Film Review
This unsettling portrayal of male rivalry and raw sexual conflict
marked the startling feature debut for Franco-Polish film director
Roman Polanski, who would very quickly establish himself as one of the
leading filmmakers of his generation with such films as
Repulsion
(1965) and
Rosemary's Baby (1968).
Knife in the Water is the most
restrained and confined of Polanski's films - there are just three
characters (not including the inflatable crocodile)
and most of the story takes place on board a small yacht -
and this is probably what makes it the most intense and darkly
compelling of his films.
Stripped of the stylistic artifice and directorial excesses that would
weaken some of Polanski's subsequent films,
Knife in the Water has a realism
and narrative simplicity which makes it extraordinarily
effective. With nothing to distract us we are compelled to focus
our attention on the three protagonists - a couple whose marriage is
visibly disintegrating and an innocent interloper who is drawn into
their interminable power games. It is evident from the word go
what is motivating the three characters as they embark on their
deliciously sinister relationship, cut adrift from the rest of humanity
in a landscape that is as desolate as is it is beautiful.
The older man, Andrzej, sees an opportunity to prove his masculine
prowess by showing his wife how he can dominate and manipulate the
younger man. Meanwhile, Krystyna is clearly tired with Andrzej
and sees in the hitchhiker an opportunity to revive her flagging sex
drive. As for the unnamed interloper, his impulses are shrouded
in ambiguity, but it is apparent that he finds both of his hosts
strangely alluring. He stands up to the taunts that Andrzej
throws at him to impress Krystyna, but beneath this show of machismo
there are some very noticeable homoerotic tensions, which both men seem
to be well aware of. This is a ménage-à-trois, in
just about every sense of the term, and beneath the placid surface there
are some very dark undercurrents.
The subtle power struggle builds, almost imperceptibly, towards a
chilling climax, when the point of no return is reached. As the
knife of the film's enigmatic title is lost forever, both men are ready
to cross the last moral boundary to prove their superiority over the
other. Of course, all this testosterone-fuelled antler-locking
ultimately achieves nothing and we are soon back where we started, or
so it seems. In fact there is a winner - Krystyna. She has
shown herself to be morally and emotionally superior to both men and
can face the future with equanimity, confident in the knowledge that
hers is by far the stronger sex.
© James Travers 2009
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Next Roman Polanski film:
Repulsion (1965)
Film Synopsis
A married couple, Andrzej and Krystyna, are driving through the country
when they come across a handsome young hitchhiker. Grudgingly, Andrzej
offers the young man a lift and he accepts. A short while later,
the trio arrive at the docks where Andrzej and Krystyna intend to set
off in their yacht for a day's sailing. The young man is about to
go on his way when Andrzej persuades him to come along for a leisurely
sailing trip. Andrzej wastes no time humiliating his guest, who
responds by throwing sulky ripostes at his hosts. When the young
man has proven to be a useful crewmate, an uneasy truce ensues and the
three begin to enjoy each other's company. The truce doesn't last
long, however. When Andrzej accidentally knocks the young man's
treasured knife into the water, they begin to fight and the younger man
falls overboard. Convinced that the hitchhiker is about to drown,
Krystyna provokes Andrzej into trying to save him. But there is
no sign of the young man...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.