Thursday October 20 | 8PM Rosemary’s Baby USA 1968 d. Roman Polanski with Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy, Angela Dorian, Charles Grodin, Emmaline Henry, Anna Landy and Philip Leeds. Colour. 136m
“A supremely intelligent and convincing adaptation of Ira Levin’s Satanist thriller….its main strength comes from Polanski’s refusal to simplify matters: ambiguity is constant, in that we are never sure whether Farrow’s paranoia about a witches’ coven is grounded in reality or a figment of her frustrated imagination. Sexual politics, urban alienation, and a deeply pessimistic view of human interaction permeate the film, directed with a slow, careful build-up of pace and a precise sense of visual composition. Although it manages to be frightening, there is little gore or explicit violence; instead, what disturbs is the blurring of reality and nightmare, and the way Farrow is slowly transformed from a healthy, happily-married wife to a haunted, desperately confused shadow of her former self. Great performances, too, and a marvelously melancholy score by Krzysztof Komeda.” Geoff Andrew
Series: Autumn 2022 :: Bad Babies