ROSEMARY'S BABY
dir: Roman Polanski
"Awful things happen in every apartment house." - Rosemary
Brief Synopsis
A young couple move into a new apartment, when Rosemary becomes mysteriously pregnant she becomes suspicious and paranoid of the safety of her unborn child, believing something demonic and supernatural is happening.
Why It's Here
As Roman Polanski's first American film debut, he simply could not have created a better impression. "Rosemary's Baby" is the staple and benchmark for atmospheric, eerie filmmaking. Often incorrectly billed as a horror film, "Rosemary's Baby" is more properly defined as a supernatural mystery. Polanski's pacing and use of audio certainly give the film an unsettling feeling, beginning with Rosemary's lullaby opening to the film to the noises that creep through the apartment walls. Yet, the film does little in terms of truly frightening the audience, the script is unconcerned with cheap thrills or shocking imagery. The story instead opts for a developing mystery of Rosemary's questionable pregnancy and sanity. This is a gentleman's horror film. Formal, classy, largely non-violent and slow paced. Polanski doesn't hand out the scares, instead he demands the audience respect the formalities of character development and suspense.
While the film is heavily supernatural, it is played out very realistically. Rosemary's lucid dreams is the most unusual part of the film, it's eerie imagery is unsettling and bizarre, giving little time for the audience to fully interpret what they are seeing. Who are these people? Just Christians? Where is this boat going? Does it matter? Death by typhoon, are water, death, and the Devil connected? Then we hear the tick-tock of a clock as if we are in a place where time is suspended, no longer abiding by the rules we expect it to. The religious imagery of Rosemary's bed transporting her to Michelangelo's position beneath the Sistine Chapel ceiling is then sharply contrasted to Rosemary entering a room backlit with flames and a cult who paint her nude body and a serpent-eyed devil begins to rape her. Polanski's juxtaposition of Rosemary's position between beneath Adam and God, and Satan himself seem to make the audience wonder if Rosemary was close to God and pulled away, or if the distinction between God and Devil aren't as clear as they seem.
As shocking and bizarre as this sequence seems, Polanski pulls us in and out of the dream, showing us the separation between the surreal world that Rosemary's mind is exploring and the dimly lit room where she lays with her husband, undressing her. It is only in the final moment of the scene where Rosemary seems to awaken from her dazed state and realize she is being raped by something unhuman. She screams, "this is no dream, this is really happening!", suddenly our assurance that the real world and her dream are seperate is gone, Rosemary's investment in the dream has spun it from something mental into a physical feeling and sense of shock. It is this pivotal moment that the mystery begins and we are now no longer sure what is possible and real. (See this scene in the clip below)
The film takes a few paces back from the events onscreen and remains in a neutral position as we have two sides to each event, Rosemary whose belief in her dream and the supernatural books she comes across lead her to believe witchcraft is at play to poison her child. This is all plausable to the audience because of her reaction to the dream, making the audience question the reality of the events occurring. Meanwhile, Rosemary's husband and her neighbors disprove all of her seemingly insane conclusions, further puzzling the audience whether or not to believe in Rosemary or disregard her as mentally unstable. What is most impressive about "Rosemary's Baby" is that this back-and-forth plot never irritates or jerks the audience, the doubtful characters are instead provoking, helping the audience draw their own conclusions and developing them as the film plays out. While the line between reality and fiction becomes more clear half-way through, the build up and final pay-off maintain the momentum that Polanski has perfectly paced throughout the mystery.
While chillingly sadistic, "Rosemary's Baby" is not the nail-biting horror that it may have been at it's initial release. While it delves into dark territory, it refrains from being as bleak as later films such as "The Exorcist". This is a film that thrives on it's characters and their fascination and interest in Rosemary and her unborn baby. It is a venture into the psyche of a woman shocked and unprepared for her future life as a mother and the frightening sense of protecting her child from the evil corrupt world around her. There can be many allusions made to pregnancy, motherhood, relationships, and the state of the world, but the final verdict remains the same whether you choose to read into the subtext or not, "Rosemary's Baby" is eerie and unsettling. It is a rare mystery that will stay with you long after it's come and gone.
While the film is heavily supernatural, it is played out very realistically. Rosemary's lucid dreams is the most unusual part of the film, it's eerie imagery is unsettling and bizarre, giving little time for the audience to fully interpret what they are seeing. Who are these people? Just Christians? Where is this boat going? Does it matter? Death by typhoon, are water, death, and the Devil connected? Then we hear the tick-tock of a clock as if we are in a place where time is suspended, no longer abiding by the rules we expect it to. The religious imagery of Rosemary's bed transporting her to Michelangelo's position beneath the Sistine Chapel ceiling is then sharply contrasted to Rosemary entering a room backlit with flames and a cult who paint her nude body and a serpent-eyed devil begins to rape her. Polanski's juxtaposition of Rosemary's position between beneath Adam and God, and Satan himself seem to make the audience wonder if Rosemary was close to God and pulled away, or if the distinction between God and Devil aren't as clear as they seem.
As shocking and bizarre as this sequence seems, Polanski pulls us in and out of the dream, showing us the separation between the surreal world that Rosemary's mind is exploring and the dimly lit room where she lays with her husband, undressing her. It is only in the final moment of the scene where Rosemary seems to awaken from her dazed state and realize she is being raped by something unhuman. She screams, "this is no dream, this is really happening!", suddenly our assurance that the real world and her dream are seperate is gone, Rosemary's investment in the dream has spun it from something mental into a physical feeling and sense of shock. It is this pivotal moment that the mystery begins and we are now no longer sure what is possible and real. (See this scene in the clip below)
The film takes a few paces back from the events onscreen and remains in a neutral position as we have two sides to each event, Rosemary whose belief in her dream and the supernatural books she comes across lead her to believe witchcraft is at play to poison her child. This is all plausable to the audience because of her reaction to the dream, making the audience question the reality of the events occurring. Meanwhile, Rosemary's husband and her neighbors disprove all of her seemingly insane conclusions, further puzzling the audience whether or not to believe in Rosemary or disregard her as mentally unstable. What is most impressive about "Rosemary's Baby" is that this back-and-forth plot never irritates or jerks the audience, the doubtful characters are instead provoking, helping the audience draw their own conclusions and developing them as the film plays out. While the line between reality and fiction becomes more clear half-way through, the build up and final pay-off maintain the momentum that Polanski has perfectly paced throughout the mystery.
While chillingly sadistic, "Rosemary's Baby" is not the nail-biting horror that it may have been at it's initial release. While it delves into dark territory, it refrains from being as bleak as later films such as "The Exorcist". This is a film that thrives on it's characters and their fascination and interest in Rosemary and her unborn baby. It is a venture into the psyche of a woman shocked and unprepared for her future life as a mother and the frightening sense of protecting her child from the evil corrupt world around her. There can be many allusions made to pregnancy, motherhood, relationships, and the state of the world, but the final verdict remains the same whether you choose to read into the subtext or not, "Rosemary's Baby" is eerie and unsettling. It is a rare mystery that will stay with you long after it's come and gone.
Lesson Learned
Cults are the creepiest thing. Ever.