Mother! (B or 3/4 stars)
'Mother!', the disturbing, audacious "what the hell was THAT?" film written & directed by Darren Aronofsky aims to shake us to our core & get us thinking about the catastrophic state of our world. Jennifer Lawrence - in more ways than one - is the beating heart of what's a very cold, masochistic piece of cinema. It's beautifully filmed, superbly acted, chock full of intriguing allegories & themes (God, creation, mother earth, sacrifice, how humanity is ruining our planet, rebirth) ... it's also unpleasant, pretentious & a bit baffling. So. As expected, critics & audiences alike are both revering 'Mother!" and reviled by it in equal measure.
Our 2 lead characters are a nameless 'Him' (Javier Bardem) - a poet with writer's block who craves idolatry & adoration - and his younger wife, identified in the credits as 'Mother' (fearlessly played by Jennifer Lawrence). Right from the start, Mother is loving, timid & subservient -- waiting on her husband hand & foot; and painstakingly restoring their secluded Victorian country home from a prior fire. All the while, while in the throes of his self-absorbed creative crisis, 'he' is moody & somewhat dismissive to her. Mother's life is thrown into turmoil one night when a 'Man' (Ed Harris) shows up on the front porch believing he's come upon a quaint bed-&-breakfast. Ultimately, 'Man' reveals himself to be an doctor & a big fan of the poet's work. Soon enough, the men are drinking, laughing & bonding. With his ego stroked, Bardem's 'Him' is oddly willing to have the 'Man' stay the night; though, his wife is justifiably dismayed by this encroachment.
His willingness to accommodate this visitor is curious, to say the least. The next day, the doctor's wife - 'Woman' - shows-up; aggressive, predatory Michelle Pfeiffer (in fierce, sexy form). She slinkily stalks Mother, prodding her with rude questions: "Don't you want children?" "Why isn't he all over you?" etc.. Meanwhile, Mother is occasionally affected by a malady that sends her to her bathroom where she gulps a mysterious yellow beverage. Is she trying to get pregnant? Is she nuts? No one knows. Later, Man & Woman's 2 Cain & Abel-like sons (real-life brothers Domhnall & Brian Gleeson) barge into the house and, we quickly share JLaw's nightmare of sudden mayhem, blunt violence & stunning tragedy. As more uninvited guests arrive, the film takes on a horrifying, darkly comic end-of-the-world twist.
A basement furnace {that resembles the gates of Hell} beckons her. A grisly creature of some sort gets lodged in the toilet. Caustic bloodstains mysteriously soak the area rugs & floor boards. All strange. All these excesses strain the bounds of credulity. But nothing compares to the crazed final half hour where relentless violence, riots, sex, police, feasting, destruction, depictions of war & examples of religious MANIA ignite the screen. The climax is repugnant, shockingly graphic & uncompromising -- the kind that may make some viewers running up the aisle for the lobby. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique uses natural lighting & disorienting handheld camera work to plunge us into the visual nightmare at hand; creating a palpable sense of claustrophobia & paranoia for poor Mother {and us!}. Aiding these visuals is a creepy, amped-up aural design that substitutes for a musical score. The sound design here is as much a filmic character as our actors.
Speaking of the actors, though JLaw isn't given tons of dialogue, she fills in the blanks with her vulnerability, confounding aloofness, then fever-pitched panic as the climax whirls around her. The role requires her to be very physical; and what she conveys through her facial expressions & body is really something to behold. She gives it her all; particularly in the devastating climax. The other standout is Michelle Pfeiffer, the slinky, sexy, confounding intruder who intrusively gets into her host's fragile psyche. It must be said that 'Mother!' is not the horror flick you might be expecting; given the advertising. What this film IS is cerebral, disturbing, somewhat infuriating {haha}; and may put-off audiences expecting something akin to Aronofsky's (sliiiiightly) more palatable & horror-driven Black Swan.
'Mother!' is the perfect example of something we rarrrrely get -- a genuine love-it-or-hate-it film. As mentioned, on the positive side, it is superbly crafted & wonderfully performed. It's daring. But so, too, is it a bit too nutty for its own good. Many viewers will despise where the story goes {particularly near the end}, & some might leave scratching their heads about what it was all about {like I said earlier, think God, humanity, the destruction of our planet}. Those who crave challenging, adventurous cinema, however ... might experience a something rewarding. 'Mother!' doesn't play it safe. It defies description. It's difficult to recommend. I left the theater angry. But after hours of reflection, I admit that the film has ruminated with me & is the cause for great film discussion.
