mother! (Review)

I need to start this review with a warning. This movie was made by Paramount studios but its target audience is the art house audience. Therefore most people who see this movie will loathe it and the remaining few will champion it. The first half of the film you will be waiting for the film’s plot to go where the trailer made you think it was going. This part of the film crescendos then the movie breathes a bit to give you the real crescendo that you won’t think is slow.

As some of you may know, the organisation 'Cinemascore' gave ‘mother!’ an F rating, one of about 19 movies to receive such a rating (The Emoji Movie got a B). This movie is not a typical horror film some of the publicity makes it out to be. ‘Mother!’ leans heavily on biblical references which will pass over most people’s heads, mine included until I did some research. However other films which are heavy on symbolic referencing seem to do well with larger audiences, so why is ‘mother!’ such a polarising film? Well maybe because it is one that will make people uncomfortable and one that doesn’t offer the same escapism the way films Star Wars or Lord of the Rings do (or even Aronofsky’s other films such as Black Swan and The Wrestler).

The second half of the film is a reflection of society and in 2017 I am sure it’s something that most people don’t want to see in the cinemas. The scenes strung together to make this unforgettable ‘set piece’ take ‘What The Fuck’ to a new level. Saving Private Ryan’s battle scenes represent the feeling of being in a war but ‘mother!’ will probably be the closest (hopefully) I ever get to feeling what it was like in war. This includes the shell-shocked feeling that most people will have after the film finishes.

People want to see a movie to relax and to escape from the real world but simply put, ‘mother!’ doesn’t allow that. It demands to be worked with. An audience member is required to think. This isn’t ‘It’ or ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard or ‘The Emoji Movie’. I hope ‘mother!’ is used as a case study of critics vs audiences in the future.

But what is the story people need to think about while watching this film? Well, Jennifer Lawrence plays a character called ‘mother’ who lives in a big house with her husband, played by Javier Bardem and called ‘Him’. mother is renovating the house (owned by ‘Him’) that they live in after it was burnt down many years ago and ‘Him’ is trying to write a new book. It’s a peaceful life. One night a doctor played by Ed Harris turns up at their house. 'Him' invites the doctor to stay the night, despite mother not feeling comfortable with it. The next morning the doctor’s wife shows up and she too is invited to stay at the house. When the wife tries to get know mother more, she comes off as intruding and makes her uncomfortable. Naturally, she wants them to leave but they don’t and the situation just gets worse when their sons arrive.

On first viewing, this film may seem slow at the beginning but it well and truly makes up for it in the end. However on second viewing the film breezes through its 120 minute runtime. Moments in the film flow into one another and the gaps you thought were there aren’t there any longer. A second viewing is also more rewarding, especially if you do some research for the meaning of the film and what each character represents.

On second viewing I noticed how childish Jennifer Lawrence’s performance is at moments. This is a trait among Aronofsky’s films, especially from Natalie Portman in Black Swan in which it works wonders for Nina’s journey. In this film, however, it comes off as someone who is spoiled. We still understand what she wants and why but it’s not from how she delivers her lines. Oddly enough this is probably my favourite Lawrence performance, then again i'm not a huge fan like most movie goers.

Javier Bardem is the stronger half of the lead actors. He is constantly ambiguous in what he is trying to achieve. Why does he let the doctor and his wife stay while they make ‘mother’ uncomfortable? What is the stone/crystal in his office and why is it so important to him? While he pulls off the ambiguity really well at moments Bardem plays it as if “I am being ambiguous”.

Supporting character’s lack a third dimension but the actors play their story purpose well and cover it up. Ed Harris might have the strongest performance in the film as his character goes from a humble doctor to a man in tears. (minor spoiler for the rest of the paragraph) Kirsten Wiig shows up in the second half of the film which might just be her best performance and one that will blow you away with her actions, despite only having a couple minutes of screen time.

Aronofsky and regular cinematographer Mathew Libatique bring a subjective camera and intimate frames to really understand ‘mother’ better which makes up for the holes in Lawrence’s performance. Shots will start on what is being concentrated on and when the actions start it simply takes on an over-the-shoulder shot showing us exactly what the camera looks at. Yet at other moments we feel a distance from ‘mother’ as we look at her from another room with two blank walls closing in on the frame. This distance from her doesn’t detach us but rather recreates the confusion she is suffering and makes us empathise with that suffering. As ‘mother’ gets more and more unloaded onto her and as her claustrophobia really takes hold as the camera never seems to go further than an arms length from her.

The film for a large part shadows Rosemary’s Baby and somewhat Repulsion (an earlier Polanski film). These influences are clear in throughout Aronofsky’s filmography but he brings a surrealist influence in the shape of Luis Bunel’s The Exterminating Angel. Arguments can also be made for influences from Brian de Palma (whose early films I haven’t seen) and Kubrick’s ‘The Shining’ but this film offers a more ‘intimate’ and claustrophobic experience. Whereas The Shining creates a more distant form of claustrophobia. Both films have an enemy that really can only be explained after more than one viewing.

Mother! will be talked about for ages to come and the decision that got it made as Paramount passed on a new Friday the 13th film to get this one made, especially in a year with Monster Trucks, XXX, and Ghost in the Shell which all bombed. This film is bold. If you think of another film that is bold from this year then ‘mother!’ is bold all over. Most people will be angry after watching it but I am sure that was the point. If you decide to work with the film and try to decipher it this will be an oddly rewarding experience. Everyone should watch this film just to have an opinion on it.

Overall Score: 10/10

What do you think of this film?

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Director/Writer: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson and Kirsten Wiig

Cinematographer: Matthew Libatique

Editing: Andrew Weisblum