John Schlesinger
Uno Sconosciuto alla Porta

THE REVIEW

Psychological thrillers... a nice genre. If they're from the Nineties, they have those slightly murky/mysterious atmospheres that are hard to find in more recent films.

A happily married couple is looking for a tenant to rent one of their apartments. After various selections, the good Michael Keaton (a great actor in my opinion) comes along; he will be the new tenant, and already with the first smirk, you can sense that we're in for some surprises.

The film is full of plot twists because the psychopathic/manipulative character himself is a living plot twist. Excellent direction keeps the tension constant throughout the film's duration, and great attention to detail (something I relish), among many, the yellow sheet left by the door that is unintentionally thrown in the trash and then... returns (unfortunate for the protagonists, they could have saved themselves some trouble).

Michael Keaton is excellent in the role, as is Melanie Griffith, who in the second half of the film "catches on" in several situations and executes a well-planned revenge; Matthew Modine is more subdued.

The ending, although not unpredictable, is well-executed, and the legal implications are interesting as well (if I'm not mistaken, it's the same in Italy), showing that evicting such disturbing characters following the law is not an easy task but is long, complex, and without guaranteed results.

I refer you to the English Wikipedia page for the full spoiler if you missed something, the original title is Pacific Heights.

A film that is not very well-known, interesting in its development, in my opinion, worth rediscovering.