'Repulsion' (1965) - Film Review

Figure 1- Repulsion (1965) [Poster]

This review analyses Roman Polanski’s British psychological horror film Repulsion (1965), explicitly focusing on the subject of gender specifically women how they are portrayed through the characters of Carol and Helen within the film. Referring to the works of Rebecca Cafe’s article on ‘How the contraceptive pill changed Britain’ looking at the contraceptive pill and its effect on women in society. (2011), Kenneth T. Walsh’s writings  ‘The 1960s: A Decade of Change for Women’ (2010)  focusing on how women began to have a new out look on how they should live their life, Culture’s ‘How The Invention Of The Mini Skirt Shook Up The 1960s’ (2016) looking at how fashion had a massive impact on women during the 1960s, and Ian Hendry’s short video documentary ‘Repulsion (1965) | Documentary Short - Interview w/ Dir. Roman Polanski -Ian Hendry’ (2013) looking into producer Polanski’s first idea for the leading lady of the film. The review will explain how the 1960s’ idealised perception of women and their new-found freedom had an impact of the characters of Carol and Helen within the film ‘Repulsion’ (1965) and looking at how they indicate different attributes of both 1950s and 1960s societal perception of women.

Repulsion (1965) takes place in the 1960s and tells the story of Carol, a young woman that works at a beauty salon in London. She lives in a flat with her sister Helen, who dates a married man called Michael. It is clear that Carol has a hatred towards Michael, which enhances her existing dislike of men. Helen and Michael decide to go to Spain on a short holiday leaving Carol alone in the flat. As time goes by Carol slowly descends into madness, having vivid hallucinations of men that lead to multiple deaths by her own hands.               

During the time that the Repulsion (1965) was made, the world was going through some ground-breaking changes especially in the case of women. In 1961, the contraception pill was first introduced to married women, and it gave women the opportunity to control inevitably their future in terms of children.

This was apparent in Britain where, unlike the 1950s, the contraceptive pill gave women control over their lives in terms of unsuspected pregnancies. It allowed women not to rely on males for contraception, leading to less marriages. As often once a woman is pregnant the men would have the obligation to wed, in fear of having a child out of wedlock.  But with the creation the pill, marriages for women were harder to come by. However, not all were so keen on the idea of the contraception arguing that it was a form of abortion. Along with this some people believed that the young people of Britain would slowly lose the meaning of love, as they would instead give into sexual desires with women now being able to sleep around. (R. Cafe (2011)).

“One of the most profound changes was happening in the bedroom. By the end of the Sixties, more than 80 percent of wives of childbearing age were using contraception after the federal government in 1960 approved a birth control pill. This freed many women from unwanted pregnancy and gave them many more choices, and freedom” (K.T. Walsh. (2010)) With majority of women being on the pill, ladies were able to become much more sexually promiscuous.

Figure 2- Women of 1960s Britain (1963)

Due to the contraceptive pill being introduced women were given the opportunity to dress more expressively, with skirts becoming shorter, colours become brighter, fashion being more outlandish (see fig 2) allowing women to emulate that freedom of their sexuality. This brought about the popularity of the mini skirt, which allowed women to embrace their sexuality. (see fig 3)

Figure 3- Miniskirts in 1960s' Britain Culture

“The miniskirt was more than just a skirt that laid a few inches above the knee, it was symbol of youth, sexuality, and power. At the time young people were sick of not having their voices heard and having to fit into a certain mould.” (Culture (2016)) This highlights how repressed women were not only in fashion but within their role in society. In fact, this would never have been considered a decade beforehand with fashion being much more conservative. Women during the 1950s were perceived to be innocent and naïve around their sexuality (see fig 5) through wearing clothes that would hide the body being sure to keep the 1950’s lady modest in her attire. (Culture (2016))

Figure 4- 1950s Women’s Fashion

When creating the film, Polanski worked with the idea of an innocent sexually naïve woman, in an interview on the concept of Repulsion (1965) Polanski recalled “We knew a girl in San Jama… was quite innocent, young and delicate, looked very sweet.  One of my friends started dating this girl and was telling us that he was discovering an entirely different side of this girl, there was a great surprise to us” (I. Hendry (2013)) This source of inspiration for the film is clearly illustrated in Polanski’s female lead Carol, who is viewed as being beautiful and innocent yet timid to males, along with her hidden dark side. This dynamic of Carols innocence can be shown with her sister, Helen, acting as her motherly figure throughout the film, always tending to Carols needs (see fig 5)

Figure 5- Carol and Helen Repulsion (1965)

“She is an arrested adolescent who, like an anorexic, cannot face her womanliness without visions of perverse opulence and violence”. (K. Morgan (2009)) It can be argued that Carol showcases both old and new ideologies of societal norms of women around that time period, which then contrasts to her sister.

Throughout the duration of the film, Helen on multiple occasions is objectified by men. An example of this is when she gets thrown around by her lover Michael and slapped upon finding a dead body in the apartment, as if it was acceptable to be treated like that.

Figure 6- Helen being obedient to Michael Repulsion (1965)

Helen is also known to follow the orders of all other male characters, including Michael who in one scene ask her to dress pretty for him “Go put your best bib and tucker on I feel like a spree” Michael (1965). Not only is this objectifying her, by treating her like a possession but it is also highlighting the fact that she is sexualised and will still however be obedient to his wishes. (see fig 6)

Helen also complies to the 1950s’ role of women by still remaining a stay at home woman who cooks and cleans for the household which is shown in multiple scenes where she tries cooking the rabbit that is later shown within the film, decaying and rotting due to time passing and Carol not getting rid of it.

