Rated R | 121 mins.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer
Before going into mother! I had no expectations and the trailer and plot didn't reveal much except for the fact that Jennifer Lawrence goes insane, but just know that it had me all fucked me up after the "experience" was over. It is definitely worth nothing and understanding that the house that Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem's characters live in represents the planet Earth. Everthing in mother! symbolizes something. Lawrence revealed that in a recent interview and had I not known that, the movie would have seemed like a real shit-show. Fortunately, having that one little hint made the movie very bold, artistic, and was conveyed from a very unique aspect.
The story follows a couple, Him and Mother, who live in a secluded house that's literally in the middle of nowhere. Him is a poet with major writer's block and Mother is renovating their grand house after it was burned down in a tragic fire. One day a Man (Ed Harris) shows up unannounced, followed by his wife, a Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer), and they are openly welcomed by Him, but understandingly unwanted by Mother. After these strangers make themselves at home, more people start showing up. Then even more, etc.
It becomes apparent that the characters in this story represent much more as the story progresses, especially in the latter half of the film. Mother can be interpreted as Mother Nature, Him would be God, and Man and Woman are Adan and Eve, respectively. With the arrival of a community of people to the main couple's "planet", the home begins to be divided up into different realities of the world that we live in, such as terrorism, immigration, and religious rituals. Some people are there to cause destruction and others are there to mend it. A lot happens in the second act and it's sometimes too hard to watch or even listen to. Major kudos to the sound editing and sound mixing team for making the audience a central character of this film and for putting us right in the middle of all of the action.
I enjoyed that the entire film was seen from the perspective of Mother and you can't help but have deep sympathy for her throughout. It makes you think that the world we live in isn't as appreciated as much as it truly should be and, unfortunately, there may be know way to fix it only because everyone is so different and have diverse opinions. To build something from nothing and have it quickly destroyed is as crystal clear as the love Mother Nature has for God. Jennifer Lawrence gives another outstanding performance and Javier Bardem is just as solid as her other half. Darren Aronofsky also hasn't shown this type of masterful direction since Black Swan, his last film to also be dubbed a "psychological horror". This movie was traumatizing and I would never see it again if I'm being completely honest, but at the end of the day (or the world) it was truly an experience well done. ★★★★
★★★★★ Classic | ★★★★ Excellent | ★★★ Good | ★★ Fair | ★ Poor #mother #JenniferLawrence #DarrenAronofsky #MovieReview