ROSEMARY'S BABY (2014)

Studio:       NBC
Director:    Agnieszka Holland
Writer:       Scott Abbot, James Wong, Ira Levin
Producer:  Robert Bernachhi, Mariel Saldana, Zoe Saldana, Cisely Saldana, Tom Patricia
Stars:     Zoe Saldana, Patrick J. Adams, Carole Bouquet, Christina Cole, Jason Isaacs

Review Score:

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Summary:

A pregnant woman comes to believe that a coven of witches has designs on her unborn child, and her husband may be a part of their cult.

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Synopsis - Part 1:     Show/Hide Spoilers

At the La Chimere apartment building in Paris, pregnant woman Nena Pascal frantically writes the phrase “it’s an anagram” above the name Steven Marcato in a book labeling the man as a possible servant of the devil. Nena removes the silver necklace from around her neck and curses her husband Jacques for betraying her before jumping to her death.

Former ballerina Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling writer husband Guy learn that Rosemary suffered a miscarriage. Three months later, the Woodhouses move to France after guy accepts a teaching position at the Sorbonne arranged by Rosemary’s friend Julie.

Rosemary chases a mugger who steals her purse. The robber escapes after being struck by a car, but Rosemary recovers her purse. She also recovers the wallet of a woman named Margaux Castevet and decides to return it to her in person at La Chimere. The two women meet and Margaux invites Rosemary and Guy over for dinner that evening.

Rosemary and Guy are introduced to Roman at the Castevets’ party. While Guy and Roman get to know each other, Margaux introduces Rosemary to her other guests, including Commissioner Fontaine of the Paris police. While looking into one of the apartment’s rooms, Rosemary experiences a hypnotic vision of a Blue-Eyed Man engaged in an orgy. The Castevets gift the Woodhouses a black cat as a token of friendship.

That night, a fire breaks out in the Woodhouses’ faculty living quarters and Guy is injured. The Castevets insist that the Woodhouses move into an empty apartment in their building. The Castevets also gift the couple with new wardrobes. Rosemary has a dream of jumping out the apartment’s window.

Julie tells Rosemary that Guy is up for the position of Head of English Literature at the Sorbonne, but his main competition is Professor Hildegard Bishop. While visiting Julie at the Sorbonne, Rosemary sees her husband in conversation with Roman. The same mugger who stole Rosemary’s purse then knocks into Professor Bishop. Roman helps the woman collect her things, but he keeps Hildegard’s dropped pen.

Rosemary returns to La Chimere to find Margaux and a handyman inside her apartment, claiming to be fixing the fireplace. Realizing that the apartment does not have a fireplace, Rosemary begins a search that uncovers a closet hidden behind a bookcase. Inside, Rosemary finds a photograph of the Pascals.

While interviewing for the Sorbonne position, Professor Bishop suddenly goes crazy, stabbing interviewer Dr. Carraro before slitting her own throat. Guy observes Roman across the lobby as Professor Bishop’s body is removed from the building.

Rosemary takes the photograph of the Pascals to Commissioner Fontaine on a hunch that something bad happened to the woman in the picture. Fontaine identifies the woman as Nena and relays the story of her suicide before mentioning that Nena’s husband Jacques is currently missing.

Rosemary returns home to a surprise party celebrating Guy’s promotion in the wake of Professor Bishop’s death. Guy and Rosemary decide to try having another baby. Margaux gives Rosemary a silver necklace filled with tannis root. That night, Rosemary dreams that Guy pushes her from the window of their apartment. She wakes to find Guy feverishly at work on his novel during a bout of renewed inspiration.

Rosemary shows the picture of Nena Pascal to Julie. Julie notices a tattoo on Nena’s wrist identifying her as a Coptic Christian. Rosemary visits the only Coptic church in Paris and learns the satanic history of La Chimere from Father Tekem. Tekem tells her about cannibalistic sisters Delphine and Daphne Trench, who slaughtered countless men at La Chimere in 1933. Satanist Steven Marcato also lived there until 1986. The priest once witnessed Marcato sacrificing a whore in an alleyway behind the building before eating the woman’s heart. Tekem warns Rosemary to leave Paris before suffering the same fate as Nena. Later that night, Father Tekem is found hanging from a noose.

Rosemary sees the Blue-Eyed Man entering La Chimere’s elevator. She races down the stairs to the lobby, but the doorman Paul explains that no one was in the elevator. Meanwhile, Jacques Pascal pays a visit to Guy and gives him a cryptic warning before running away. Roman observes their interchange. Roman also reports that a publisher has purchased Guy’s new novel.

