Daniel Parsons (danieljparsons)

Nicole Kidman and Sandra Oh in a John Cameron Mitchell film? I'm there.

aka Kitchen Privileges. This is a lethargic, deathly slow-paced take on the Roman Polanski classic Repulsion, only bereft of imagination. Marie's agoraphobia is played in a bizarre, totally unrealistic fashion, and Katharina Wressnig's performance alternates between sleepwalking and shrillness. Very little works here except an occasional inspired visual moment (most of which are taken from Repulsion), and I can't even recommend this for die-hard fans of Peter Sarsgaard, as this is easily his weakest performance - though given the quality of the material he's given that's hardly a shocker. Definitely safe to skip this.

Much imitated, never bettered horror classic. Polanski ratchets up the tension practically from the beginning and the story cleverly puts doubt in the viewer as to whether Rosemary is right to be paranoid or if she's just delusional (for instance, was the dream real or imagined?). Mia Farrow is inspired casting, giving a pitch-perfect perfomance and using her physicality to great effect (she seems to get paler and more fragile as the movie progresses). Little bit of trivia: Ira Levin, who wrote the book the film is based on, dedicated the sequel, Son of Rosemary (which was also made into an abysmal made-for-TV film) to Mia Farrow.

Three things, to me, elevate this movie to five-star excellence. The first is the brilliance and relateability of Lauren Ambrose's exceptional performance. She can project five emotions just through a facial expression. The second, is the simplicity of the story, and its realism. And the third is perhaps more personal; one scene features the Leona Naess song "Comatised" - one of my faves of all time!