INTERVENTION TO NARRATIVE WITH MUSIC: MUSICAL CUES OF ROSEMARY’S BABY

“I’m sorry to bother you, I was told about an apartment.” [The Tenant (1976)]

Rosemary’s Baby, is a 1968 American psychological horror film directed by Roman Polanski, based on the novel Rosemary’s Babyby Ira Levin. The film is about a pregnant woman who suspects that an evil cult wants to take her baby for use in their rituals. Rosemary’s Babydeals with themes related to paranoia, women’s liberation, Catholicism, and the occult.[1]The movie is the one of Polanski’s “Apartment Trilogy”. It is not a continuation of a single story in three parts. Polanski consists of three different films. All the films are related to the problems within the apartment. Repulsion (1965), the first movie of trilogy, is a psychological thriller. Rosemary’s Baby(1968) is a supernatural thriller and the last movie, The Tenant(1976), is an unconventional psychological horror. ‘Apartment’ is nearly a character for all. Although director consists a connection between plots and places, we can say that musical cues are also the third part of chain. Sounds of Rosemary’s Babyis composed by Krzysztof Komeda. And the Main Theme, a lullaby, is used as a leitmotiv by director to express motherhood and peace. In this work, I will focus on musical cues of the film to show that music is also the main part of meaning of the story.

Firstly, let us look at the plot. In 1965, the couple of Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse move into the Bramford apartment building in New York City. While they are touring the apartment, we hear a piano sound and see a cabinet. These are really crucial foreshadowing. Before they move to the apartment, Rosemary meets Terry Gionoffrio, and she shows a pendant to Rosemary. It is given by Castevets to Terry for good luck. And before some days, Terry is dead. Rosemary and Guy are quickly befriended by the Castevets. Minnie gives Terry’s pendant to Rosemary for good luck. This pendant smells odd because of tannis root. Minnie says it is a good luck charmand. On the night they plan to conceive, Minnie brings them individual cups of chocolate mousse. Rosemary complains that her cup has an “undertaste” and only eats a small portion before throwing the rest away. She passes out and experiences a dreamlike vision in which she is raped by a demonic presence in front of Guy, the Castevets, and other Bramford tenants, all of whom are naked. When she wakes the following morning, she finds scratches on her body. Guy tells her that he had sex with her while she was unconscious because he did not want to pass up the opportunity for her to conceive. And she learns that she is pregnant. She plans to receive obstetric care from Dr. Hill. However, the Castevets insist she see their good friend, Dr. Abraham Sapirstein, who says that Minnie will make Rosemary a daily health drink. For the first three months of her pregnancy, Rosemary suffers severe abdominal pains. When Hutch sees her gaunt appearance and hears that she is being fed tannis root, he is disturbed enough to do some research. Before he can tell Rosemary his findings, he falls into a coma. Rosemary tells Guy that she plans to see Dr. Hill, which angers Guy. However, the abdominal pains suddenly disappear and Rosemary feels the baby move for the first time.Three months later, Hutch dies. Before dying, he manages to briefly regain consciousness, directing his friend Grace Cardiff to give Rosemary a book about witchcraft along with the cryptic message: “The name is an anagram.” Rosemary deduces that Roman Castevet is really an anagram for Steven Marcato, the son of a Satanist. She suspects her elderly neighbors and Dr. Sapirstein are part of a Satanic coven with sinister designs for her baby, and that Guy is cooperating with them in exchange for help in advancing his career. Rosemary becomes disturbed and shares her fears and suspicions with Dr. Hill, and he calls Dr. Sapirstein and Guy. Rosemary attempts to lock Guy and Dr. Sapirstein out of the apartment, but coven members have already infiltrated and restrain her. When she wakes, they tell the baby has died, which she refuses to believe. She hears a baby cry in the Castevets’ apartment and secretly stops taking the pills. She discovers a secret door opening into the Castavets’ apartment and hears the baby’s cries again. Roman explains to Rosemary that Guy is not the child’s true father. The child is actually the son of the Devil. But the true mother is Rosemary. So, at the end, she prefers mothering to child.[2]

Plot is important to understand movie’s psychological aspect. It is a horror story, we cannot handle movie’s sounds except Rosemary’s psychological experiences. Step by step, her experiences and fears give us many keys to open secret locks. In all paranoiatic situations or in happiness, we see details from Rosemary’s eyes. Her glance helps us to solve mysteries of the story. To look with Rosemary’s eyes means that we establish an identification with her; her fears become our fears, her pains are our pains. Therefore, during the process of plot, because we experience all feelings with Rosemary we also reach answers with her. But, there is a difference: Rosemary can hear diegetic sounds only. I mean, when she falls in paranoia, only one song helps her to understand all mystery. Let me explain that below.

First of all, as I said above, in the begining scene we hear piano sounds as diegetic. This gives a crucial information to us: Apartment is not a safety place. Its walls are so thin and it has some holes. This features express that the apartment is open to intervention from outside. For Rosemary and Guy, the apartment is not a private place. During the film, we hear piano sounds again and again. Before a point, different piano sounds turn into Beethoven, Für Elise. Either in an intervention time or in routine days, we hear Für Eliseagain and again. It goes without saying that, in many conditions, we hear same song from outside because intervention is an actual feature of the apartment. In all conditions, in all times… During the film, the intervention threat causes a paranoia for Rosemary. Therefore, director is not contented with identification between Rosemary and the apartment only; he prefers to support identification with musical cues.

On the other hand, we are more lucky than Rosemary to understand more details of mysteries. Because we (as audience) can hear non-digetic sounds. From beginning to end, the Main Theme is played as non-diegetic repeatly. The film is openning with this theme, a lullaby. And during the film, this song is repeated in different forms; sometimes instrumental, sometimes with lyrics. Times we hear that theme are important. Because, it cannot be ignored that this theme indicates us some certain feelings: motherhood and peace. At the beginning, the couple of Woodhouse begins to a new life; they are hopeful, and we hear lullaby. When they imagine, talk about future, learn pregnancy, prepare a room for child, Rosemary prefers mothering to child… In all of these times, lullaby’s different versions are played. It is not wrong to say that the Main Theme is a leitmotiv. Taking all the above mentioned points into consideration, times which we hear lullaby express the same situations: motherhood and peace. There is no certain information about these feelings in the movie except musical cues. It shows us that director conducts all movie with music. Music is one of the main parts of plot fairly.

In a nutshell, either diegetic or non-diegetic, Polanski uses music as a main part of plot. In the beginning of the film, scene opens a New York view and lullaby; camera zooms Bramford apartment building specifically. Samely, in the end, camera exits from building to New York City view with lullby. There is a circularity. It is meaningful because all story is a section of whole life and actually there is no end for Rosemary. She had motherhood imaginations before moving the apartment and probably she will have same feelings after the end of the film. She will sing lullaby again and again. We understand that thanks to this circulation with camera’s moving and lullaby. As a consequence, it illustrates us Polanski’s intelligence on filming.

[1]Wikipedia/ Rosemary’s Baby.

[2]Wikipedia/ Rosemary’s Baby.