Commissioner Fontaine visits Rosemary to inform her about Father Tekem’s death and to ask why she visited him the day before. Fontaine does an Internet search for Steven Marcato and comes up with numerous images, including one of the Blue-Eyed Man.

Margaux brews a fertility soup that she insists Rosemary eats. Rosemary talks to Margaux about Nena.

The Woodhouses and the Castevets walk home after having dinner out together. Jacques Pascal shoots Roman after saying, “I want what you promised” and “no more lies.” The Castevets’ chauffeur intervenes and shoots Jacques. In the ensuing commotion, Margaux removes a ring from Jacques’ finger. Rosemary tells Fontaine what she heard Jacques say. Margaux later performs an incantation. Roman recovers from his gunshot wound while Jacques dies during surgery in the hospital.

Margaux senses Rosemary’s ovulation and insists that she and Guy conceive. Rosemary eats Margaux’s fertility soup and loses consciousness shortly after Guy lays her down in bed. Rosemary has a vision of the Castevets and their coven watching her have sex with the Blue-Eyed Man. As the Blue-Eyed Man transforms, Rosemary begins suspecting that her dream is really happening.

Synopsis - Part 2:     Show/Hide Spoilers

Rosemary wakes the next morning to find scratches on her body. Guy reveals similar marks on his chest and claims that he and Rosemary had passionate sex together. Commissioner Fontaine reviews surveillance footage of the surgery during which Jacques died and observes an unidentified woman in black walking through the operating room.

While touring the catacombs underneath Paris, Rosemary faints and falls into a collapsing hole. At her hospital visit after, Rosemary learns that she is pregnant. The Castevets refer Rosemary to obstetrician Dr. Sapirstein. Rosemary complains of severe abdominal pain and Sapirstein prescribes a daily drink of organic herbs and tannis root to be prepared for her by Margaux.

While Guy celebrates his newfound success with Roman, Julie visits Rosemary and notices her surprisingly frail appearance. While getting a haircut at the salon, Rosemary’s nose begins bleeding profusely. Julie takes Rosemary to see obstetrician Dr. Bernard. Bernard observes anomalies in Rosemary’s blood work and in her ultrasound. Guy is furious when he discovers that his wife went to a doctor other than Sapirstein.

While preparing dinner, Rosemary has the urge to eat raw turkey innards. She then has a strange encounter with the Blue-Eyed Man and reports her Steven Marcato sighting to Fontaine. Fontaine tells Rosemary that Marcato has not been seen in 30 years and is most likely dead. Rosemary sees a screenshot of Jacques’ operating room and recognizes the unidentified woman as Margaux Castevet.

In a haze, Rosemary confuses Guy for Marcato and attacks him. Guy takes his doubts about Rosemary’s safety to the Castevets. Roman issues a threat of writer’s block to keep Guy in line.

Guy resigns from the Sorbonne to concentrate on his writing. He has a confrontation with Julie about Rosemary’s pregnancy that ends with Guy attempting to kiss Julie in order to steal her cross necklace. At her cooking class later, hot water scalds Julie, causing her to slip and die after hitting her head.

Three months later, Fontaine connects the disappearance of Steven Marcato with the emergence of Roman Castevet as the new owner of La Chimere around the same time. Meanwhile, the Castevets continue pressuring Guy when he expresses doubts about the coven’s plans. Margaux also seduces Guy.

Rosemary follows her cat “No Name” into the closet and finds a secret passageway that connects to the Castevets’ apartment. There, Rosemary finds a study filled with strange doll parts. Back in her own closet, Rosemary finds the book “All of Them Witches” by J.R. Hanslet with Nena’s handwritten notes. Rosemary sees an image of a talisman in the book that is identical to the one given to her by Margaux. Rosemary solves the anagram puzzle and realizes that Roman Castevet and Steven Marcato are the same person.

Rosemary reports her findings to Fontaine and arranges a meeting. She also informs Guy, who tries to dismiss Rosemary’s theories about a witch coven conspiracy dedicated to taking her baby. Rosemary finds Julie’s cross necklace in Guy’s desk and realizes that Guy is part of the cult.

Roman unsuccessfully tries bribing Fontaine to stop his investigation. While driving to his meeting with Rosemary, Fontaine beings bleeding and sweating profusely before being struck by a cement truck upon exiting his car.

Rosemary relays her suspicions to Dr. Bernard. Believing she is delusional, Bernard has Sapirstein and Guy come to take Rosemary home. Rosemary tries escaping, but Sapirstein sedates her as Rosemary goes into labor back at the apartment.

