mother! - This Week At The Movies

A couple's relationship is challenged when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence in their seemingly perfect house. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream), mother! stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in a “psychological thriller” about love, devotion, sacrifice and pretty much, well, everything.

Pros:

1. If you’re in tune with its clever-clever nature, mother! is a work of art: an ambitious, rich, symbolic film that will be dissected and analysed by film students for decades to come. There is so much to it, so many ways to interpret what you’re seeing. Because of this, it’s almost impossible to drop into a specific genre, with the first half a comedy of manners with strands of psychological horror laced in, and the second half some sort of home invasion movie that’s pretty much beyond description. Touching on God, earth, the environment, family, manners and, um, everything… mother! is deep and that is very much to be admired.
2. The whole cast is very good, but Jennifer Lawrence – who carries most of the film, ominously walking from room to room in this gorgeous old house – is exceptional, really pushing what her fans have come to expect from her. Toward the end, as the film descends into out-and-out horror (kind of), Lawrence’s character experiences some truly gruesome stuff, and, well, it works because she’s so good.
3. It’s original. It’s different. It’s something else entirely. In an ocean of ‘the same’, Mother! is not that. At all.

Cons:

1. mother! will go down as one of the most divisive films of the year. I predict walk-outs in cinemas up and down the country as J-Law fans come to terms with the utter madness they’re watching. At times dull, always bleak and occasionally truly ugly, mother! is an arthouse film that’s getting a mainstream release thanks to its stars and the result is going to be messy. If you’re not up for a slow-burn, thinky, maddening movie about everything and nothing at the same time, then do not see mother!. If you enjoy the more cerebral side of cinema, book all the tickets you can and enjoy. But seriously: this is not for everyone.
2. With all this symbolism sloshing around, it’s a bit… much, feeling blunt at one moment and appallingly vague at another. It’s a full-on, gob-smackingly pretentious, precocious, cryptic film, and you really do have to be in the right mood for it. Somehow, it manages to be both a four-star film and a two-star film at the same time. It’s pretty impressive in that way.
3. I feel like I’m always saying this, but it’s true: the film could be 30 minutes shorter and do what it needs to, with the grand total coming in just under two hours.

Three word review: Pretentious, portentous art.