Review of mother! (2017) by Legitsalt — 08 May 2020
With Mother, Bong Joon Ho delivers another strange genre blend. Mother is a crime movie, but it is also a character study and in parts a psychological thriller. The movie first follows Do-Joon (Won Bin), the mentally challenged young adult son of a single mom (Kim Hye-ja).
Do-Joon is easily duped and has the mental capacities of middle to an early high schooler, despite being in his twenties. The narrative shift focus to the mother after Do-Joon is convicted of the murder of a young girl.
Shortly before her murder, Do-Joon was drunkenly returning home, vaguely following her, because he liked her. What follows is the epic journey of a single mom, downtrodden by media, society, and the economy, trying to prove her son’s innocence and catch the real culprit.
The movie takes this somewhat simple narrative and uses it to explore the faults with the criminal justice system, class warfare, and ableism. Just when the viewer thinks they have caught onto where the movie is going, the movie reveals new details subverting the narrative and tropes.
Mother has many things to say, but the most potent of which is a meta-critique given at the last moment. Mother shows the power that enough dedication to a task can have, but it also shows the futility and consequences of the dedication.
This review of mother! (2017) was written by Legitsalt on 08 May 2020.
mother! has generally received positive reviews.
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