Two Movies Seen on TCM: Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Straight Story (1999)

I've been hooked on TCM for years now. I just always remember being a fan of Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Errol Flynn, Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, James (Jimmy) Steward, John Wayne, and many many more. Around a decade ago, I used to do some reviews of movies I saw on TCM. I figured I'd start it up again. If you're interested, click on through.

Rosemary's Baby (1968). Right off the bat, this is a movie that many might refuse to see because Roman Polanski directed the movie. What is interesting is that in real life, this movie resulted in the divorce of Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow. Of course, there were probably other reasons that led to the divorce such as the fact that Frank Sinatra met Farrow when she was 19 and he was 49. 

To me, similar to The Exorcist (1973), this movie isn't a horror movie like one would see today. It is more of a psychological thriller. The basic premise of the movie is that Rosemary believes that witches / Satan worshipers are out to steal her baby. By the ending of the movie, she is confronted with the fact that her fears are even worse than expected. Her husband did not get her pregnant. It was in fact Satan who got her pregnant. Now one could look at this ending in two different ways. She was either day dreaming all of this or it is reality. She does have a number of nightmares during the movie so one could think that the ending is just a psychotic break that she is having after being told that her baby died (falsely told). 

I would side with the reality part -- that she did indeed have Satan's child. To me, there are just these hints given throughout the movie. I'll mention a few here. A young woman that Rosemary meets while doing laundry in the apartment complex they live in is later found dead. The conclusion is that she leaped to her death, but she seemed way too happy. Why would she commit suicide a day or so later? As the movie progresses, you get the sense that she was found to be infertile, unable to carry Satan's child. Rosemary's husband lands a lead part in a play. The way he gets the part is very unusual. He loses the role to another actor who then wakes up one morning and is blind. What are the chances of that happening? We later learn in the movie that the husband had switched ties with the actor. Also, an elderly friend of Rosemary starts to become very concerned that she is in danger. He visits the house and when he is leaving, he sees that one of his gloves is missing. He asks her to meet up with her later to tell her his suspicions, but he doesn't make it to their appointment, because he goes into a coma. 

Are there any society changes noticed in this movie comparing 1968 to 2025? I don't know if there is anything dramatic. A pay phone is used. We still see phone booths in Los Angeles (without phones). Sometimes I wonder why the city doesn't just remove those booths entirely or make the corporation responsible for the removal -- just like newspaper stands, why aren't all those being removed. There are elevator operators on hand. There was a really small B&W television in their apartment. The dimensions of the television looked seriously out of whack with the size of the apartment -- Rosemary and husband came across as upper middle class and lived in a large place. There was just all this empty space in the apartment that in movies these days would have a large 65 inch television on the wall.     

The Straight Story (1999). This is a movie directed by David Lynch. It is a rather recent movie to be shown on TCM, but the cable station was doing a retrospective of a handful of his movies and this was one of those movies. It is based on the true story of Alvin Straight (played by Richard Farnsworth) who took a lawn mower drive from Laurens, Iowa to Mount Zion, Wisconsin (240 miles). I should note that Wikipedia says he went to Blue River, Wisconsin. I'm not exactly sure why Lynch would change the city to Mount Zion -- maybe due to the religious connotations of reconciliation. 

The reason for the trip was because his brother suffered a stroke (both of them are in their 70s). The two are estranged and he decided it was time to make amends. You get the sense that he was at fault due to his drinking addiction at the time. Why take a trip with a lawn mower? He did not have a driver's license due to health issues. His daughter (played by Sissy Spacek), who lived with him, had a mental disability and so also didn't have a driver's license. Why not get there by bus or ask someone to drive him? Just old age stubbornness, I guess. 

His first attempt to get to his brother is a failure as his lawn mower breaks down. He is forced to return to Laurens where he buys a used John Deere. Off he goes on a multi-week trip to see his brother. 

There are some interesting encounters along the way. I'm not sure if these encounters actually happened or are just added into the movie. One encounter is with a teenager who is running away from home, because she is pregnant and worried about the reaction of her family. He encourages her to return back home, which she does. There are also encounters with a group of bike riders, a woman who accidentally hits a deer with her car, and a priest at a cemetery. 

The most moving encounter is when his mower breaks down in Iowa. He ends up staying there for an unknown number of days. While there, he goes out with another elderly individual. They end up talking about their experiences in World War II. It is a heartbreaking moment where Straight talks about how he was a sharp shooter during the war. He noticed movement in the brush and took his shot. It was later learned that he had shot an American. Everyone assumed a German had shot the soldier and Straight never confessed that he was the individual who most likely killed the soldier. 

And yes, the movie concludes with him finally making it to Mount Zion and seeing his brother.

From all the David Lynch movies I've seen, I would say this is the most accessible, non-art movie he made. There are still moments of classic Lynch. The opening moments of the movie reminds you of Blue Velvet. The woman hitting the deer is like watching a moment from Twin Peaks, especially what happens later that night. The ending is a bit Eraserhead. These moments are fleeting and don't really veer the movie away from being a classic indie roadtrip movie.