Rosemary's Baby Analysis

Brief description of plot:
Rosemary and Guy, a new couple, move into an old apartment. They meet their neighbor, the Castevets, an elderly couple who are rude and nosy but seemingly friendly to them. After their first meal together, Guy befriends with the Castevets although Rosemary does not share the same enthusiasm. Later, Guy’s acting career takes off. Rosemary feels neglected by her husband. One night, Minnie brings two cup of chocolate mousse to the couple. Rosemary passes out after having the dessert. She has a dream of herself being raped by a monster that night. Then, she is found pregnant. During her pregnancy, she suffers severe pains and losses weight put Dr. Sapirstein, who is recommended by the Castvevts, would not do anything to help. Rosemary’s friend, Hutch becomes sick and dies after visiting her
apartment and meeting Roman. Hutch leaves Rosemary a book which suggests Roman is the son of a famous witches. Rosemary suspects that her husband has an evil deal with the old couple which would harm her baby. Rosemary tries to find another doctor for help. Sadly, the doctor does not believe her and send her back to Guy and Dr. Sapirstein. After giving birth, Rosemary is told that the baby has died. However, she hears baby’s cries from the Castvevts apartment and finds that they are holding a Satanists meeting. When she walks towards her baby, she notice something terrible with its eyes. Then, she is told that it was son of Satan. She is horrified at first but later accepts the role as being the mother of the demon son.
Personal comments :
I usually don’t like horror film, in fact, I won’t even choose to watch one, especially psychological thrillers.
After watching Rosemary’s Baby, I still don’t prefer horror though I would say it is interesting enough in other aspects. I like the mise-en-scène in this film. For instance, the dreamlike scene of Rosemary being raped. Although I, as an audience, am absolutely positive that it was really happening, all the elements in the shot i.e. the mattress floating on the sea did create a dizzy feeling that, I believe, Rosemary would be confused and convinced that “raped by a monster” is only a dream. After all, she is such a naïve young woman! Also, I like the background music played sometimes at the scene of the Woodhouses’ apartment. It was a simple piece played by piano, always appears during the daytime, while Rosemary is alone at home and Mrs. Castevet comes to visit her. This music is not related to horror nor the emotions of characters, but it gives a natural feeling to me, imagine there was someone in the neighborhood playing the piano, always the same piece, quite a simple one, probably a child… as if it was just a usual apartment
building.
This film makes me think about a few issues and subjects, such as mental illness and religion. Although Rosemary is not a madman making up stories, she does behave so strangely that people could not help to associate her with prenatal depression, paranoia, or other mental illness. Rosemary is a Catholic, yet her neighbors are Satanists, her husband has also joined the cult due to his desire of fame and success since the early part of the story. She was supposed to the only upright character left, I thought she was going to be transformed from a naïve woman into, maybe, a brave and clever woman who would finally find the way to defeat the villains. However, the plot did not go as usual, she was defeated. Religiously, the God was defeated by Satan because a Catholic has accepted to be the mother of Antichrist. If nothing religious, Rosemary has gone crazy after her long, dreadful pregnancy. Both endings make me shudder.