(Warning: contains spoilers) Rosemary's Baby is the kind of film that no one really needs to see because with all the notoriety that has come with it over the years we just assume it is good without ever really knowing. If I would have saw it during the year of 1968, when it was first released, I may have given it praise of the utmost standard. Focusing my thoughts on its firm analysis of paranoia and how it walls people into situations where the only ones who seem safe from its effects are the audience. I also would have talked about Mia Farrow's career making performance and director Roman Polanski's ability to present motions of fear without the use of blood. But it is not the kind of movie that ages well with admiration. These days we know its secrets, and since we expect them, it's more common to find yourself waiting than actually watching with anticipation, and as Hitchcock once said `there is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it.' Rosemary's Baby opens its thoughts in grand old horror movie fashion, with an idea that has very little to do with the rest of the story. In the Exorcist it was an archaeological dig. Here it is the mysterious death of a recently befriended neighbour. I'll admit, for the most part, this scene did have intentions of leading the audience somewhere with ideas of fear, confusion and paranoia. But in a film where we already know something is up, the mystery lies in when the character will finally realize it too. In general, Rosemary's Baby focuses on a young couple in Rosemary and Guy, who should have realized that moving into their new apartment was an unwise decision when they find a cabinet that is blocking what appears to be a seemingly normal closet. The film then presents a scene, obligatory by today's standards, where the couple is warned about the apartment building's wicked past from a friend who believes in witchcraft and the such. This character is necessary to the film because were it not to believe in its own sense of evil than the idea that no one can be trusted would be lost inside itself. Yet, even in necessity, two problems arise. The first being that if it is a close friend who gives reason for the main character to have feelings of untruth, how can he be trusted even though we already know he is a decent character? The other problem comes from a statement that I made in my review for the Recruit. I said that I was not a fan of the `trust no one' approach to writing. With that film I made an exception because `in turn it didnt know itself very well.` Here, writer Polanski knows where he wants to go and I like it even less because it is already suspected why characters can't be trusted. With the intention of conceiving their first child, Rosemary and Guy have a truly strange sex scene/dream sequence where it appears that Rosemary is making love to the devil himself? That scene is one of two dream sequences. The first being unsolicited and unexplainable. I suspect it to be a set-up for the future, so that when the second comes along we are ready for it in hopes of an explanation. Alas, Rosemary becomes pregnant, but at the expense of her own tainted psyche. Now everything seems strange to her. Her husband is always away and her neighbours are a little too nice for comfort. She isn't gaining any weight and is having constant chest pains, but her new doctor assures her that everything is okay and to just keep receiving the care given by her lovely neighbours. Things become even more confusing for Rosemary when Hutch, the friend, falls into a coma and dies soon after. Now Rosemary takes no chances and begins buying books on witchcraft and studies satanic cults. From this she gathers reason to believe that her neighbour is the descendant of a witch and her husband has promised their baby to him in an act representing the second coming of Satan in human form. She's right... the end. The biggest flaw that Rosemary's Baby put upon itself is that it confined its paranoia to the central purpose of one character. In pushing everyone else to the sidelines, Polanski makes it no challenge to determine the good from the evil. For when only one character has a reason to fear for herself, the audience outweighs the possibility of innocence in any other characters.
There is no doubt that Polanski is a good director, but he has done better. A lot better. He offers no memorable scenes or dialogue. What is, just is. In that sense, I suppose that Rosemary's Baby may not be a bad movie, just an overrated one. Or maybe I missed my mark entirely while watching it. Still it is anything but Polanski's masterpiece. In his lack of thought and abundance for feeling we are made digest an awkward balance of predictability and unfocused half-truths. Mia Farrow stars as Rosemary, in a confident performance. She runs, she screams and she looks concerned a lot. It's standard horror fare but Farrow sells it by never once leading us to believe that the world isn't against her. The thing that diverts the focus from the good acting is the fact that Polanski is more concerned with how his characters react to his ideas and not how they exists within their own environment. With this I find it hard to decide whether I should be giving Farrow credit for her performance or taking it away for the directors selfish neglect for everything but his vision. Some will probably debate that I may have given away too much of the story to those who still wish to see Rosemary's Baby. But in contradiction to that, I have already stated that this is a film that no one really needs to see. So why bother?
There is no doubt that Polanski is a good director, but he has done better. A lot better. He offers no memorable scenes or dialogue. What is, just is. In that sense, I suppose that Rosemary's Baby may not be a bad movie, just an overrated one. Or maybe I missed my mark entirely while watching it. Still it is anything but Polanski's masterpiece. In his lack of thought and abundance for feeling we are made digest an awkward balance of predictability and unfocused half-truths. Mia Farrow stars as Rosemary, in a confident performance. She runs, she screams and she looks concerned a lot. It's standard horror fare but Farrow sells it by never once leading us to believe that the world isn't against her. The thing that diverts the focus from the good acting is the fact that Polanski is more concerned with how his characters react to his ideas and not how they exists within their own environment. With this I find it hard to decide whether I should be giving Farrow credit for her performance or taking it away for the directors selfish neglect for everything but his vision. Some will probably debate that I may have given away too much of the story to those who still wish to see Rosemary's Baby. But in contradiction to that, I have already stated that this is a film that no one really needs to see. So why bother?