Ruth Gordon as Minnie Castevet in Rosemary’s Baby
Best Supporting Actress at the 41st Annual Oscars (1968)
Notable Quote:
“Oh, are you pregnant?”
Synopsis:
Young couple Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy (John Cassavetes) move into a new place, ready to start a family together, but Rosemary comes to believe that her new neighbors aren’t just weird old people, but Satan worshippers who want to take her baby!
The character:
Rosemary’s Baby is a terrifying film for many reasons, but one of the scariest aspects is the idea of moving into a beautiful new apartment and ending up with Minnie Castevet as your neighbor. She’s an introvert’s worst nightmare: there’s a scene where Rosemary is settling in for a quiet evening with a book, and Minnie shows up, friend in tow, and invites herself in so that the two of them can poke around the place and ask Rosemary how much she paid for various pieces of furniture. She has no boundaries, especially once Rosemary is pregnant. Even beyond her rude behavior, her personality is irritating: she’s loud, and tacky, and constantly brings over bad food, such a horrifying interloper.
And of course, we haven’t even gotten to the horror movie of it all, which is that Minnie is a Satanist. Now personally, I’d much rather live next to a literal devil-worshipper than someone who bothers me while I’m trying to have a chill night in, but I guess the Satanism is pretty out of hand when it involves drugging Rosemary repeatedly. In many ways, this is a film about the horrors of the patriarchy so it’s interesting to have a woman baddie. Minnie is a modern day herbalist, brewing up these awful smoothies for Rosemary that are supposed to be better than conventional vitamins: it’s all very Goop. It’s never clear whether she’s poisoning Rosemary or genuinely helping her, but her goofy old lady persona allows her to ram herself into the pregnancy journey in a way that’s inappropriate and nightmarish.
The performance:
This is one of the more fascinating performances that we’ve encountered in this column. It’s notable to see a horror film, and the specifics of this performance are extra interesting. Minnie is terrifying, but Ruth Gordon isn’t really giving a horror performance. You could transport this same exact performance to a comedy, with Gordon delivering the same way, and nothing would seem out of place. It’s horrifying in context: there’s an off-kilter wrongness to her goofy behavior that makes it work, but nothing is inherently ominous. If anything, that makes it more powerful: it’s why you actually would feel crazy if you thought the weird lady next door was part of a conspiracy to steal your baby, because it seems so outlandish.
My favorite thing about this performance is how distinctive it is. Gordon is a memorable piece of the movie, despite having a small part. I love the Cyndi Lauper vibes she’s got going on, both in her colorful demeanor and in her New York accent. Her mannerisms are perfect: she’s so abrupt, and so irritating. Even her chewing is annoying. Overall, this is such a standout performance.
The movie:
There’s a reason that even half a century later, Rosemary’s Baby is still one of the most iconic horror movies of all time. In particular, it understands an important truth about scary movies, which is that they should be about horrifying images. Don’t bog me down too much in some complicated plot, please, just let the horror wash over me. I love that this movie doesn’t try to overexplain the lore, just gives us a lot of creepy and weird, and especially appreciate all of the amazing dream sequences, that actually feel dreamlike. This movie also hits on some real subjects: gaslighting, the horror of being a woman in the world, the way that bodies become open season when pregnant. And it gave us one of my favorite America’s Next Top Model moments, what more can I ask for?!
Was the Oscar deserved?
Yes, Ruth Gordon gives a specific, distinct performance.