For two thirds of its running time The Tenant (or The Cottage if you’re American) from Chris Jaymes is a tense, interesting thriller that taps into fears that most of us suffer from; the idea that a supposed harmless stranger might infiltrate and disrupt our lives with evil intent. Unfortunately though the film struggles to find a satisfactory conclusion and ultimately fails to deliver in the final act.
Chloe (Kristen Dalton) and husband Michael (Victor Browne) decide to rent out the cottage that sits in the garden of the new home. Seemingly ideal candidate and romance novelist Robert Mars (David Arquette) takes the property and all seems to be going well until he begins to integrate himself into their lives and home with devastating results.
David Arquette is excellent as the slightly creepy and possibly too-nice-to-believe Robert who undoubtedly has insincere and suspicious motives but never lets his guard down long enough for anyone’s suspicions to be fully validated. His performance is just the right side of psychotic as to be wholly believable and the slightly timid and repressed persona he presents suits the film’s premise perfectly.
The problems stem from where the story eventually leads as it is too much of a leap from what has gone before to be convincing. The Tenant needed to be a film that left you looking back on the early scenes with the realisation you has missed subtle clues but there is nothing in the cast performances or narrative that offers this. Credit must be given for trying to take the story in an original direction but unfortunately the two elements just don’t sit entirely happily together.
Story arc aside there is much to like about The Tenant. Jaymes is successful in building the required tension and despite there being some genre clichés this is a thriller that will generate a feeling of discomfort and trepidation in its audience. The performances are quiet subdued for the most part with Arquette clearly the stand out but Morrissa and Alana O’Mara are impressive as the two sisters at the heart of Robert’s interests.
OVERALL SUMMARY
The Tenant is an enjoyable film that unfortunately disappoints in the end. It would be interesting to know if the conclusion was really what the filmmakers had in mind and if an alternative was ever considered but at least they have tried to produce something different as opposed to what would usually be expected.
