Been Lucky to Catch Two Excellent Movies on TV

I usually don’t see any good movies on television, primarily because K’s tastes have never evolved beyond Jackie Chan and monster movies.

Rosemary’s Baby

However, two weeks back, I took advantage of K’s cold medication (causing him to sleep all day before magically awakening at the start of IPL finals 🙂 ) to watch this fantastic English movie on World Movies Rosemary’s Baby.

I had heard so much about this movie (it has always been I had heard so much about this movie (it has always been touted amongst the top ten horror classics) and had always longed to see it, but somehow never got around to watching it. For horror movie fans like me, sites like hellhorror.com are good places to browse upcoming horror movies with trailers and reviews too.

I watched the movie from start to finish this time, and I was blown away by it.

The star of Rosemary’s Baby is Mia Farrow. She is a young newly-wed housewife married to an aspiring actor. They move into an apartment in a building that has a rather creepy history. Once she gets pregnant, strange things start happening. She becomes convinced that there is a plot to steal her baby from her. So, is there a plot, or is everything just her imagination? Well, you have to watch the movie to find out :).

All I can say is that I spent a pleasurable two hours :). It’s amazing how the director has increased the tension and the horror without showing any gory images whatsoever. It’s a rare feat in horror movies. Another thing I loved about the film was Mia Farrow – she acted so beautifully plus I loved the way she dressed and the way she decorated her new house. Very chic while being true to the role.

Later, I learned that this movie is based on Ira Levin’s book – Rosemary’s Baby.

Revolutionary Road

Yesterday, we happened to catch Revolutionary Road on HBO purely by chance. The movie stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in their second movie together after Titanic.

Revolutionary Road is directed by Sam Mendes (who also directed American Beauty – another favorite movie of mine). Both films have similar themes – how suburban mediocrity destroys people’s humaneness and lives. Revolutionary Road is adapted from Richard Yates’ novel of the same name.

Although I don’t quite agree with the movie in its entirety, I must say that I was engrossed by it. The story is about a young couple with two children who live in the suburbs. They are both bored and feel they have settled for mundane, domestic life and are now feeling stifled. They weave dreams in the air, making plans to go and resettle in Paris to recover their lost joie-de-vivre. Unfortunately, these plans fall flat, and their marriage falls apart underneath the strain.

This story is something I think all married couples struggle with. At some stage in our lives, we tend to put aside some dreams, and for the most part, we are okay with it. But seeing this couple struggle with these issues was very difficult to see. It was heartbreaking to see and hear the brutal and cruel words they flung at each other and see them hurt. It was made even worse because this is Kate and Leo, for god’s sake; they have always been my dream couple. How could they fight each other like this?? The ending is downbeat, unnecessarily tragic even. It need not have ended so badly.

Throughout the movie, I kept wondering why everything has to be so all or nothing? They could just as easily have gone on a short European trip. They looked like they could afford it. If moving to Paris was not an option, seeing how disappointed she was, he could have taken her on a trip. It might have been some consolation for her.

I did not understand!

That said, the acting was brilliant. Kate Winslet is so mesmerizing that I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Leo is pretty good, too, only he looks a bit too young and cute for the part. He walked away with my sympathy in certain crucial scenes only because of his pretty puppy-dog eyes.

But all said and done, the movie was terrific, and I should go ahead and read the book. Although the story will be familiar already, I hope the book will provide more background to these people.

All in all, I loved both the movies.

Note: It is a pure coincidence that these movies are based on books and set in 60s America. I never actually set out to watch them.