A masterpiece of mood

Rating: 8/10 (22 April 2006)

Like "The Silence of the Lambs," "Rosemary's Baby" is a horror film that is so justifiably praised that it's a pretty futile effort to attempt to find something that hasn't been said about it before, and better. Until recently, it had been many years since I'd seen the film, and upon revisiting it (with a newfound appreciation for director Roman Polanski), was thoroughly impressed.
The story is simple and ingenious, and hooks us from the start: Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her actor husband, Guy (John Cassavetes) move into an upscale New York apartment complex attract the attention of their kind yet invasive neighbors; shortly after, Rosemary becomes pregnant and grows increasingly concerned that the residents are plotting against her. Polanski would revisit this type of paranoia (albeit through male eyes) in "The Tenant"; "Rosemary's Baby" takes a similarly subjective approach to the story, telling it largely through the perspective of the title character--and Mia Farrow is incredibly good at conveying pain, sorrow, fear, and submission.
In addition to structuring suspense well, Polanski also gives the film a sense of patriarchal commentary: the husband is cunning, cocky, self-centered, and manipulative; ditto the loathsome Dr. Saperstien (Ralph Bellamy) who insists that Rosemary stop reading books that might cause worry. Throughout the film, Rosemary is presented as a passive, soft-spoken wallflower, easily put in her place by the male figures in her life; even when she uncovers the conspiracy around her, everyone is so firmly pitted against her that her efforts become meaningless in the face of the inevitable. Polanski makes us pity Rosemary and loathe the occult conspirators, but gives us a conclusion that drips of irony from all angles--in a sense, a great injustice is perpetrated, then accepted.
With "Rosemary's Baby," Polanski delivers a masterpiece of mood and subtle scares without a reliance on blood and guts. Strong performances and a fine story contribute to making this a gem of the genre.