Our 2 lead characters are a nameless 'Him' (Javier Bardem) - a poet with writer's block who craves idolatry & adoration - and his younger wife, identified in the credits as 'Mother' (fearlessly played by Jennifer Lawrence). Right from the start, Mother is loving, timid & subservient -- waiting on her husband hand & foot; and painstakingly restoring their secluded Victorian country home from a prior fire. All the while, while in the throes of his self-absorbed creative crisis, 'he' is moody & somewhat dismissive to her. Mother's life is thrown into turmoil one night when a 'Man' (Ed Harris) shows up on the front porch believing he's come upon a quaint bed-&-breakfast. Ultimately, 'Man' reveals himself to be an doctor & a big fan of the poet's work. Soon enough, the men are drinking, laughing & bonding. With his ego stroked, Bardem's 'Him' is oddly willing to have the 'Man' stay the night; though, his wife is justifiably dismayed by this encroachment.
His willingness to accommodate this visitor is curious, to say the least. The next day, the doctor's wife - 'Woman' - shows-up; aggressive, predatory Michelle Pfeiffer (in fierce, sexy form). She slinkily stalks Mother, prodding her with rude questions: "Don't you want children?" "Why isn't he all over you?" etc.. Meanwhile, Mother is occasionally affected by a malady that sends her to her bathroom where she gulps a mysterious yellow beverage. Is she trying to get pregnant? Is she nuts? No one knows. Later, Man & Woman's 2 Cain & Abel-like sons (real-life brothers Domhnall & Brian Gleeson) barge into the house and, we quickly share JLaw's nightmare of sudden mayhem, blunt violence & stunning tragedy. As more uninvited guests arrive, the film takes on a horrifying, darkly comic end-of-the-world twist.
A basement furnace {that resembles the gates of Hell} beckons her. A grisly creature of some sort gets lodged in the toilet. Caustic bloodstains mysteriously soak the area rugs & floor boards. All strange. All these excesses strain the bounds of credulity. But nothing compares to the crazed final half hour where relentless violence, riots, sex, police, feasting, destruction, depictions of war & examples of religious MANIA ignite the screen. The climax is repugnant, shockingly graphic & uncompromising -- the kind that may make some viewers running up the aisle for the lobby. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique uses natural lighting & disorienting handheld camera work to plunge us into the visual nightmare at hand; creating a palpable sense of claustrophobia & paranoia for poor Mother {and us!}. Aiding these visuals is a creepy, amped-up aural design that substitutes for a musical score. The sound design here is as much a filmic character as our actors.
Speaking of the actors, though JLaw isn't given tons of dialogue, she fills in the blanks with her vulnerability, confounding aloofness, then fever-pitched panic as the climax whirls around her. The role requires her to be very physical; and what she conveys through her facial expressions & body is really something to behold. She gives it her all; particularly in the devastating climax. The other standout is Michelle Pfeiffer, the slinky, sexy, confounding intruder who intrusively gets into her host's fragile psyche. It must be said that 'Mother!' is not the horror flick you might be expecting; given the advertising. What this film IS is cerebral, disturbing, somewhat infuriating {haha}; and may put-off audiences expecting something akin to Aronofsky's (sliiiiightly) more palatable & horror-driven Black Swan.
'Mother!' is the perfect example of something we rarrrrely get -- a genuine love-it-or-hate-it film. As mentioned, on the positive side, it is superbly crafted & wonderfully performed. It's daring. But so, too, is it a bit too nutty for its own good. Many viewers will despise where the story goes {particularly near the end}, & some might leave scratching their heads about what it was all about {like I said earlier, think God, humanity, the destruction of our planet}. Those who crave challenging, adventurous cinema, however ... might experience a something rewarding. 'Mother!' doesn't play it safe. It defies description. It's difficult to recommend. I left the theater angry. But after hours of reflection, I admit that the film has ruminated with me & is the cause for great film discussion.