Based on the novel by Ira Levin (who also wrote other big-name works such as The Stepford Wives), this is a psychological thriller made in 1968 and set in 1966, New York. A young recently married couple move into an apartment where the actor husband will be close to the theatre where he hopes to make it as a big star. His wife, Rosemary, will occupy herself with having babies, just as soon as his career takes off. But this apartment has some very strange neighbours.
WILL THIS FILM ANNOY A FEMINIST?
There is a scene which is difficult to watch for anyone who is up to speed with rape culture. To say anything more would be a plot spoiler. Rosemary’s reaction after the event is so mild-mannered that there is no catharsis for the viewer. I wanted to see her yell, or say something threatening. Rosemary never yells. Feminists will understand that in some real life cases, yelling is not an option. Threatening is not an option either, when you live in a society where you’re totally reliant upon your husband, and largely responsibile for your marriage working or not.
The young Mia Farrow looks very young indeed, with a childlike body and voice and a way of wishing to please her husband, as many young women would have been in 1966. The good news is that she does undergo a character arc. She realises that she has been trapped in a situation and does her best to escape from it. Whether she does or not is beside the point: Modern viewers who have ever been through the maternity system will probably identify with Rosemary as everyone around her becomes obsessed with the shape of her body, what she’s eating and drinking, and the paternalistic nature of the medical system, in which women are entirely at the mercy of medical professionals, some of whom are still condescendingly reassuring. Rosemary knows something is wrong and no one believes her. The bigger picture is that women have been considered neurotic and emotional for centuries. This film holds a candle to all of those issues, but in the guise of a supernatural thriller.
DOES IT PASS THE BECHDEL TEST?
Yes, because the Bechdel test only requires two women to talk about something other than a man. But apart from one brief conversation in the basement laundry, Rosemary’s talk with other women is all about her impending birth. So if you add the addendum that two women can’t be discussing babies or romance or shoes in order to pass, this doesn’t.
That said, I don’t believe every feminist movie needs to pass the Bechdel test. The whole point of this story is that Rosemary is trapped, with no line to the outside world. Therefore, it’s necessary that she not talk to friends from her former life.
AND IS IT ANY GOOD?
I’ve watched this several times and the more I watch it the more of a feminist story I feel it is. I’d like to know if Ira Levin was conscious of creating a story which so beautifully acts as a metaphor for certain common feelings experienced while pregnant.
The viewer will be left wondering what happens after the story ends, but I hesitate before recommending reading the 1999 sequel, which Levin wrote himself but which is pretty terrible. You’re better off not knowing what happened next.
