Sunday, May 27, 2012

Film Review: Rosemary's Baby

Having seemingly run out of modern films of interest to watch, we've turned frequently to older productions.  Rosemary's Baby is one such film.

With no blood or gore it still results in an excellent thriller/horror film.  Mia Farrow's performance is the key here as she plays the devil impregnated Rosemary with gusto.

The other characters are far weaker and are over the top to the point of near-parody but given the intense focus on Farrow's character it is not a huge distraction.

There are numerous levels of interesting analysis that you can take with this film including the skewering of vain actors and Hollywood in general to the obvious critique of organized religion.

Perhaps the most interesting analysis can surround the director of the film itself.

The film contains a scene in which a drugged and semi-conscious Rosemary is raped/impregnated by her demon possessed husband or the devil himself directly (not quite clear).  Slightly less than a decade later Roman Polanski would be convicted of drugging and raping (in multiple fashions) a 13 year old girl after "photographing" her topless for a magazine.  Given how "10 year old boyish" Farrow's character is made to look in this film and Polanski long and continued penchant for extremely underage girls, the film is ripe for a look at his disturbing mental state.

Ignoring Polanski's disease however, Rosemary's Baby is still a highly effective film and well worth watching by any fan of horror or dark films.  The methods, themes and techniques used here have been repeated in the decades since its production and its influence on films to follow is substantial.

No comments: