so enchanting, you can't help but fall for a man like Chance. Sellers could've gone for slapstick for this role but instead, he shows a soul that is filled with sadness and heartbreak in each frame. Even in the film's final moments as he becomes unaware of what is laying ahead for him. It's one of the most spellbinding performances of the decade.
Being There is a sensational and extraordinary film from Hal Ashby that features a mesmerizing performance from Peter Sellers. Along with great supporting work from Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Dysart, and Jack Warden. It's definitely a very witty yet touching film that is both satirical but also heartwarming in its subject matter and characters. In the end, Being There is a wonderful and entertaining film from Hal Ashby.
Hal Ashby Films: The Landlord - Harold and Maude - The Last Detail - Shampoo - Bound for Glory - Coming Home - Second-Hand Hearts - (Lookin’ to Get Out) - (Let’s Spend the Night Together) - (Solo Trans) - (The Slugger’s Wife) - 8 Million Ways to Die
© thevoid99 2012
