Review of mother! (2017) by Marcel A — 01 Oct 2017

If you recently saw the trailer for Darren Aronofsky's psychological horror film 'mother!' and thought to yourself: "Hey, that looks like a fun, spooky night at the movies", do yourself a favour and stay far, far away from this one. I'm serious...you will HATE this movie. Calling reactions to this film "divided" is an understatement for the ages - it's little wonder that most critics seem taken with its arthouse leanings while audiences appear uniformly repulsed by them. Me? I'm still trying to scrape my jaw off of the sticky theatre floor, still recovering from what I just watched a few hours ago.

Which isn't to suggest that I hated it myself. Make no mistake: this is bold, challenging work from a visionary writer/director unfettered by mainstream Hollywood constraits, and for those willing to look for it there is indeed method to his madness here. Disguised as a supernatural drama about mysterious guests who show up at a couple's secluded home, the film is rife with biblical allusions and serves as an allegory for...well, that's where things get messy. Aronofsky's clearly raging against some kind of machine, but which one? Religious faith? Artistic narcissism? Gender roles in a patriarchal society? The depravity of humanity as a whole? All of the above?

Frankly, it's difficult to discuss 'mother!' without giving too much away. Usually I like to sit down to a new movie without knowing much more than its cast and basic premise, but in retrospect I wish I'd done a little research on this one, if only to help me put its genuinely disturbing events in some kind of rational context. Should you choose to sit through it, take a moment to at least look at the cast credits first: there's a reason why Jennifer Lawrence's beleaguered housewife is named 'mother' with a lower-case 'm' while her poet husband (Javier Bardem) is named 'Him'. Notice the difference in spelling? Rest assured, it's intentional and goes some way towards preparing you for the avalanche of batshit craziness that awaits you. [A quick reading of the Book of Genesis wouldn't hurt either.].

Had I taken my own advice, my opinion would probably be more positive. Honestly, I was so thoroughly gobsmacked by what I was watching that most of the biblical references flew over my head at the time. And even with a basic understanding of the religious imagery here, not everything makes sense (like that hidden oil tank in the basement or the yellow powder Lawrence consumes throughout the film). Connecting the dots can be half the fun of watching a movie, but Aronofosky leaves a few too many puzzle pieces on the table to make the whole greater than the sum of its jagged parts. Still, I can't help but tip my hat to his daring and audacity. There's a good chance you'll walk away from 'mother!' wanting your money back, but you sure as hell won't soon forget it.