Not Perfect In It's Screenplay But So Much Of It Is Done Right That It Shouldn't Be Missed

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 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. 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. 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.
Rosemary's Baby is Roman Polanski's fifth film. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. 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.
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.