Finally, after almost 35 years of procrastination, I rented a tape of "Repulsion." Yes, Catherine Deneuve is very pretty and would make an added attraction to any beauty salon. Talk about a bad hair day! Big sister and her lover are off to see the Leaning Tower; and little sister (Deneuve) collapses. We wonder how she ever got this far. She's held a job (at which she seems well liked). Suddenly, empty nest syndrome kicks in with a vengeance. Left alone in the apartment with a dead rabbit (no, she's not pregnant), a wall with a stress crack and her own imagination, Deneuve is not a happy camper. Among her other fixations are a ceiling centerpiece, suitable for suspending things from, which makes us think that perhaps director Roman Polanski had seen "The Haunting," made two years earlier. Not even a persistent suitor, who would have been better off with other projects, can shake her out of this funk. In fact, the presence of people seems to make it worse. In short, Deneuve has a few stress cracks of her own; and when they give, it's best not to be in her company. We mentioned a rabbit. It starts off dead and stays that way. Sis is still out of town; the swain comes to look after Deneuve's welfare, and the landlord comes for his rent. There's also a nosey neighbor who we see in a pass-through shot whenever Deneuve's door is open to callers. Here, Deneuve proves to be handy in a pinch, in spite of her mental deterioration. Sis and lover eventually come home and probably wish they'd stayed a bit longer in Italy. I'd heard that "Repulsion" was a masterpiece, a tour de force, etc. For me , it starts too slowly, is boringly understated and not at all the fright piece it's alleged to be. However, Deneuve is pretty; and the rabbit doesn't bother anyone either.
