Pop Culture Thoughts

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2018)

From the unique setting to the unsettling lullaby-like score, there really is nothing else quite like this masterwork of suspense, dread and suspicion. Director Roman Polanski's meticulous attention to detail pays off grandly here as usual, with each frame filled with striking elements, from the skyline of New York City to the peculiar sound mixing to a majestic apartment where most of the movie takes place. The story itself slowly unfurls and becomes gradually more suspenseful and portentous as it goes along, with Mia Farrow delivering a knockout of a performance as the naive but resilient Rosemary. She's aided greatly by an Oscar-winning performance by Ruth Gordon, who makes quite an impression here as a nosy neighbor who may be part of a witch's coven. On top of all its great elements, "Rosemary's Baby" also functions as a remarkably faithful adaptation of Ira Levin's 1967 novel, arriving nearly intact on the big screen.