However, although Helen may lack freedom around men in regard to what they instruct her to do, she is still liberated through her freedom around sex. Not only is she heard at multiple points within the film to be taking part in sexual activity, but she is also shown wearing short, revealing outfits within the film like the 1960s attire (see fig 7) Unlike her sister. (also shown in the photo)

Figure 7- Helen in revealing attire

Carol is opposite to Helen, both in terms of appearance and personality. Carol dresses very conservatively like that of 1950s’ women (see fig 7), while also struggling to adhere to the new sexual freedom that women now have, which is shown through her reactions revolving around sex and men.

Carol is seen within the film, like to her sister to be objectified by men. An instance of this happening is during the opening scene, in which the worker men look her up and down as a sexualized object (see fig 8).

Figure 8- Males watching Carol (1965)

However, she still manages to avoid following males’ instructions and objectifications and does as she pleases, this is shown in a multitude of ways. For example, she avoids going on a date with Colin who insists they go together (see fig 9), in the end resulting in his murder.

Figure 9- Carol not giving in to Colin Repulsion (1965)

“(Carol) what lies beneath the “perfect woman,” she is the reflection of what lies beneath repressed desire” (K. Morgan. (2009)) This argues that although she is seen to hate men and sex, instead she is rather envious of it, or even her sister and how she is able to flaunt her sexual promiscuity, which would have been held back in the 1950s.

In conclusion, at the time of Repulsion (1965) being released, women were going through some big changes, that allowed them to have a lot more freedom than they had a decade before. However, some could not agree with how females were taking more control of their new-found freedom, which can be arguably depicted within the film with Carol representing the 1950s’ view point of women and Helen illustrating the new 1960s’ view.

Harvard Illustrations List

Figure 1- Repulsion (1965) [Poster] Film/Art Gallery. (1965). Repulsion. Available: https://filmartgallery.com/products/repulsion-8054  Last accessed 24/11/2018.

Figure 2- Women of 1960s Britain (1963) - M. Rawi. (2012). What a difference a decade makes: The fashion images that show how British women moved out of the 1950s and into the Swinging Sixties. Available: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2088993/What-difference-decade-makes-The-fashion-images-British-women-moved-1950s-Swinging-Sixties.html  Last accessed 22/11/2018.

Figure 3- Miniskirts in 1960s Britain Culture. (2016). How The Invention Of The Mini Skirt Shook Up The 1960s. Available: http://groovyhistory.com/how-the-invention-of-the-mini-skirt-shook-up-the-1960s/1 Last accessed 22/11/2018.

Figure 4- 1950s Women’s Fashion - C. Leaper. (2017). The biggest 1950s fashion style moments that defined the decade Read more at https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/1950s-fashion-icons-fifties-style-moments-in-pictures-81397#7xHvxbJYTMxkpTM4.99. Available: https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/1950s-fashion-icons-fifties-style-moments-in-pictures-81397  Last accessed 22/11/2018.

Figure 5- Carol and Helen Repulsion (1965) - Alum Media Ltd.. (N/A). Yvonne Fumeaux and Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion directed by Roman Polanski, 1965. Available: https://flashbak.com/lower-east-upper-west-new-york-city-street-photographs-jonathan-brand-1957-1968-396229/yvonne-fumeaux-and-catherine-deneuve-in-repulsion-directed-by-roman-polanski-1965/  Last accessed 22/11/2018.

Figure 6- Helen being obedient to Michael Repulsion (1965) N. Hendry. (2015). Repulsion (1965) 50th Anniversary – Part 2 – Catherine Deneuve + Ian Hendry + John Fraser + Yvonne Furneaux (dir. Roman Polanski). Available: https://ianhendry.com/repulsion-1965-50th-anniversary-part-2-catherine-deneuve-ian-hendry-john-fraser-yvonne-furneaux-dir-roman-polanski/  Last accessed 22/11/2018.

Figure 7- Helen in revealing attire chained and perfumed. (1965). Repulsion. Available: https://chainedandperfumed.com/2012/12/03/repulsion-2/  Last accessed 25/11/2018.

Figure 8- Males watching Carol (1965) J. Ipcar. (2013). Repulsion at Catherine Deneuve and Roman Polanski. Available: http://www.back-row.com/home/2018/3/7/repulsion-at-catherine-deneuve-and-roman-polanski Last accessed 22/11/2018.

Figure 9- Carol not giving in to Colin Repulsion (1965) - Deutsche Kinemathek. (2010). Repulsion. Available: https://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/2010/02_programm_2010/02_Filmdatenblatt_2010_20106414.html#tab=filmStills  Last accessed 22/11/2018.

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K. Hagen. (2016). 31 Days of Feminist Horror Films: ROSEMARY’S BABY + REPULSION. Available: https://blog.blcklst.com/31-days-of-feminist-horror-films-rosemarys-baby-repulsion-156ebb671c81  Last accessed 22/11/2018.

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M. Rawi. (2012). What a difference a decade makes: The fashion images that show how British women moved out of the 1950s and into the Swinging Sixties. Available: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2088993/What-difference-decade-makes-The-fashion-images-British-women-moved-1950s-Swinging-Sixties.html Last accessed 22/11/2018

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