Mother!

'Mother!' is a perfect example of a film that raises such high hopes with one of the best and most disturbing trailers (every bit as much as the trailer for 'IT') of the year, yet turns out to be the complete anti-thesis in quality making it one of the most disappointing, and to me the strangest, films of the year.

It is really sad for me to say this about 'Mother!' Appreciate Darren Aronofsky very highly, though totally get why his films don't click with all viewers, and really liked to loved all his pre-'Noah' films, especially 'The Wrestler' and 'Requiem for a Dream' ('Black Swan' was also great, and while it is one of his more polarising films likewise with 'The Fountain'). 'Noah' for me was a real disappointment, though it was nowhere near as bad as the initial audience response on IMDb (which was of vitriolic hate with severe objections to how the 'Noah's Ark' story was treated).

To me, 'Mother!' is Aronofsky's worst. Was expecting to be terrified and riveted but ended up being perplexed and left completely cold. Although the trailer was one of the year's best, it turned out to be one of the most misleading. Is 'Mother!' irredeemable? No, absolutely not, Aronofsky's films are at least extremely well-made and crafted and he often gets great performances out of well-chosen casts, even if there are other aspects that don't connect. Could it have been much better? Considering it had Aronofsky's name on it, that most of his previous films are examples of great film-making and that it had talent like Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer, yes it should have been much better.

Where 'Mother!' fares strongly are in the visuals and the acting, pretty much the film's only near-uniformly good assets. It's a wonderful-looking film, especially in the agile and truly unsettling cinematography that gives a real disconcerting sense that there are things constantly lurking around. The production design is audacious and creepy, the house like an increasingly opening up character of its own, the lighting is rich in atmosphere and the aesthetics are more than accomplished.

Jennifer Lawrence sheds her usual quirkiness and feistiness, and gives a more vulnerable edge here which is not just wholly convincing but also very moving. Michelle Pfeiffer stands out in support in a truly startling turn, likewise with Ed Harris and their chemistry is far more interesting than that between Lawrence and Bardem. Domhall and Brian Gleeson (sons of Brendan) do very capably with little to do.

Aronofsky does bring some dynamic to his directing, if more in the style and atmosphere than in the storytelling and content.

However, 'Mother!' really is let down by that it feels incredibly muddled. Throughout there are a mishmash of tones, whether it was horror, thriller of a psychological kind, allegory and perhaps torture porn, and it all felt thrown in with not much thought in what to do with them. There are moments of an unsettled vibe, but only in spurts. A vast majority of the film has scares that are very much empty and too reliant on done to death old dark/haunted house tropes and at times unintentionally funny, the intense close ups and sudden reveals feel overused and neither provoke chills or sympathy for the protagonist (for all Lawrence's efforts).

The pacing is far too sedate to be thrilling and there is nothing sensual about the film due to the chemistry between Lawrence and Bardem being so lukewarm. 'Mother's' content is obvious a lot of the time, and the symbolism and allegorical elements came over as excessive, heavy-handed and overblown. It was not the matter of not getting them, it is the way they were used that has put people off and that it is hard telling what Aronofsky is trying to say. It was also not the matter of hating things that do things differently, have seen my fair share of unconventional films and have been impressed.

While Aronofsky succeeds in the stylistic elements and some atmosphere, the storytelling doesn't work here. The momentum is creaky constantly and the whole telling of it is strangely muddled at best and incomprehensible at worst. Particularly bad is the last half an hour, which descends into ridiculous and incoherent chaos and outlandishness. The dialogue is stilted and rambling and the characters are very thinly sketched, especially Bardem's, though Lawrence's is also too passive and is not easy to root for. There are exceptions to the acting, Bardem looks bored in his role and Kristen Wiig is completely out of place.

Overall, a disappointing film (didn't hate it, just didn't care for it) that should have delivered on creepiness but instead delivered on excessive weirdness that it has to be seen to be believed. It is not hard to see why it has polarised critics and audiences alike. 4/10 Bethany Cox

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WATCH?????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm not one to disparage the director, I liked Requiem for a Dream and loved Black Swan, but this is a stinker and just simply boring. It's all just packed full of cod biblical allegories spread thickly throughout which tries to twist between different types of horror genres, but leaved me unintrigued.

Granted the settings, claustrophobic direction and acting are top notch but it shouldn't mask for what otherwise is a poor uninteresting movie. It unsettles and bores, way too much to care, and as the ending dragged on I was left increasingly frustrated as it refused to just shut up shop.

