2017

director: darren aronofsky

genre: mystery drama

i'd like to see a version of this film made by someone who isn't religious. the first two thirds of the movie would be jennifer lawrence slowly building a house, putting in the water pipes and everything. then she'd get some trilobites as pets, and then more creatures would come along. in the last minute of the film, some men would come in, wreck up the place, and she'd throw a fit. 

i think the best way to review mother! (are we meant to scream it?) is to recount my experience watching the film: 

firstly, i remember being very impressed by the sound design and lighting. they weren't afraid to use darkness, and the creaking of the house combined with the sounds of people talking in the background of scenes created an excellent atmosphere. but i was annoyed by how many of the shots were just close-ups of jennifer lawrence's face.

the film moved along and things got a little stranger, which i enjoyed. however, i never felt emotionally involved or connected to the main character because i knew what i was seeing was just a metaphor for something else.

jennifer lawrence and Javier Bardem have sex. she gets pregnant and things get very weird. i was on board with the weirdness, and i liked that the film included some disturbing imagery near the end. 

then jennifer lawrence blows up the house and Javier Bardem puts her heart on a stand, and the whole movie starts again with a different girl. i watched the credit scroll, saw the one letter that was capitalized, and the whole movie instantly made sense in a way that was disappointing and annoyingly simplistic. 

so spoilers i guess. 

the whole movie tells the story of the bible, imagining mother earth as a housewife, and God as her husband. and everything plays out how you'd expect. a man comes into the house first, then a woman. they go into a forbidden room and break something, after which God walls up the room. (adam and eve and the apple) then their sons come in, and one son kills the other. (cain and abel) then more and more people come in and they start to damage the house. after a sink is broken and water starts to flood the place, mother yells at everyone to get out. (noah's ark - you already made that film aronofsky!) then mother is pregnant and wars erupt around her, only for everything to quiet down once she actually gives birth. God takes the child from her, gives it to mankind, and they kill the baby. (jesus christ) 

the setting of God as a husband to mother earth doesn't really reveal anything interesting or new. it's like telling the story of a man who crashed his personal plane; but we change the story so he's in a car. the change doesn't matter. in fact, i'd say it takes away some elements.

i wish there was more of a duel narrative going on, but as i mentioned before, everything is so fantastical and illogical that it doesn't make any sense if mother was just a mentally ill person being gaslighted by her husband. also mother as a character is kind of nonexistent. if she had her own goals and dreams and didn’t merely represent mother earth, maybe i could have been made to empathize. but because she's such a direct adaptation, it creates a complete emotional disconnect.

all that said, maybe the movie is worth seeing. mainly for the technical aspects, or if you want to see the story of the bible told in a different setting. i also enjoy how angry people are getting about this movie. it's very thematically fitting. but i'm not mad. i'm just disappointed. i wanted a story. what i got was a wikipedia recap of christianity. 

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