Have you seen other films by Polanski? Needless to say, his perfection of portraying the "cramped locale" is seen much earlier in Rosemary's Baby.
Don't forget Repulsion and The Tenant, which make up his "apartment trilogy".
repulsion is great but it trips me out since i saw it after knowing what polanski was convicted for.
ghost writer is an amazing thriller. was one of my favorite films that year. you should check out carnage immediately jtb. the plot sounds simple (and it is) but waltz gives a very entertaining performance (far removed from his usual tarantino schtick) and the dialogue is hilarious.
Thanks for the suggestions; I've seen Rosemary's Baby (along with Chinatown and the Pianist), but not Repulsion or the Tenant. I'll have to check those two out, and I was going to see Carnage anyways, but I'll be sure to move it to the top of my movie queue and watch it when I get a chance. Good to know about Waltz; he was great as Landa/Schultz (less so in Green Hornet, but hey, gotta pay the bills) but I'm excited to see him take on a different sort of role.