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Rosemary's Baby (1968)

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From Time Out Film Guide

A supremely intelligent and convincing adaptation of Ira Levin's Satanist thriller. About a woman who believes herself impregnated by the Devil (in the guise of her husband), its main strength comes from Polanski's refusal to simplify matters: ambiguity is constant, in that we are never sure whether Farrow's paranoia about a witches' coven is grounded in reality or a figment of her frustrated imagination. Sexual politics, urban alienation, and a deeply pessimistic view of human interaction permeate the film, directed with a slow, careful build-up of pace and a precise sense of visual composition. Although it manages to be frightening, there is little gore or explicit violence; instead, what disturbs is the blurring of reality and nightmare, and the way Farrow is slowly transformed from a healthy, happily-married wife to a haunted, desperately confused shadow of her former self. Great performances, too, and a marvellously melancholy score by Krzysztof Komeda.

Author: GA

Time Out Film Guide

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Technoguy said...

Posted on Oct 13 2008 01:56 Polanski's best early film showing already what a formidable talent he had.It prefigured the dark side of
the 60s dream a la Manson.It's like a supremely
sophisticated horror movie of such modernity it still
stands up today.There are so many marvellous touches:
the janitor showi ng the couple round saying there was a death here,the lift not quite aligning with the outer
floor,the moment Rosemary's sceptical husband gets
sucked in to the elderly couple's scheme when all you
see is smoke drifting across an open door in the lounge
and Cassevetes out of sight with the elderly satanist.The
way the corridors seem spooky and haunted a la
Repulsion with the accompaniment of eerie music.The
use of the door hidden in an airing cupboard.The way
Rosemary's trust collapses as her friend Hutch mysteriously goes into a coma(and later dies) after
bequeathing a book on witchcraft.Also her misplaced trust in Dr Hill who she runs to only for her to be handed over to the evil doctor's clutches.The master-
stroke is making the elderly kindly Jewish couple who are their oversolicitous neighbours,the centre of the coven.Farrow's performance is the epitome of
vulnerability and registers every little anxiety.Cassevetes is the out of work but ambitious
actor who sell his soul to get a part.You get superb
camera angles in the city streets increasing the sense of
alienation.By the time Rosemary gets through her horror of her devilish child(only the slightest of glimpses) she has been fully groomed.

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