Rosemary's Baby

I've never found Mia Farrow to be a very versatile actor, but she certainly delivers the best performance of her career in this gripping story of Satanic manipulation. "Rosemary" is married to "Guy" (John Cassavetes) and they live in one of those lovely great buildings that overlook New York's Central Park. Their neighbours are a bit eccentric, to day the least, with "Minnie" (the almost perfect Ruth Gordon) and "Roman" (Sidney Blackmer) chief amongst those who take an increasing interest in this couple when it appears that a baby is on the way. Gradually, she begins to suspect that something is amiss with not just her pregnancy, but with her marital relationship as she seems to see less and less of those previously close to her and becomes little better than a prisoner in her own apartment. She is becoming increasingly paranoid, confused and resentful of a seemingly indofferent husband who seems content to let just about everyone interfere as the due date approaches. This is also Roman Polanski at his best as he manages to amalgamate the sinister and the coercive with the religiosity of a story that exudes menace and panic whilst also calling into question established societal values around faith and trust. It's almost claustrophobic by design, and their small apartment soon takes on the mantle of a cell occupied by a woman who is very much not in control of her own destiny - whichever way she tries to turn, and with the careful use of a score from Christopher Komeda that could rival Bernard Herrmann then we have a story of visceral fear that looks great on a big screen. Gripping and genuinely quite terrifying at times, it's amongst the best of this genre.