It's totally split opinion from what I've seen so far, and you'll struggle to find anyone in the middle on this one. In fairness, some credit to the film studios for risking this effort in launching it into mainstream cinemas but without the director it would have rightfully languished on cable late night showings.

There's no point going anymore into this. I simply hated it, and that despite being a major admirer of offbeat horror and psychological movies, but this isn't in the same league as for example Raw or Get Out, which is a shame. I'd recommend you pass on this there are far better films out there to go watch.

I have a nagging feeling that the raves come from people in their 20's and/or younger. I maybe wrong but the debate erupting from this movie reeks of youth. Something similar happened with Terrence Malnick's The Tree Of Life. People either loved it or hated it. From my own personal POV the only different between The Tree Of Life and Mother! is that The Tree Of Life was a masterpiece without any visual cope outs and, perhaps, the only commercial concession were in big star names but even then Brad Pitt gives one of the best performances of his career. Mother ! Is not a masterpiece, not to me anyway. I couldn't connect. Was it a comedy of the absurd? When I saw all the people dancing and partying in the house I had a flash back to Blake Edwards's "The Party"Jennifer Lawrence is a truly gifted actress and beautiful to boot and, quite clearly, she put herself in Darren Aronfski's hands, She, the mother, calls out "Baby"? Hoping to find her husband - She is a Saint Joan half burned already. That truly puzzled me. Can you please give us time to connect with her? A few minutes. If you remember Mia Farrow's Rosemary - She was, emotionally, so far away from what she's about to confront. Polanski takes the audience through her journey and we're with her, every step of the way. What makes it so terrifying is the veil of normalcy that surrounds the proceedings. In Mother, the surreal takes over the atmosphere and destroys it. We can keep a distance without really participating. The same can be said of Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer - They are a welcome, semi-camp addition at the perfect time and then, they disappear. The glory of Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer in Rosemary's Baby is that their intrusion is taken all the way through to extraordinary results. And Javier Bardem/John Cassavetes? If you're interested watch Rosemary's Baby again like I did last night, 24 hours after seeing Mother!and then you tell me. In my modest opinion one is a flawless masterpiece the other is just okay.

Mother! (2017)

**** (out of 4)

Usually this is where I put my plot description but it's best that you go into Darren Aronofsky's latest knowing as little as possible. Lets just say that Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem are living in a large house all alone when a surprise visit sets them off into madness.

It really shocks me that Paramount would try to push MOTHER! onto the masses. For starters, the majority of moviegoers today do not want to think and they certainly don't want to see a movie where everything isn't explained. In fact, most people need everything explained in the trailer before they'll even go see a movie. A movie like MOTHER! is something that never explains itself and it constantly keeps you guessing from one scene to the next. What's it about? It's really hard to say as every viewer is going to come away with something different. With all of that said, it's easy to see why the film bombed at the box office and why those who did see it gave it a F rating.

what I loved most about this movie is that the setting is just so perfect. You've got a large beautiful house out in the middle of nowhere and it's surrounded by beautiful grass and trees. From the very first scene we can just tell that something isn't quite right and Aronofsky puts us in this beautiful place with confusing surroundings. What makes the film so special is the fact that nothing is ever explained and with each new plot twist your brain just becomes more confused as to what's going on. We know something is happening and we know something bad is going to happen but you're constantly trying to guess what.

Of course, a movie like this wouldn't work without a terrific cast to pull it off. Lawrence turns in another terrific performance and I thought she as fabulous at showing how fractured this character was. We're often questioning her mental state and I thought Lawrence managed to make you feel for the character and go along with her confusion to everything that is happening. Bardem actually steals the show with his fiery performance and I really loved the rage and anger he brought to the film as well as another side that I won't spoil to prevent giving away aspects of the plot. Both Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer were also terrific but, again, I'll hold off commenting more to prevent plot points.

The cinematography is terrific and on a technical level the film is quite flawless. The story is a very interesting one and one that keeps you guessing throughout. The performances just seal the deal. With that said, the film certainly goes downright insane at times and the ending is just one that will have you staggering out of the theater. I must say that I thought the finale went on a bit too long and that it would have worked better had it been edited down a bit. Still, MOTHER! is a film that I really loved and one that I really respected but at the same time I'm not sure who I'd recommend it to.