Review of Rosemary's Baby (1968) by Spencer R — 30 Jan 2014

Rosemary's Baby wasn't the film that introduced me to the works of Roman Polanski but rather it was Chinatown. So I came into this with very high hopes and thinking it may even top the previous film I have watched, due to the hype and the intriguing subject matter. After watching it twice already, I can clearly say that Rosemary's Baby isn't perfect but it has a lot to offer that proves that it cannot be missed.

Rosemary's Baby was based off the novel by Ira Levin and was adapted to the screen by Roman Polanski. I haven't read the novel so I cannot say whether or not the film drives away from the source material but what Polanski has given us here is quite interesting with only minor trips that prevent this from being a perfect film. Rosemary's Baby tackles a very eerie but intriguing subject matter. It explores the idea of a conspiracy based on a cult, and that this cult is against Rosemary and her unborn child. The film mainly follows through Rosemary's experience during her pregnancy and as she gets closer to the end, she also gets closer to the truth. As much as I enjoyed seeing this concept being explored, it was dragged down by the lack of incentive to keep us emotionally engaged throughout, instead all that was bottled up for the second half of the film once the tension started to build. This made the first half felt a little stretched out and at times feeling unnecessary. The dialogue on the other hand, for the most part, is present to serve the plot or at least fill in some backstory to help us understand these characters. Again, it would be interesting if Polanski just added a little incentive here and there. Polanski cleverly avoids giving any confirmation of our suspicions until the last few minutes of the film as throughout the film we follow Rosemary alone, along with her paranoia and stress, and never gives us any moment of peace from it. As the film's plot doesn't fully explain itself until the very end, in second viewing, I was able to see certain characters differently like Guy Woodhouse, as the reasons for his decisions could have been connected to his failing career. This makes us curious on what exactly was discussed in his conversations with the Castevet. Like Guy Woodhouse, I was also able to see a different light on the neighbors as their ability to manipulate us and have us believe on their motives and intentions, just to be surprised later on. Polanski was able to subtly project these shades of characters in his writing, which allows this film to be rewatchable in order for us to get a clearer view of these characters.

Rosemary's Baby is Roman Polanski's fifth film. Polanski has already secured his last four films with a fan base that think highly of his previous films. But I think this film is his start in merging the indie style from his previous films with the mainstream style of filmmaking. It seems with this film, the studios truly had faith in his work and let him create the film that he wanted to create. The film's first act functions as a way in easing us into the surrealism and the tone of the film, with dialogue casually bringing up topics of witches and religion, and slowing down the film in order to build tension while allowing characters to flesh themselves out. I think if Polanski maintained the pacing and intensity of the second-third act, then this film would have felt too rushed and prevents us from caring for the characters. Polanski creates his first hour of the film to feel like a play, with characters just talking to one another in a confined space and allowing the actors to completely use their surroundings in order to gain a natural performance. The last hour of the film is where things start to pick up and the horrors of the situation emerge and have us feel stressed for Rosemary. I much prefer the this half of the film in comparison to the first half, as this is where Polanski truly shines by showing his ability in getting a reaction from us, having us also feeling the thoughts and emotions that is currently running through Rosemary. Though I thought highly in Polanski's efforts in creating the first half of the film, regardless I felt that it was quite slow and lacked a bit of a visual or mental incentive to keep us completely invested. It becomes much more enjoyable in subsequent viewings when we already know what happens to Rosemary and understand what every character's motives were. I think the highlight of the film is the film's climax and the scenes that lead towards it, as the sound of a ticking clock having us feel more tense, and that the end will act as an explosion of our minds, which in a way was. The climax, at first, was frightening and I made me wonder why one would do such a thing; but on subsequent viewing, it became more of a dark hilarious experience.

The cinematography of the film was handled by William A. Fraker, who later on in his career will be nominated awards for his work but for Rosemary's Baby it was under-appreciated. Which I found understandable because this film did truly feel take an amateurish style of photography, with shots only showing what it needs to show you in order to move film along. This isn't necessarily a horrible thing as Fraker was also limited on it's scope as the film truly never goes anywhere but these small confined spaces, with most being in their apartment. Fraker for the most part has his camera constantly moving, it is not so obvious as it only really moves because the actors are moving or are doing some action and the audience needs to see it in order for us to gain something from it. The cinematography allows the scenes to play out, like I said before in order to feel the film like a play, and the camera pulls in and out casually during a scene. This makes the audience feel almost like a ghost that is being manipulated by Polanski. Like I said previously, Fraker and Polanski creates shots that allows the actors to play out an entire scene, not relying so much on cutting back and forth during dialogue in order to create that theater atmosphere. As we get closer to the end, Polanski and Fraker allows us to get closer and closer to Rosemary emotionally supported with tighter close ups and using the camera as a shadow following her wherever she goes.

Krzysztof Komeda is the film's composer and what he has created is hauntingly beautiful. Komeda's score rarely is in display as the film uses silence to create tension at the start and allows the dialogue more to be in display and not have us be too distracted from the actors. The composer's score usually just shows up at moments of high intensity during the first half, and in much more prominent fashion in the second half as the latter is driving us with the tension and suspicion that the first half lacked. The lullaby chant at the beginning of the film is one of the most frightening things I have heard as it has this undertone of evil under it, but if it is just heard as the lullaby alone without the instrumental or Fraker's photography it would just sound like a mother singing to her child with no dark undertone. Sadly Komeda's career was short-lived and he could have been a long time collaborator with Polanski in the future. I wish that the film did contain more of his score as it was truly well crafted but I guess it would have interfered with Polanski's vision.

The film's actors truly have to work their asses off for this film, as it demands so much from them, Rosemary in particular. Mia Farrow as Rosemary Woodhouse was so great as she portrays this character who is suffering such elevated stress and who feels alone and lonely during her pregnancy even when there are people around her. Farrow makes us feel like we're the only one who is there for her. John Cassavetes was great as Guy Woodhouse. Cassavetes was able to play a man who doesn't come off at all as unlikable, even if certain events and motives may seem to fracture his character. Even at the end of the film, we still feel some sort of sympathy for the man, but this feeling may just be coming from me. Ruth Gordon has impressed me on a little film called Harold and Maude, and I think for Rosemary's Baby she is playing a less complex and interesting character, Minnie Castevet. Her win for supporting actress for this film may be deserving, but she definitely deserved more from her portrayal as Maude. Nevertheless, Gordon doesn't disappoint here with her character rambling on and on, never seeming to give Rosemary or Guy a window of opportunity to even react. Though probably faithful to the novel, I felt that her character needed a bit more for me to truly enjoy watching the character. Sidney Blackmer as Roman Castevet was much more of a joy to watch as he portrays the character so insidiously that you can't help but wanting to warn Rosemary.

Rosemary's Baby may not be a perfect film in my eyes but it gets so many things right that I can't help but go back to this when I feel like watching a film that can terrify me and keep me engaged with the technical aspects of the film. The acting is, for the most part, a joy to watch and the film contains patient and subtle cinematography. Polanski has made something wonderful that should at least be given a try even if the subject matter may be too dark for some.