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

BLACK SWAN REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Being unfamiliar with director Darren Aronofsky's previous work, I had no idea what to expect from his 2011 offering, Black Swan. All I knew was that it featured an Oscar-winning performance from Natalie Portman and a lot of dark twists and turns throughout. Fortunately, Black Swan exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Because of this film, I can understand why people regard Aronofsky one of the greatest directors working today.

Black Swan follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter's professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

To prepare for her role as a ballerina, Portman trained for a year and paid for the training with her own money until the film found investors. Aronofsky attributed the film's getting made at all to Portman's dedication and enthusiasm. All the hard work clearly paid off as Portman gives, undoubtedly, one of the best performances in her entire career. She captures Nina's desire for perfection really well and also her anxieties. We know how much the part of the White Swan means to her, unfortunately, in order to perfect the role, she'll need to learn how to play the part of the Black Swan and get in touch with her inner dark side. Portman deserved to win her Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2011. 

Alongside Portman, Kunis gives a great performance as her rival, Lily. Because she's shown from Nina's perspective, we never really know if Lily is being legitimately kind or not. In order to capture the rivalry effectively, Aronofsky would subtly try to pit Portman and Kunis against each other during filming. This included keeping the two actresses separated during filming and sending each of them intimidating text messages about each other's performance that day. However, according to Kunis, this backfired as the two were already good friends before filming. Despite this, Portman shows Nina's jealousy of Lily really well. Like Portman, Kunis practised with a ballet instructor for three months, five hours a day and seven days a week. After this, she had learned how to dance en pointe. As a child, she casually practised ballet as a child. 

Aronofsky successfully captures the ballet world really well. As any ballerina will know, there's a lot of pressure to give a perfect performance and not falter. The methods which Nina uses to 'break-in' her new toe-shoes are all common, including ripping the sole apart, re-stitching the ribbons, lighting the end ribbons to prevent fraying, spraying the toe-box and using glass and rosin to grate the bottom to gain traction. Nina's anxieties are shown through her harmful, compulsive skin picking. This is an actual impulse control disorder known as Dermatillomania. Her compulsive skin picking makes Portman's performance more effective and believable. I think that a lot of ballerinas and dancers in general will be able to relate to Nina and her desire for perfection.

While this can be described as a dark, psychological thriller, the intensity doesn't really begin until about an hour into the film. Aronofsky plays with the concept of reality and, as a viewer watching from Nina's perspective, we begin to question what's real and what isn't. Black Swan is definitely not for the faint-hearted as the intensity increases and shocks become more frequent. Like in his 2000 film, Requiem For A Dream, Aronofsky isn't afraid to show us the gory side. He knows how to grab a viewer's attention by shocking them with disturbing images. Throughout the film, Nina sees mysterious scars on the back of her shoulder which could be a metaphor for growing wings in order to fully inhabit the role of both the Swan Queen and the Black Swan. It's because of Aronofsky's directing why Black Swan is as intense as it is and he successfully earned himself an Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Directing.

One of the biggest themes of Black Swan is sexuality. In the beginning, Nina is seen as child-like with her bright pink bedroom that's filled with cuddly toys, despite her being an adult. She refers to her mother as 'mommy' and talks with a high-pitched like voice. Because she struggles to inhabit the role of the Black Swan, her director, Thomas, suggests that she gets in touch with her inner dark side by becoming more sexual. This leads to Nina and Lily having a passionate encounter after a night out. It's after this Nina finally starts to become darker as a character. However, as it turns out, Lily never went back to Nina's apartment after their night out which makes viewers question the passionate encounter Nina experienced. The scene could be seen as a metaphor for Nina being in touch with the darker side of her personality.

Black Swan is at its best during the climax. It's where it is as its most intense as we watch Nina perform as both the White Swan and the Black Swan. Nina's anxieties increases and leads to a shocking twist and an ambiguous ending. Despite being fatally wounded, Nina continues with her performance and, as she finishes, she jumps from on top of a platform and onto a safety mat. When Thomas asks her what she did, Nina replies with "I was perfect" and the film finishes. This lead to a lot of people wondering if Nina really died after achieving perfection, however, Portman has stated that she sees it more of Nina killing the little girl inside of her to finally become a woman. I think there are a lot of interesting theories, however, I do agree with Portman's statement. She was initially uncomfortable with the location of the blood stain on her tights as it looked like a period, however, that was Aronofsky's intention as it symbolized Nina's transition from a young girl to a woman. 

Black Swan proved to be a huge success after its release, receiving critical acclaim and receiving a total of five Academy Awards nominations including Best Motion Picture Of The Year. Natalie Portman succesfully won the Best Leading Actress award and it's because of her mesmirising performance as Nina why Black Swan makes for a compelling watch. It also glides on Darren Aronofsky's directing and is bracingly intense, passionate and wildly melodramatic.

8/10