Roman Polanksi’s ability to create very specific moods and atmosphere’s within his films gives them unique weight and tends to make them unforgettable. Cul-de-sac, Polanski’s treatise on the decomposition of human civility in the face of desperation, shows what every disaster film ever made does, but with a mere fraction of the cast and a lone location. The film begins with a brooding sense of unease that only grows as the three central characters lose their patience with one another and convince themselves that they’ve nothing left to lose – only to be proven wrong and driven dramatically back to their senses. For such a quiet and unassuming film, Cul-de-sac leaves you with a lot to think about and creates many memorable scenes that resurface in your mind days and even weeks later.
Stranded gangster Dickie (Lionel Stander) didn’t create the rift between the “happily” married and secluded couple, Teresa (Francoise Dorleac) and George (Donald Pleasence), he simply made it impossible to ignore any longer. Their quiet evening of bickering and contrasting views comes to an abrupt end when Dickie breaks into their castle of a house to use their phone, after his car breaks down with his wounded compatriot, Albie (Jack MacGowran) inside. He phones his boss who tells him he’ll send a few guys around to pick him up, and that he should just sit tight, news that neither he nor Teresa and George are happy to hear. So Dickie settles in and begins a weekend of questioning and antagonizing the disaffected lovebirds, as he waits for deliverance that never comes. The strained relationship undergoes a few twists as the gangster’s antics push them towards and then pull them away from one another. The emotional rollercoaster finally comes to a head when some unexpected friends of the couple arrive, forcing Dickie to play by a new set of rules that emboldens the couple and gives them the strength to enact an ending that saves their lives but shatters any further illusion that their marriage could ever work.
The chemistry between the trio drives the film forward more than any single plot point ever could. Stander imbues Dickie with the sort of childish obstinacy that, when paired with brutish strength, makes his presence a danger to everyone around him. His rules dictate how anyone else can feel, and as a consequence the repressed loathing between the couple no longer has the choice to stay below the surface. While Dickie’s imposition is the catalyst, it wouldn’t have had any effect were it not for the impulsive and similarly childish simplicity of Teresa who gets swept up in Dickie’s instruction as George resists and treats the ordeal for what it is: a hostage situation. The age discrepancy between the couple shows up in their first scene together, and there’s no effort made to hide Teresa’s impetuous nature and her delight in goading George to frustration. So when Dickie is added to the mix and further irritates George, he appears impotent and can only watch as the modicum of control he had in his household begins dissipating rapidly.
The interactions of Polanski’s film reveal the ire that bubbles just below the surface of every disposition as well as the effect of isolation, voluntary or imposed, on the attitudes of the average person. Though the story makes it rather clear that George isn’t much for socializing even on a good day, his wife clearly doesn’t have the same outlook on social interactions. The inherent conflict in their personalities seems all at once to attract and repel them from one another, and the swings between the two only become more pronounced as Dickie’s presence wears on them. Their inhibitions fade and the modest social graces they once entertained for the unseen, judgmental hand of civility degrade to sudden flashes of anger and giddiness, at which point comparisons to the social breakdown of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies seem inescapable.
Even with Chinatown in mind, Cul-de-sac stands up to the test of time and could still vie for the title of Polanski’s best. The themes are deep and fully realized, and the characters are all brilliantly depicted by Stander, Pleasence, and Dorleac. Few Polanski films are as enjoyable as they are layered, but Cul-de-sac accomplishes this and makes it a treat for cinephiles and newcomers alike.
The film’s palette, steeped in blacks and grays, looks rich in Blu-ray, and the digital transfer has given the film its best appearance in ages. It’s still not a flawless presentation, with one or two noticeable flecks of dirt making its way into the picture, but it’s probably the best we’ll ever get and better than most know to ask for.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Compared to Criterion’s release of Repulsion, Cul-de-sac feels lacking in the extras department with the production documentary Two Gangsters and an Island as the only substantial video extra, and a rather basic one at that. There’s also a video interview with Polanski from 1967, but it’s very basic and has no real weight to it, it feels more like a fluff piece than anything. The disc is closed out with the film’s theatrical trailers.
The liner booklet includes the essay “High Tides” by film critic David Thompson on the subject of Polanski’s love for Cul-de-sac, its conception, and where it stands in the director’s colorful legacy.
"Cul-de-sac (The Criterion Collection)" is on sale August 16, 2011 and is not rated. Comedy, Drama, Horror. Directed by Roman Polanski. Written by Roman Polanski, Gerard Brach. Starring Donald Pleasence, Francoise Dorleac, Lionel Stander, Jack Macgowran.
