A wounded criminal and his dying partner take refuge at an old beachfront fortress. The owner of the fortress and his young wife, initially unwilling hosts, quickly experience their relationship with the criminal shift in a humorous and bizarre fashion.
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award1 win & 2 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
fresh:
One of the best and purest of all his works.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
6 Sep 2003
fresh:
This much sounds like a standard horror-film outline, especially since Stander looks amazingly like Frankenstein. But Polanski ignores the horror to concentrate instead on macabre humor.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
rotten:
After two clean hits -- Knife in the Water and Repulsion -- Roman Polanski is entitled to one wild swing.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
9 May 2005
fresh:
If the subject matter is bleak and bitterly serious, the tone throughout is darkly comic, while the precise imagery effortlessly conveys the tension, the claustrophobia, and the madness of the situation.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
rotten:
As a study in kinky insanity, Cul-de-Sac creates a tingling atmosphere. This sags riskily at times when the director unturns the screws and does not keep control of his frequently introduced comedy.