No other film director makes me hate the human body more than Darren Aronofsky. Whether it was Black Swan or Requiem for a Dream, his movies go further than typical “body horror” and turn into … something else.
But Mother! made me just hate humans. Just when I thought he had run out of creative juice (looking at you, Noah), he brings along the horrific, hard-to-watch Mother!
And I loved every minute of this film.
A lot of people are going to leave the theater wondering what the hell they just watched, trying to rationalize how this could happen. They will be missing the point.
Mother! is an allegory about human nature, religion and how we just seem to destroy everything because we can’t control our own selfish nature. We want, we need and we obsess over things that we should probably just take a step back from and appreciate.
Aronofsky once again continues to demonstrate why he is one of the best modern filmmakers in the world. He takes risks and definitely doesn’t hold back. If you watch any of his films expecting a fun, popcorn romp … then you are missing the point.
In this case, though, it’s not just Aronofsky: the actors are all so damn good. Jennifer Lawrence (the titular “Mother”) continues to just be a phenomenal actor, playing a nice balance of paranoia, anger and fear that, in the end, became an incredible performance. Javier Bardem plays her husband … essentially God … and what a troubled, fucked up, ego-driven God he was.
People may be apprehensive to see Mother!, thinking they will get scared like a traditional horror movie but that’s not what this film is (even though the trailers paint the opposite picture.) Don’t get me wrong: it’s a dark, fucked up movie with some horror elements …. but don’t expect cheap jump scares. Mother! is much smarter than that and, if you know Aronofsky films, then you should know better.
To go too much into the plot of the movie will really ruin the messed up ride that Aronofsky takes you on: a ride that starts off slow but just builds and builds until the climax. My jaw literally dropped as I watched the final moments of Aronofsky’s vision project on a screen.
Mother! will be polarizing but take the risk and go see it in a theater. Gasp at the horror that unfolds and walk out questioning everything you saw, just like any good Darren Aronofsky film will do.
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