mother!

mother! (2017)
R | 2h 1min | Drama, Horror, Mystery | 15 September 2017 (USA)

Synopsis: A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

Review: It took a few days after watching mother! to be able to separate myself enough from it to even write a review. I went through several emotions – not many of them good – from the time the film started to the time I walked away at the end. Even afterwards I struggled with the content and the themes in this one for hours, even days, after. Many would say that alone makes this a powerful movie. But is it really? I just don’t think so.

Writer/director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Noah, Black Swan) loves to mess with our minds and trip us out with shocking visuals. Given his track record we should not be shocked at what happens in mother!. But at the same time we also want to say “enough already” and have him actually give us a movie that isn’t so frustrating.

In this one Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) is married to a famous writer (Javier Bardem) and the two of them live in a remote farm house. Mother is currently remodeling the house while Him (that really is Javier’s character) is trying to write his next great composition. Things seem pretty normal until random people begin dropping by the house unexpectedly. While Him is always hospitable and eager to entertain the strangers, Mother is a tad reserved. It doesn’t take long to see a pattern forming and the metaphors are subtle enough that the movie still feels grounded. Before it is all said and done though you will long for that opening half and beg for some normalcy.

In a movie where most of the characters are pronouns it isn’t surprising that the story is going to be way out there. To give Darren some credit it does speak clearly about fame and what we give up for fortune and praise. There are also many religious themes in this one; some subtle and some not so subtle. You can appreciate what the characters, especially Mother, are going through and the awkwardness makes it quite thrilling. But ones the wheels come off this sucker it is an onslaught of, “what the crap was that!”.

Bottom line is that there is no way to truly describe or review a film like this. It is art and will interpreted 100 different ways by 100 different people. If you like tho have your world twisted upside down then this is a must see. If that is not even close to your idea of entertainment then steer clear. mother! is rated R strong disturbing violent content, some sexuality, nudity and language. There are some disturbing moments in this one especially in the last half hour that will cause many to look away or walk out. Most, myself included, will suffer through util the end in hopes that something redeeming happens. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t, That is your call. I give it 3 out of 5 whatevers. I hope writing this would help sort it out but apparently it hasn’t. sorry!