#228 - Rosemary's Baby (1968) Review and Analysis

Rosemary's Baby (1968), Roman Polanski
4/5

A horror film in it's traditional form, this is an absolutely brilliant film. It has a haunting slow pace that heightens the pitch and tension over a long time. If you're interested in fast paced gore films that have become the mainstream horror genre since the 80s, this film won't meet that criteria. Instead this film is more disturbing that terrifying. The acting is great in particular Mia Farrow is beautiful as the wife of an overbearing husband. While the supernatural elements are quite unbelievable the performances make it convincingly bizarre and creepy. Overall a really disturbing horror film that has really interesting themes and helped forge the mother based horror trope that has existed ever since. I would definitely put this film on par with The Exorcist as a classic horror.

Analysis

***SPOILERS***

There are so many interesting elements and themes packed into this film. Personally I think this horror serves more as an allegory of woman and pregnancy that it does for the supernatural elements. The film begins as if it's a standard drama, although there is the first death pretty early in the film. Unlike films like Scream for instance where the opening scene is the death, this film builds characters so that the deaths have more impact. There are a number of Checkov's guns throughout the film which build character and plot developments. Rosemary meets a woman named Terry who is a neighbour while doing laundry and Terry shows Rosemary her lucky charm necklace that the Castevets gave her. It then appears that Terry has committed suicide although the Castevets, the ones who had taken Terry in deny that she would have killed herself and maybe she fell although she was a recovering addict.  

A few scenes later Minnie Castevet the busy body neighbour gives Rosemary's Terry's necklace as a lucky charm. Rosemary feels strange about getting Terry's necklace which she describes as smelling bad. Minnie had told Rosemary that it contained a lucky herb called tannis root. Rosemary is seen clearly putting the necklace away in a drawer. The fact that her husband Guy told her not to worry and wear the necklace is the first inkling that he is taking the Castevet's side over his wife's. 

Early in the film is a scene showing Guy and Rosemary having sex which is soft and consensual. This is before Rosemary and Guy decide to try to have a baby. But once they have decided to have a baby and try that night Rosemary passes out. She becomes dizzy and incoherent after consuming some of the "mouse" the chocolate mousse that Minnie Castevet brought over. Rosemary says that it has an "under-taste", but Guy says she's crazy and so out of spite Rosemary eats some, but when Guy goes to the kitchen she throws the rest into her napkin. Guy convinces her that she must have drunk too much and hadn't eaten all day so he takes her to bed. 

Then Rosemary has a strange dream intercut with Guy getting her into bed. The dream culminates in a scene with all these people around her, including Guy while someone draws red blood like substance over her naked body. She then feels hands going all over her body and on top of her and she finally screams "this is no dream, this is real". Upon wakening Rosemary is naked under the sheets, even though she had been put in bed fully dressed. She then notices there are deep scratches over her back and side. Guy says that she was really passed out, and keeps repeating that he didn't want to miss baby night. Rosemary says disbelievingly that she can't believe that he did that while she was out and that there would be lots more chances to try for a baby. This is incredibly disturbing that Guy quite blithely admits that he raped her while she was sleeping and while Rosemary seems perturbed she isn't angry or resentful. 

It then appears that Rosemary was impregnated from this one rape. Rosemary and Guy are overjoyed. However as the pregnancy continues and Rosemary begins wearing the tannis root necklace and drinking Minnie's vitamin drink she becomes incredibly pale, loses weight and suffers from terrible pain. Everyone around her including the Doctor that Guy and the Castevet's coerce her into seeing say that it'll pass soon. Even Rosemary begins to spout these mantras herself. Guy is incredibly neglectful of Rosemary and bossing her around and criticises her. When Rosemary cuts her hair very short he says she looks awful. 

After throwing a party with her young friends Rosemary is distraught and confesses to them saying she's been in pain for months and how her Doctor says it's normal. After talking to her friends she tells Guy that she's not going to drink Minnie's drink any more and that she wants a second oppinion with her original doctor Dr. Hill. Guy refuses to allow this berating her and saying that he won't pay for two doctors and that it's unfair to Dr. Sapirstein and she screams that it's not fair to her. 

This is when the film turns into a more obvious horror plot. Rosemary begins to unravel the plot against her and her baby after her friend Hunt says he must meet her and he mysteriously ends up in a coma and then dies. At Hunt's funeral a friend of his gives Rosemary a book he left her on Witchcraft. With a message that says the name is an anagram. Rosemary discovers that Roman Castevet is the son of someone involved in witchcraft and she becomes increasingly distressed. 

After meeting Dr. Hill begging him for help and telling her of the witchcraft and plot against her he calls Guy and Dr. Sapirstein. They call her crazy and force her home. This whole film is an interesting allegory of the treatment of women by society and doctors. The doctors and everyone around her continuously tell her she's paranoid or making mistakes and that they must tell her what to do. This evidently shows how once pregnant women become public property at the mercy of the men in particular around her. After trying to escape Guy and the doctor into her apartment all the people from her dream subdue her and sedate her. Upon waking Guy tells her it's a boy and she repeatedly asks if "it" is alright and he eventually tells her that the baby died. Rosemary keeps hearing a baby crying and hides the pills they try to give her. She manages to escape through the hidden door in the cupboard into the Castevet's apartment with a knife. She discovers everyone there around a black garbed baby crib and she looks at the baby. Everyone begins chanting and says that it's Satan's baby and Rosemary screams. The film ends with the "coven" asking Rosemary to join them to look after her baby. 

This film is so interesting in the way it depicts pregnancy. At first Rosemary is adamant she wants a baby and despite her husband raping her she is overjoyed with the pregnancy. She even tells her friends that she refuses to have an abortion and is constantly afraid for the baby's health and safety. All the people around her offer advice and force her to do what they think is best for her. Even the way they tie Rosemary down when she is in labour is similar to the old methods of stirrups and sedation of women giving birth in the 50s and 60s. These are perhaps the most disturbing aspects of the film the treatment of women and pregnancy. That's what make this such a fantastic and substantial horror film that stands the test of time.