*Originally written September 17th, 2017*
"Home is where the heart is"
Jesus, where do I begin with mother!? Darren Aronofsky's latest film and BY FAR his least accessible yet. I'm at a loss for words. With no hyperbole, mother! is one of the most batshit, insane and twisted pieces of cinema I've ever witnessed. I don't know where to begin reviewing this, but I'll try my best.
Things start of intriguing and simple enough. An unnamed married couple known as Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) and Him (Javier Bardem) are a married couple with a hell of an age gap. Him is a poet with writer's block and Mother is a homemaker rebuilding Him's home. Their lives are put through a loop as more and more strangers start to arrive at their home and things escalate. I won't spoil anything, as knowing literally NOTHING, made for a hell of a shell-shocking experience.
This is easily one of the most out there and least mainstream film I've seen come out of a studio. I think the entire audience in my showing hated it (One cunt in my screening even stood up at the end and "Said did anyone actually enjoy that?"). It's so bizarre and a lot of stuff is up to interpretation. It was art-house horror on a studio budget. It's a risk that I'm amazed and proud a studio would make. Whether it pays off in the end will be another question.
Darren Aronofsky's direction is assured and precise as it comes. The whole film takes place within the house and Aronofsky uses lots of close-ups to keep that feeling of claustrophobia. He also uses rich symbolism and deeply disturbing imagery as things unfold, getting more chaotic and crazy by the second until it explodes into the final act. His control over the direction of the final scenes are one's of controlled chaos at its finest, the camera sweeps around in long takes and will leave you in shock. I was also surprised by the lack of score mother! had, rather than music, tension and that unsettling feeling are delivered through excellent sound design that really, really worked for the atmosphere.
While it being two hours in a single location does sound daunting. It's always interesting and feeling like it's building to something. There was not a moment where I wasn't fascinated by where this was going. I'm not entirely sure what everything meant though, this is a film that is going to need a lot of careful rewatches to fully "understand" it and interpenetrate it, if that is even possible.
I gotta mention what a trooper Jennifer Lawrence is here. This is definitely the best performance of her career. She goes all in, giving a Rosemary's Baby style descent into madness and she nails it. I could really feel her frustration as more and more people would enter her home and make her feel uncomfortable. She goes through hell too. Some of the things she has to do towards the end, I can't imagine many actresses agreeing to do that.
The rest of the cast are great too. Javier Bardem gives a suitably creepy performance that keeps you on edge as you slowly see his behaviour get more and more insane. Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer are also fantastic as the first people to arrive at the house. There's also some surprising faces that turn up throughout the film that I won't spoil.
I've danced round talking about the final act of mother!, but I have to address it (No spoilers though). The last 30 minutes are just chaos. Some of the most disturbing, grotesque and heart-pounding moments in cinema I've ever experienced. I just sat there in disbelief and awe at the insanity unfolding in front of me. It takes a lot to drain me like that, but when the credits rolled on mother! I just wanted a cigarette and a long walk.
Darren Aronofsky might have had a misstep with 'Noah', but he's back at it again with another masterpiece that is for the few and not the many. It's bizarre, insane and massively demented. A film experience I will never forget and one I will be revisiting frequently.
10/10 Dans
mother! is out now in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:
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