Review of Mother (2016) by Thomas F — 03 Jan 2018

I hate to directly call out a director for his work, but if mother! is a vanity project for Aronofsky (and it almost certainly is), then it's a rather embarrassing one.

The movie seems to have no idea what it wants to be. Is it a biblical allegory? Is it about the earth? Is it a fever dream, or a horror story? It's all of these, while simultaneously being nothing- because at its core, mother! is nothing more for a device to attempt pretentiousness while offering nothing but shallow drivel.

The allusions in this film alternate between being completely unnecessary and convoluted (the "Yellow Wallpaper" drink powder that seemed so important early in the film) and horrendously hamfisted (the Gleeson brothers incident).

I'll avoid spoilers in this, but honestly if you manage to make it through this film without figuring out the gist of it, it's probably because you're focusing on the strange and unnecessary red herrings that Aronofsky seemed to put into the film rather than the elements that matter. However, knowing what the film is about and watching it almost feels like going through the motions- simply checking items off of a list that you know you have to do, so as to end the film as soon as possible.

In fact, I think this movie could have been an excellent short film. But as is, watching it is just an awkward, excruciating trudge with very little payoff.