When Rosemary wakes three days later, Guy tells her that she lost the baby. Some time afterward, Rosemary hears crying coming from the Castevets apartment and enters the secret passage. Rosemary finds the coven assembled around a bassinet. Rosemary spits at Guy when he tries to offer an explanation. After seeing that the boy has eyes like the Blue-Eyed Man, Rosemary raises a knife. However, Roman convinces her to be a mother to the child. Rosemary breastfeeds the baby and is later seen pushing his stroller along a Paris street.

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Review:

Watching “Rosemary’s Baby” was a mistake.  Not the 2014 NBC miniseries mind you, but the 1968 feature film (review here).  Let me explain.

Whenever the phrase “supposed to” is used while criticizing a remake, it means that the new version is being funneled through an unfair frame of expectation based on a previous interpretation of the same material.  Commentaries devoted to remakes are filled with vitriol from angry fans predisposed to hating a new version of anything for being too different from the original, not different enough, or just plain existing at all.  It is a conscious choice to set one’s self up for disappointment by crossing arms and harrumphing as a knee-jerk reaction instead of openly accepting a different vision as an entirely separate entity.

After night one of NBC’s “Rosemary’s Baby” aired, I found myself belonging to the minority of those willing to cop to liking the first two hours despite a vocal public consensus of underwhelmed apathy or sneering dislike.  I enjoyed the well-cast performances, the sharp cinematography, and felt I understood why certain aspects of the source material were finessed to fit into a new timeline and setting.  Others could not help but to measure Zoe Saldana’s characterization against what Mia Farrow did with the same role, and had numerous other unmet “supposed to” qualifications based on a 46-year-old standard that the updated work was not required to adhere to anyway.

But heeding my own advice to view the miniseries as if Roman Polanski’s film did not exist had “Rosemary’s Baby” on its way to satisfying modest standards for broadcast television horror with its modernized take on Ira Levin’s classic novel.  Taking 2014’s “Rosemary’s Baby” with fresh eyes had me in a better position to enjoy it as its own thing, without feeling a need to place it side by side with the original.

Knowing that I would have to defend the favor I had been developing for the miniseries, I decided to revisit the 1968 movie in between nights one and two.  The intent was to gain better comparative insight into what was changed and perhaps perspective on why.  Instead, refreshing my memory of the first film made me see how the 2014 adaptation failed to deliver a similarly resounding impact.

While I still feel that the update does several things well, my opinion of “Rosemary’s Baby” 2014 went from thumbs up recommendation to middling uncertainty.  In the process, it reaffirmed my stance that unless the intention is be upset over inferiority, it is always best to leave conceptions about an original as far back as possible before going into a remake.

With an additional 45 minutes to fill over the other movie’s runtime, commercials excluded, “Rosemary’s Baby” extends the backstory of several secondary characters to add more mystery to Roman Castevet and to make Guy more tortured over his willful involvement in the coven’s conspiracy.  Additional layers to these personalities are welcome at first, but what happens is that the miniseries forgets the first word of the title and ends up turning itself into “Everyone Else’s Baby.”

Mia Farrow is in every single scene of Roman Polanski’s film.  The entire narrative is intentionally structured to be seen solely through Rosemary’s perspective.  The blinding of Guy’s rival and Hutch falling into a coma are events relayed over the telephone.  The reveal of what lies inside the black bassinet is told through Rosemary’s expression.  Terror comes from the viewer’s mind racing alongside Rosemary’s through all of the terrible possibilities taking place behind those hidden corners of her world.

In addition to making Rosemary the viewer’s anchor, what this approach does is it heightens her fearful paranoia and in turn, the viewer’s.  Because Polanski never reveals the context of private conversations between Roman and Guy, and never shows the Castevets unless Rosemary is with them, there is always a fleeting glimmer of possibility that Rosemary might be imagining a ridiculously wild premise to explain the odd things she observes.  That sense of mistrust and uncertainty creates dread inherently, and instills a feeling of immersion in a confusing reality where Rosemary is the only character who can be believed.  This develops into an unbreakable bond between Rosemary and the audience, through a feeling that they are experiencing her trauma together.

Moving the camera away from Rosemary distracts her emotional arc, forcing a reliance on more action-based conflicts and interpersonal struggles to fabricate tension.  It makes for a miniseries with drama tuned to more modern entertainment sensibilities where physically seeing is preferred above mentally inferring, yet it misses triggering that touchstone of fear over confronting horrors unseen and unknown.

