mother!
(2017)Psychological thriller from Oscar-nominated writer-director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan). Stars Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem as a couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests (Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris) arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.
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Directed by Darren Aronofsky ('Requiem For a Dream', 'Pi', 'The Wrestler', 'Noah')
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson, Kristen Wiig
Written by Darren Aronofsky
Flicks Review
BY Daniel Rutledge Flicks Writer
I'd put Darren Aronofsky alongside Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Martin Scorsese as one of the finest American filmmakers working today. His latest, however, is more like a David Lynch film: something challenging to decode that'll be hugely rewarding to some and simply frustrating to others.... More
Obsession plays a central role, as it does in all Aronofsky films, and overtly religious and political imagery feature throughout. But what this movie is all about will be dependent on the viewer - it could be motherhood (of course), the story of creation, the destructiveness of the male ego, celebrity culture, man vs nature, the place of women on the human stage, living with an artist, isolationism or any number of other things. mother! can also be read on its surface level alone as a disturbing tale about a woman going nuts in a potentially haunted house. Doing so will be disappointing, though, despite how incredible the spectacle is.
It's a difficult film to review, partly as the less you know going in, the more you're likely to get from it. But believe the hype: mother! goes to some truly crazy places. The third act features an assault on the senses that surpasses that which was built to at the climax of Requiem for a Dream. It's taboo-busting and intensely horrific in a way that flirts with the obscene more than any film with A-list actors has in recent memory.
For those who can overcome the shocking scenes and enjoy finding meaning in the absurdity, this is one of the most interesting films in years. It's extraordinarily acted, filmed and edited and while I wish there was a just a touch more clarity to it, it's the sort of wildly original beast I wish we had in cinemas more often.Hide
The Peoples' Reviews
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mother!
BY Beyond nobody
mother!
lover
giver
rarely a receiver
fighter.
after youths addicted to sugar
after women dancing to Tchaikovsky
Darren Aronofsky
delivers another
emersively singular
heart-stopper.
like most art, it’s flawed but not like any other.
the Rosemary’s Baby-esque poster
is not a coincidence
I also like his preference
of women, like the beautiful Jennifer Lawrence.
see it in a theatre
BY JackWallace superstar
Great cinematography. Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem are very good. Lawrence gives her best performance... More in years. For most of the film, I wasn't feeling anything on an emotional or visceral level. I was leaning forward in my seat and had my mouth open during the most intense, f*cked up scene, but that's about it. I didn't feel the dread escalating throughout the film like I did with BLACK SWAN. An interesting film that's different to what you'd normally see in cinemas, but it's not for everyone.Hide
BY laurenal nobody
One of the strangest movies I've ever seen. Bewildering and so absurd to the point it was comical in parts, but I was entertained and was waiting to see what would happen so gave it 3/5
BY kirstP nobody
In our opinion this movie could have been so much more... We were left waiting for a plot twist to tie everything together, but it never came. We really struggled to follow what was happening and left the theatre happy that we hadnt paid to see it. Solid acting by the all and the setting awesome, it just didnt make any sense to us.
BY lost10 wannabe
A movie that really plays with your mind and is very disturbing - if you want your mind played with this is the film for you.
Showing 5 of 26 reviews. See all reviews
The Press Reviews
A dense, delirious, playful and serious work of capital A art, and easily the most ambitious film to come out of a major studio since Kubrick. Full Review
Like all our most vivid bad dreams, it snags the mind. With barbs. Full Review
Most of the dialogue and effects are clunky, repetitive, second-rate. A minute or so of David Lynch's latest Twin Peaks series has more irrational menace. For all its feverish activity, Mother! feels static. Full Review
Mother! escalates the anxiety and ups the ante of dismay with every scene, every act, every trimester, taking us in short order from WTF to WTAF to SWTAF and beyond. Full Review
Grappling with this climax - steeped in gore, religious symbolism, hundreds of marauding strangers (including Kristen Wiig) and sheer chutzpah - is the moviegoing gauntlet of the year. Full Review
A very Rosemary's Baby-like intimate horror tale that definitely grabs your attention and eventually soars well over the top to make the bold concluding statement that, for some creators, art is more important than life. Full Review
By all means, go to "mother!" and enjoy its roller-coaster-of-weird exhibitionism. But be afraid, very afraid, only if you're hoping to see a movie that's as honestly disquieting as it is showy. Full Review
Certainly not for the faint-hearted. Full Review
Whatever you say about the ending, you can't call it an anticlimax. Full Review
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