RensDad666’s review published on Letterboxd:
“God is dead, Satan lives!”
As I near completion of my introductory Hooptober event, it’s safe to say that between getting watches on Jaws, Psycho, and now Roman Polanski’s satanic psychological bender Rosemary’s Baby, I won’t have a first viewing run of horror classics this monumental in this short of succession ever again.
We know (at least I hope we do) Polanski is a terrible human being. And with that knowledge, there comes a warranted separation of art from artist in my eyes. Admittedly, that feat came fairly simply once you let its meticulously built world take shape within a gorgeous opening 10 mins. The most minute of details in Rosemary’s Baby become transitory pieces of a kaleidoscopic web of deceit, gaslighting, and paranoia so deftly and cheekily pulled off, I couldn’t fight the stupid grin plastered to my face for nearly its entirety. And everything blends into a level of effortlessly intoxicating air that only a small class of films occupy in my headspace.
Beneath every line uttered lies a confounding, hypnotic dread lacquered into Polanski’s script. The constantly building, slow morphine drip of its narrative is masterfully crafted and treated, and even knowing much of the plot on the back of it simply being a literary classic, I was still openly questioning if it was all happening the way it seems to be. As the kids might say, this combination of characters are the Gaslighting Final Boss.
The cast, holy shit. Between Mia Farrow and John Casavetes’ undeniable ease of chemistry, and Farrow’s infectiously naive performance, it’s so easy to fall into its world. In a film centering on the heir to Sayan, her being from Omaha is about the most unbelievable thing about the way Rosemary’s Baby is acted. Then Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer being the cult leader Aunt & Uncle I never knew I needed. Brilliant.
Rosemary’s Baby is a heralded film classic for a reason. Each shot is beautifully crafted, the script is so well plotted, and the entire cast are in lockstep building its story and world. One of the easiest five stars I’ve given.
🧙🧙♀️🍼🤷🏼♀️👿🎬🛏️
