Mother! Review

R (for strong disturbing violent content, some sexuality, nudity, and language)

Paramount Pictures Protozoa Pictures

1 Hr and 51 Minutes

Directed By: Darren Aronofsky
Written By: Darren Aronofsky

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer Kristen Wiig, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson

INTRO: I’m not going to lie, this movie came out of nowhere for me. For a while, I only heard that Darren Aronofsky directed a new movie with Jennifer Lawrence and now they’re dating. Nobody really knew what it was even about especially when the first trailer came out literally a month before its release. And after having seen it. I still want to know what the hell I just watched.

A young woman's (Jennifer Lawrence) tranquil life with her husband (Javier Bardem) at their remote country home is challenged by a mysterious couple (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) who arrive and lodge with them.

THE GOOD: Writer/director Darren Aronofsky still proves to be one of the greatest filmmakers of the century so far primarily in the way he gets in your head to with just the alluring visuals that go with his direction. Just like "Black Swan," we get to see the function of our central character's mind and the emotions she goes through. There are smooth and quick tracking shots that put you in the center of Mother's inner turmoil especially once madness ensues. 

The cinematography done by his longtime collaborator Matthew Libatique is downright masterful and matches perfectly with capturing the craziness of Aronofsky's world. One of the best things about it is that it displays a beautiful ambient mixture of black as the foreground and yellow lighting in the background while maintaining a gritty depth of field. At some times it plays like a found footage film with the way some of the master shots are framed. There are scenes where Bardem’s face is bright, but when he puts his head down, half of his face becomes pitch black which reflects his character having two sides of him. One side portrays the love he his for his wife, and the other side resembles the egotistical part of him where he puts his followers on a higher pedestal than his wife. It occurs often, but as you analyze, it begins making sense.

Speaking of Bardem, his performance is fantastic not because his character is the root to all of the chaos that occurs, but mostly because you don’t know what he’ll do or say for the most part. At first, you may be creeped out by him but, by the end, it becomes evident what his character is supposed to symbolize, but for the first two acts you’re questioning what his deal is.

One of the best performances that had an impact on me was Michelle Pfeifer who enters like [in lack of a better word] a bitch. She steps over boundaries with personal questions that she shouldn’t be asking; she judges Her on nearly every action that she does; and worst of all, she thinks she is justified for everything while giving Her the stink eye every single chance she gets. 

Throughout the film, you have this ominous mystery onto what the hell is going on in Jennifer Lawrence’s house. Her character really has no name except Her and Mother while Javier Bardem is named either The Poet or Him.  I can tell you this much, but J. Law can pull off a perfect WTF facial expression. A lot of strange things occur in the house from strangers popping in and out, Her learning new secrets and corridors to her home, and seeing blood in the most unusual places from the toilet to just the floor. Some of the blood is just there, and you have no idea where it comes from sometimes. Aronofsky [from what I gathered] pushes the boundaries by utilizing disturbing imagery to deliver a subtle question to the audience of how far would you go to maintain that unconditional love for someone who is obviously ignoring your it.

It adds some levity with intentional humor, but enough to still keep the story flowing even when a cameo by Kristen Wiig is incorporated as she adds to the madness that occurs. Somewhere halfway through the film, the movie becomes one of those Thanksgiving Dinners family members come over you don’t even know who the hell they are. That is the best if not the only way you can relate to Lawrence's character on a humanly level.

The last thing that impressed me throughout the film was the production design behind the house these characters live in. The film is set in this one house and yet there are so many set pieces that take place in each room that the house becomes a character as well. Throughout the film, Mother has a connection to the house that becomes meaningful as the story goes on.

THE BAD: In 2012, I perceived Jennifer Lawrence as one of the best actresses to emerge out of Hollywood as she came out of such amazing films such as "Winter's Bone" and one of my personal favorite movies, "Silver Lining Playbook". It is 2017, and she’s not as powerful as she used to be most specifically with how she delivers dialogue. I think ever since her performance in "X-Men Apocalypse," she just lost the mojo she once had in giving emotional performances through the way she expresses dialogue. She has expressions down perfectly and can be truly terrifying whenever she has a freakout moment, but her delivery of dialogue is the least convincing in regards of connecting with the audience in a relative resonance, especially since every other cast member is dancing circles around her especially Michelle Pfeiffer. 

Despite all the positive comments I have about Mother!  The main thing I have against this is that,

I had to ask several audience members if they got what they just watched too nearly like,

Some of them responded with “yeah I have no idea what I just watched.” And then another responded with,

I’m sorry I don’t get it. "Mother!" is one of those films that will confuse the living shit out of you due to Aronofsky trying to combine way too many subliminal subtexts and symbolisms relating to fame and religion and it just doesn’t connect. There are moments where it does, and I commend Aronofsky for trying, but at the end of the day, I’m just confused. I’ve been confused while watching plenty of films before (most of them directed by David Lynch), but I've been this confused to the point that my brain started to hurt and formed a migraine out of it. By the time the film gets to its final act, it becomes clear what its truly about. Where at first you may think it is an allegory for fame, but then it's about religion. I DON’T KNOW WHAT RELIGIOUS GROUP IT IS TRYING TO TALK ABOUT. IS IT CHRISTIANITY? IS IT CATHOLICISM? It felt as if Aronofsky was like, “Oh you guys were confused with "Noah"? Well, get ready because I’m going to deliver you such a mind fuck with my next movie!” Well, congrats Mr. Aronofsky because you confused the shit out of me. But hey at least I was entertained and enticed the entire time. Shoot I might have to watch it again just to figure out what several elements meant.

Hey if you are going to confuse me, at least entertain me. Luckily "Mother!" is one of the first films to do it for me truly. Sort of in the same way "Eraserhead" did in the realm of movies that had me constantly asking,

Granted nothing beats "Eraserhead" from being the biggest mind fuck I've ever got from a movie, but "Mother!" comes close.

LAST STATEMENT: With a skillful direction from Aronofsky and an abundant amount of impressive technical aspects, "Mother!" is undoubtedly the weirdest films that will divide audiences either loving it or hating it. For me, I'm just going to say, "Go see it and hope you'll understand?"

Rating: 3/5 | 63%

SUPER SCENE: Mother starts slicing and dicing