1968’s “Rosemary’s Baby”, written and directed by Roman
Polanski.
Starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney
Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Angela Dorian, Ralph Ballamy, and Charles Grodin.
Winner of an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Ruth
Gordon).
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Screenplay (Roman
Polanski).
What is it about?
Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes star as a New York couple,
him a struggling actor and her a housewife, who move into a new apartment. They
meet their elderly neighbours (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon), whom are quite
nosy but also very welcoming and helpful. After making their acquaintance, good
things start to happen for the couple- such as Cassavetes’ acting career taking
off, and Farrow finally getting pregnant. However, with the help of an elder
friend (Maurice Evans), Farrow begins to suspect that her neighbours belong to
a cult. As they recommend her changing doctors, give her weird necklaces, and offer
tons of ill tasting food, Farrow will need to change course if she’s to avoid
the cult’s influence on her unborn child. Could the baby be a blessing, or an
omen?
Why is it worth seeing?
Have you ever known something to do be true, and then
watched in horror as nobody listened to you? That’s “RB”’s charm- watching
something that is right there in front of our eyes run it’s course, like the
Titanic just before the iceberg. It’s not a horror movie in the sense of things
that go bump in the night, but more so about people’s ulterior motives making
you a pawn in their scheme that you’re helpless to stop.
Is there a moral to the story? Farrow and Cassavetes
certainly could represent urbane yuppies, who pay zero heed to the information
presented to them regarding their building being a place where witchcraft
occurred, and at least has had some horrific things happen to past residents.
They’re just too focused on high ceilings and prestige. And the movie could
also be a comment on the decline of religious values that were occurring in the
60’s decade, as the movie asks multiple times about god’s passing.
Farrow, who’s real life husband, Frank Sinatra, divorced her
on the set of “RB”, was distraught, and it certainly didn’t hurt her
performance here. And Gordon and Blackmer are wonderfully sinister, as the
neighbours who are sort of evil, but also make decent bite sized cakes and at
times provide interesting conversation. Gordon would win an Academy Award for
her efforts, and both of them are wonderful as the frenemies that just can’t
take a hint. However, there are rumours that Cassavetes didn’t get along with
Polanski, and that may come across, as he is a little odd in the film (and not
for narrative reaons).
The most horrifying aspect of “RB” isn’t the satanic cult
depicted, or the paranoia that infuses the film as it goes on. It’s the rampant
sexism and misogyny that were so prevalent in those times, which lay the
groundwork for the bad intentions to spawn and ferment. As it is, “RB” unquestionably could not be made today, as
the female character would be too headstrong to put up with the patronizing
nonsense she endures in her vulnerable state- and society wouldn’t allow it’s
members to treat someone the way they do here. You don’t want to penalize a
movie for depicting society the way it worked (more or less) at the time, but
it is a fascinating time capsule of a world that, thanks to social evolution,
no longer exists.
Polanski does yeoman’s work as the director and screenwriter
here, creating a slowly paced and patient psychological journey. Creating
amazing dream-like imagery at times, the rest of the time it’s no frills film
making where there’s nowhere to hide for the ideas and the actors- which shows
why they work so well. Featuring a great ambiguous ending, “Rosemary’s Baby”
may not everybody’s favourite child, but it is one of mine (top 100).
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