The Driver (1978)

Specifically a driver of a getaway vehicle who hires himself out for jobs, but only if he thinks you’re professional enough to meet his exacting standards. His code has kept him safe for years; he's never been caught. On the opposite side of the law is a Los Angeles detective that wants to change all that.
Keeping the main protagonist (Ryan O'Neal) as an unnamed, rarely speaking, mystery figure works in the film's favour. In that respect it borrows some of its tricks from Melville's Le Samouraï (1967), and consequently will likely appeal to a similar audience. In turn, it has itself been influential to modern film-makers and to at least one video game developer.

3½ player streaks out of 5

Diabolique (1996)

A remake of a 1955 French thriller about a murder at a boarding school that creates and sustains a thick, oppressive atmosphere. There are some superb camera movements that heighten the drama or elevate the uncertainty. It’s not unfair to say that it’s a little bit Hitchcock.
Sharon Stone occasionally slips into melodrama but mostly she does a fine job, and it goes without saying that Kathy Bates is always good, but for me it was the fragile Isabelle Adjani that stole the show.
It tries a little too hard to make the twists at the end extra twisty but that didn't detract from the quality performances of the three women that got the story to that point.

3½ baptisms out of 5

The Tenant (1976)

The story of a quiet, unassuming bachelor who moves into an apartment that he later learns has an unpleasant history, and that’s all I'm willing to reveal about the plot. It’s a slow moving affair that takes time to get to where it’s going, but the steps taken to get there are never dull.
Polanski is adept at turning the typically mundane into something bubbling menacingly with nightmarish potential. He doesn't make life simple for his viewers, but that’s his way and, I would argue, is a necessary part of the process. You either accept his vision or you hide from it.
It's the third film in what’s known as Polanski’s Apartment Trilogy. The others are Repulsion (1965) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968). They share a common theme but aren't connected in any other way.

4 reflections out of 5

Possession (1981)

An intense journey into the often hidden world of a crumbling relationship. It’s packed with allegory that unfolds at an unrelenting pace making it difficult to keep track of what you’re seeing. Is it internal fears externalised? Or external pressures warping perception? Maybe it's both or something in-between? It resembles a Cronenberg-esque horror movie at times but isn't that easily categorised. Just when I thought I had the answer it threw me against a wall and I was forced to delve even deeper, which was an unsettling experience.

NOTE: The edited US version cuts forty minutes, so avoid it at all costs.

4 halves of the face of God out of 5