The contemporary “Rosemary’s Baby” instead takes its thrills from visceral shocks that push broadcast standards about as far as they can go before an FCC censor has a stroke.  A frantic suicide opens part one, and any time the tempo starts dragging due to extensive exposition and dialogue, the film has a knack for sensing the slowing speed and drops in a gory death to pepper the pace.

There is definitely more of a slasher tinge to the film as opposed to pure psychological thriller.  Surprise moments like an impromptu throat slitting tick the checkbox for those horror hounds who need jolting imagery for satisfaction.  A Quasimodo-like goon added for oddity value is more confusing than anything, but swapping Rosemary’s uncooked steak for raw bird innards is one way the remake manages to enhance its creep factor visually.

One thing that does work in the miniseries’ favor is the move from New York to Paris.  While true that it adds a sense of alienation and isolation to Rosemary’s situation, the real benefit is how the foreign locale makes a recognizable reality feel unfamiliar and occasionally uninviting, at least to audiences unaccustomed to French scenery.  Imposing architecture, spoken accents, and the overall setting give the production a unique style that sets its mood apart from the original in a distinctive way.

When Margaux Castevet prepares fertility soup with tannis root for pregnant Rosemary, the exoticness of the environment enhances the believability that a foreigner would accept such strange holistic medicine at face value, passing it off as having “Old World” cultural appeal.  The same goes for the exaggerated theme of semi-erotic seduction.  Margaux passionately kissing Rosemary during hypnotic moments or briefly seducing Guy takes a different tone given how signs of affection attributed to French custom are usually perceived.  The tease of mesmeric sexuality would have a much different feel had the setting remained in North America.

However, one change that does not work is making the Castevets into elite socialites of immense wealth.  The lasting fright of the 1968 film was the insinuation that average friends and Everyman acquaintances were just as likely to be devil-worshippers as they were church-going Christians.  Minnie Castevet was a wacky, yet familiar feeling, next-door neighbor with old lady fashion sense whose hobby was knitting.  The coven assembly during the finale consisted of blue-hairs in cat glasses and regular folks who looked like anyone’s aunt or uncle.  As much as anything, this idea of inescapable hopeless that nowhere was safe and no one could be trusted made that image chilling.

The miniseries does not suggest the same level of pervasive evil.  These Satanists are manicured men and women in tailored suits sipping champagne in private piano lounges.  They look sinister, but their menace comes across as distant and nowhere near as threatening as those who are so much more deceitful about their unholy affiliation.

Coming with that differentiation is a focus on materialistic seduction being the prime motivator for making a deal with the devil.  John Cassavetes played Guy with dark desperation and a slightly sleazy air suggesting an unlit fuse.  He was more than just eager to make it as an actor.  He didn’t care enough about his wife for his conscience to ever be a determining factor in deciding to align himself with Roman.

Patrick J. Adams turns Guy into more of a patsy, which also paints him as a pushover.  Depicting his moral struggle in the aftermath of Rosemary’s impregnation is intended to develop sympathy, but the subplot does not take the idea far enough to develop into anything beyond time taken away from Rosemary.

Which is a chief drawback of the miniseries’ attention on ancillary characters.  Giving purpose and personality to these other players requires removing some of both from the primary protagonist, and that is a mistake.

An example of where such an adjustment creates an unnecessary gap is the addition of Commissioner Fontaine, a police inspector who actually does believe Rosemary’s crazy allegations.  There is a moment during the second half where Rosemary breaks in her growing suspicion that witchcraft is enveloping her, and Fontaine becomes the person attempting to convince her that the coven conspiracy is real.  When Rosemary is depicted doubting her convictions like that, it introduces questions about her perception and wisdom, which diminishes her value as a heroine since the audience knows her instincts are correct.

Is “Rosemary’s Baby” a tale more effectively told by the 2014 miniseries than by the 1968 theatrical release?  No.  Yet in spite of story changes that significantly alter critical character motivations, the setting and the photography renew a fair portion of that fumbled atmosphere.  And the goal to offer a moderately reworked take on a familiar story is still evident in a production with sincere energy displayed on both sides of the camera.

I would be curious to know how “Rosemary’s Baby” 2014 might play independent of Polanski’s film coloring the viewing.  I do suspect that had I not been reminded of what makes the original one of the most well-respected horror films of the 20th century, the miniseries would be better able to stand on its own as a great looking production with sensible intentions and unique value.  Although regardless of its best efforts as a film, and my own initial intention to leave impressions of the 1968 adaptation outside the door, “Rosemary’s Baby” has a hard time stepping outside of an unavoidably large shadow no matter what.

Review Score:  65

Rosemary's Baby (1968) Review

Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby Review

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