Going into this movie, there was a lot of noise and buzz surrounding this latest creation from Darren Aronofsky. It was actually one of the most divided, receptive films coming out of a film festival. So, I was skeptical about its divisive buzz because it is a movie that rarely provides that stir that will get you think about and also discuss with other people. I know Aronofsky's history of films that will get people trembling and also talking about because of its metaphors surrounding its genre and also its characters and I will talk about that in-depth later in the review.
There are movies like Requiem for a Dream that cross the line but while watching it, it is like watching a docudrama that puts yourself in a position of being consumed by drugs that is brilliant but yet disturbing as hell. I think Requiem is a great movie that I cannot bear to watch over again but maybe five years later. I felt like that movie was about the process. With mother!, I felt like I was being weirded out but in a good way from the start. However, even though it has a few strong supporting performances, I kept thinking about what message that Aronofsky was presenting and thought it had a very strong concept. But, it kept hammering me with the message once I figured out its interpretation that the movie as a whole became so self-indulgent in its presentation that I do not want to ever see it again.
(WARNING: This is the most difficult review I have ever written to avoid any spoilers so if you are very sensitive to spoilers, you have a choice to read my review or not because what I interpret can be viewed as a spoiler.)
All of these characters are unnamed so bear with me. The movie starts with a man, Him (Javier Bardem), who is a poet suffering from writer's block because of the loss of his first wife. His current wife, Mother (Jennifer Lawrence), supports Him because of his state. But, one day, someone knocks on their front door, a stranger, "Man" (Ed Harris) and Him welcomes the Man into their house. Him is polite but Mother is not quite comfortable of his presence. The next day, another knock is heard from the front door as a female stranger, "Woman" (Michelle Pfeiffer), enters with Him's permission.
As Him and Man goes out for a hike, Mother and Woman discuss whether or not she and Him would want to have children. Woman goes into Him's office with curiosity but Mother states that it is forbidden for anybody to go in without permission. As Man and Woman leave, their sons (Domnhall and Brian Gleeson) arrive to discuss some important business. However, after their constant bickering descends into madness and tragedy, all four leave and Mother is left to clean off the blood but it will not remove. And, if you think that is weird, it gets even weirder.
Again, there are minor spoilers ahead.
This is the most difficult review to write since writing my review of Interstellar but discussing how I felt about it is almost impossible without spoiling. But, to be vague, I got Aronofsky's message and I thought it was more clear than I thought with Biblical interpretations of the characters presented on-screen. I got its message after the first hour but the movie drags to self-indulgence and horror that was repetitive and it becomes empty that I felt like an allegory to Aronofsky's hatred to the world. And, I was watching videos of reviews surrounding a statement from Aronofsky that mostly said that there was a lot of hatred and tough times going on around the world but that was years ago. It felt like he was prophesying today's events.
The question is: Is this movie Aronofsky's therapeutic project to make himself feel better? Was he motivated to connect his vision with the stories from the Bible on-screen, even though he made Noah? If this was his therapy, good for him. However, even though it had an interesting build-up, the movie falls into a disgusting, disturbing hell that definitely has a religious allegory added to it and it is not very interesting. And, there is a scene in the movie that made me want to avert my eyes that I nearly wanted to waltz out of the theater and actually cry because let's just say it involves a child. It is one of the most disgusting, depraving scenes I have ever seen and even though I understood Aronofsky's interpretation, it crossed the line for me.
I will give credit to some of the performances. I thought Javier Bardem was great in the role as a man that is in a state of discomfort but wants to make people feel better as he is grateful to welcome any strangers into his world. He is like God to the people as He thinks that they appreciated His work. Ed Harris is good as the Man as he and Pfeiffer had some chemistry. Michelle Pfeiffer, I thought, was outstanding in her role and has some fantastic lines and body language that almost characterizes her as a witch.
Jennifer Lawrence does a good job with her character but I felt like she was miscast in a way initially. But, thinking about it, her casting makes sense as it alludes to a Mary Magdalene figurine as her character is maybe pure and young. She, among many Aronfosky characters like Nina from Black Swan and Randy from The Wrestler, are obsessive but in this case she wants to have some privacy and peace in her household.
So, I like the performances and the production is quite good as the house is represented as a character sort of like His creation or His world. The cinematography by Matthew Libatique is still very good as he and Aronofsky collaborated many times. The sound design is very crisp. However, those are components to the movie that I very much appreciated. It is the story and the message that somehow connected to me emotionally, not in a very good way. I was angry after the movie was over because it is not that I did not understand it, I actually understood what Aronofsky is saying but I did not want to accept his vision nearly at all. The movie is treated as sort of a dark mockery to some Biblical passages or it could be visual artistry that sort of states how paganism is a metaphor to social media from Aronofsky's mind. There are many interpretations like Kubrick's movies.
This movie is nowhere near the level of Stanley Kubrick's movies. However, even though I am definitely not recommending it, I sort of hated it, I am wondering whether or not people are going to respond to it positively because this movie is marketed as a Jennifer Lawrence horror movie. It is not. This is a dark Biblical movie or a psychological drama that has Biblical components. But, if you want to watch this movie, go ahead and see for yourself as to how to interpret this movie whether you will like it or not. It can be a very interesting conversation. But, for now, this movie is like it was beating me to a pulp until I was unconscious and in a comatose state for a few days.
*1/2
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