MOTHER! REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Director Darren Aronofsky is known for his psychological horrors such as Black Swan and Requiem For A Dream, and his latest film, mother! may be his most controversial work yet. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in early September and received both cheers and boos. While most critics went on to deem it a 'horrific masterpiece', some were not so appreciative of what Aronofsky had created. However, it is those films that were initially deemed controversial and disturbing that have gone on to become iconic and known as masterpieces, including Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (which Aronofsky found inspiration from for this film). I think that, because of this, we should be giving mother! a chance and congratulating Aronofsky for having the guts to make something directors would be too scared to even try and make into a film. Yes, it is violent, disturbing and hard to watch at times but the same can be said for the aforementioned films. mother! isn't suitable for all audiences but those who love and appreciate dark, disturbing thrillers such as The Shining and Rosemary's Baby will find something to appreciate in mother!.

The plot follows a young woman, 'mother', (Jennifer Lawrence) whose tranquil life with her husband, 'Him' (Javier Bardem), at their country home is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious couple, Man (Ed Harris) and Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer). Their personal family drama spills over into the house leading to the death of their son and a memorial service held at their house. After the guests leave, the couple who own the house end up at the center of a cult that turns their home into a warzone.

I think it's best to go in to mother! totally blind as that is what Aronofsky wanted for his audience. He barely gave any details about the plot and even the trailer raised more questions than answers. However, I think that this was a good strategy as it intrigued audiences and persuaded them to see it. Another marketing scheme included uploading mother!'s posters to Aronofsky's Twitter account. The first poster was a painting and showed Lawrence's character holding out her heart. However, Aronofsky soon pointed out there were hidden Easter Eggs and clues in the poster, vital to the film's plot. Those who are interested in watching mother! should think twice as it involves a lot of violence, especially in its third act. It's one of those films that is definitely not for the faint hearted. 

For his cast, Aronofsky has chosen four of the best actors working today including Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris. Both Lawrence and Bardem have received Academy Awards in the past for their impressive performances, Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook, Bardem for No Country For Old Men. Both Pfeiffer and Harris have also been nominated for Oscars in the past. All four actors give impressive performances but none more so than Lawrence. I have supported Lawrence and seen her films ever since she gave her breakthrough performance in The Hunger Games in 2012 and she is yet to give a disappointing performance. Her ability to become her characters amazes me and the same can be said for her role as mother. mother! is shown from her character's point of view and the camera follows her around the house. This was achieved by having a cameraman walk closely behind her which meant that all the actors had to rehearse every step and movement. We feel mother's pain of having strangers in her house and we are also annoyed at her husband for not sending people away. Their house goes from being a peaceful paradise to a claustrophobic, living hell as more and more guests turn up, eating their food and literally breaking and destroying their house. This is all shown brilliantly in the third act as mother desperately walks through the house. She can barely breathe as she is surrounded by people and, because we have developed a connection with her, we can barely breathe either. It's incredibly intense. 

The main reason why the characters are all unnamed is because they're all religion-based. As Aronofsky explained, the husband is named Him in the closing credits and is the only character with a capital letter in his name because he's meant to be God. This is proven in the climatic scene when he says 'I am I'. Religious people will know that this is a line God uses in his scripture. The title, mother!, refers to Mother Nature, whom Lawrence portrays and the other characters are based on biblical characters. The couple are Adam and Eve and their sons are Cain and Abel. The house itself is Earth and we see mother's connection with it as she see visions of a beating heart. Although I'm not religious, I really appreciated Aronofsky's metaphors and allegories for how we're treating Mother Nature. As of right now, the world is in a bad state and I don't think we're doing enough to help save it. Many people may be offended by the violence aimed at mother but I can definitely see Aronofsky's message. Mother Nature has given us this beautiful world but we're destroying what she created through climate change and pollution. Hearing mother cry, 'I gave you everything! You gave it all away' is heartbreaking and it truly made me think about how we're destroying the only home we have.

mother! has been one of my most anticipated films of this year and it certainly exceeded my expectations. The evening before its release last month, I accidentally saw a spoiler which put me off watching it. However, I knew I had to watch it, mainly for Jennifer Lawrence's captivating and intense performance. Although I normally don't like these type of films, I thoroughly appreciated all the hard work that went into creating it. This is the second film of Aronofsky's I've seen (the other being Black Swan), however, I can definitely say that he is one of the most creative and visionary directors working today. I'd say that the the intensity and disturbing tone of mother! is similar to that of Requiem For A Dream. Overall, mother! is a thought-provoking product of a singularly ambitious artistic vision. 

9/10