Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Nigel P Well, this is excellent. French-Polish Roman Polanski directs and stars as shy and achingly polite bureaucrat Trelkovsky, who moves into an apartment owned by 'the Concierge' and Monsieur Zy (mighty Hollywood veterans Shelley Winters and Mervyn Douglas). The apartment is appallingly cramped, greasy and doesn't even boast a toilet. Trelkovsky's charming tolerance of the place and fellow tenants - as well as his boisterous and boorish work associates - is effective.To make matters more awkward, the previous tenant, Simone (Dominique Poulange) jumped out of the window in a suicide attempt. A visit to the hospital reveals Simone to now be a howling, broken monster. He strikes up an awkward, but progressive relationship with Stella (Isabelle Adjani, frumped-up behind thick spectacles and a 1970's curls, she gets gradually more bedraggled and beautiful as the story progresses).The bullying ways of those around him, as well as his bouts of bad luck, conspire to throw Trelkovsky into a kind of chronic paranoia. It is a slow decline, and one in which his crumbling, squalid surroundings become a prison, a sick-house. He even sees phantoms of Simone unwrapping the bandages that encompass her and smiling provocatively, revealing a set of broken teeth. He flirts unsuccessfully with cross-dressing. He becomes violent. There is a certain inevitability to the horrific and shocking conclusion.At 126 minutes, this is a long film. But it is sumptuous in its depiction of squalidity, expert in its depiction of a man losing his mind, so full of unexpected moments and so evocatively told, I cannot begrudge it a single moment.The story is based upon the 1964 novel 'Le locataire Chimérique' by Roland Topor; amongst many other credits, Topor appeared as Renfield in Werner Herzog's 1979 'Nosferatu the Vampyre'. Good luck finding a copy for less than £100!

paid in full To be fair, this movie had potential; hence why I watched half of it before I took a break. You see, the acting is good. But there is a little something missing that could have made this story a little more believable in my opinion. The filmmaker pushed the envelope and either they are far ahead of their time or has too much imagination that need to be checked.

michaeltrivedi Now I don't know where to begin on this movie. All the reviews were exceptional, except Roger Ebert's. When I started watching this movie, I was literally entranced. Nothing could take my eyes off the screen, and I wanted to know what would happen to our main character, what this particular portion of his life would tell me. What portion of his life are we given the chance to see, and what morals and understanding of the human condition will I gain. The Tenant is a great movie. The ending caught me by surprise, and I was a little disappointed. But I would definitely recommend this picture of for a late night viewing.8 STARS!! Though it probably deserves more.

Roger Thornhill You know that sinking feeling of dread you experience in nightmare before you realise it was all a dream? Until then, everything is very real, and truly horrid.Well, prepare to enter that nightmare state of mind. You will never escape, no matter how many times you tell yourself it isn't real.The nightmare will follow its own logic and torture you with its inventive and hurtful twists and turns, much like the protagonist whose fate is not only inescapable, it is inflicted with almost sadistic delight, a sort of death by a thousand cuts.I can't put words on the existential angst this masterpiece has provoked in me.I thought I'd seen everything, and I've read Kafka.This is several levels above. I can't stop listening to the haunting soundtrack which is like an anchor - every time I play it, I'm drawn back into the nightmare.