Rosemary's Baby (A or 4/4 stars)
Roman Polanski's 1st American film, 'Rosemary's Baby', is set in 1960s Manhattan and happens to be a terrifying psychological horror story. After an eerie lullaby is hummed through the opening credits, we are introduced to waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) & her struggling actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes), a seemingly normal, happy young couple who have just decided to move into a lush apartment in Central Park's Bramford (shot in the famous Dakota). It's a gorgeous, gothic building with an ominous reputation ... and only elderly people seem to live there.
Elderly neighbors Roman & Minnie Castevet (an unsettling Sidney Blackmer, quirky Ruth Gordon) are friendly but a bit intrusive; and despite reservations about their eccentric nature & strange noises that come from their next-door apartment ... Guy starts becoming quite chummy with the Castevets. Shortly after Guy lands a great Broadway role, Minnie sends over some homemade chocolate 'mousse' for Rosemary.
When Rosemary becomes pregnant after a 'mousse'-induced nightmare of her being raped by some sort of "inhuman" savage beast, the Castevets take special interest in her well-being (even convincing her to use their doctor, who gives her a mysterious elixir, among other things). As Rosemary becomes increasingly ill, anxiety-ridden & isolated, she starts to suspect that her neighbors are not what they seem. She becomes fixated on the idea that the residents of her building are a coven of witches, and that she has been impregnated by Satan. Diabolical events ensue.
'Rosemary's Baby' is truly frightening because so much of it is plausible. Although the subject matter is of a supernatural nature, the treatment of it in the plot is very realistic. The film's most disturbing component is that the fears/anxiety that Rosemary experiences seems like an understandable response for a woman to have when a certain "being" is growing inside her. The brilliance of the movie is that it takes this realistic basis & builds upon it with both Satanical dread & supernatural metaphors that make pregnancy such an inherently strange condition in the first place. Polanski's dark directorial sensibilities, William Fraker's wholly disorienting camerawork & Richard Sylbert's lavish production design transform the realistic setting into a sinister projection of Rosemary's deepest fears. And I love that most of the grotesque & surrealistic frights are left to the viewer's imagination.
Mia Farrow is superb as the sweet, lovely, but increasingly neurotic {and with good reason} Rosemary. John Cassavetes makes you re-think the type of man he really is. Ruth Gordon is electrifying as nosy neighbor, Minnie (her Oscar win is well-deserved). And the rest of the cast including Maurice Evans (as Rosemary's father-like confidante, who goes mysteriously missing), Sidney Blackmer, Ralph Bellamy (as the twisted doctor), & Charles Grodin are all perfect in their roles. From beginning to end, I was transfixed by this psycho-thriller and was always wondering how it would end. Great film.
Elderly neighbors Roman & Minnie Castevet (an unsettling Sidney Blackmer, quirky Ruth Gordon) are friendly but a bit intrusive; and despite reservations about their eccentric nature & strange noises that come from their next-door apartment ... Guy starts becoming quite chummy with the Castevets. Shortly after Guy lands a great Broadway role, Minnie sends over some homemade chocolate 'mousse' for Rosemary.
When Rosemary becomes pregnant after a 'mousse'-induced nightmare of her being raped by some sort of "inhuman" savage beast, the Castevets take special interest in her well-being (even convincing her to use their doctor, who gives her a mysterious elixir, among other things). As Rosemary becomes increasingly ill, anxiety-ridden & isolated, she starts to suspect that her neighbors are not what they seem. She becomes fixated on the idea that the residents of her building are a coven of witches, and that she has been impregnated by Satan. Diabolical events ensue.
'Rosemary's Baby' is truly frightening because so much of it is plausible. Although the subject matter is of a supernatural nature, the treatment of it in the plot is very realistic. The film's most disturbing component is that the fears/anxiety that Rosemary experiences seems like an understandable response for a woman to have when a certain "being" is growing inside her. The brilliance of the movie is that it takes this realistic basis & builds upon it with both Satanical dread & supernatural metaphors that make pregnancy such an inherently strange condition in the first place. Polanski's dark directorial sensibilities, William Fraker's wholly disorienting camerawork & Richard Sylbert's lavish production design transform the realistic setting into a sinister projection of Rosemary's deepest fears. And I love that most of the grotesque & surrealistic frights are left to the viewer's imagination.
Mia Farrow is superb as the sweet, lovely, but increasingly neurotic {and with good reason} Rosemary. John Cassavetes makes you re-think the type of man he really is. Ruth Gordon is electrifying as nosy neighbor, Minnie (her Oscar win is well-deserved). And the rest of the cast including Maurice Evans (as Rosemary's father-like confidante, who goes mysteriously missing), Sidney Blackmer, Ralph Bellamy (as the twisted doctor), & Charles Grodin are all perfect in their roles. From beginning to end, I was transfixed by this psycho-thriller and was always wondering how it would end. Great film.