mother! (2017)

mother! is the sort of film designed to make us uncomfortable. Unlike a more typical "horror" film like the concurrent hit It, which shows us something horrible and terrifying and then gives us resolution so we can leave feeling redeemed, mother! is determined to make us feel destroyed. It is the kind of film that cinephiles like to talk about but does anyone really enjoy the experience of watching. Instead it is almost a badge of honor to have seen it, like bragging about enduring some difficult challenge. I've certainly read/heard comments after about how one doesn't ever need to see it again.

And then there is the endless discussion of "what does it mean?" I think there will be quite a few discussions about what mother! is about. I have my theories. I find writer/director Aronofsky's style rather too on-the-nose for my tastes most of the time and I think he tips his hand quite a bit here. His brutalist tendencies are more a matter of taste than of criticism for me, as I often prefer something more mysterious, more subtle. But there is a lot about what I think he's saying which resonates for me.

If one were to ask me if they should see mother! I would say it depends. You should see it if you are up for watching something disturbing and upsetting, and/or if you just want to be able to brag about having seen it, and/or if you want to be able to discuss some of the interesting themes and ideas kicking around in this work. You should definitely see it if you are an Aronofsky devotee and perhaps you should see it if you're a Jennifer Lawrence fanatic and need to see all of her work, although this is not quite like anything she has done since Winter's Bone and even that doesn't prepare you for mother! 

You shouldn't see mother! if you're looking for a horror film, not in the way we typically understand what "horror" is. You shouldn't see it if you are easily upset by disturbing images and situations. You shouldn't see it if you do not enjoy Aronofsky's style or appreciate his artistry. You shouldn't see it if you aren't looking for a mindbending trip and just want escapist entertainment.

I'm glad I saw it. I didn't enjoy it enough to sit through it again. But the ideas within it are things that are fascinating and are things I want to return to again and wrestle with.

Spoilers ahead... sort of...

I saw two main things going on here, and I see them as connected. Aronofsky tells a tale of loving exploitation and sacrifice on the most basic level. Bardem's character so loves Lawrence but also loves "his fellow man" (humanity?) to the point he betrays her again and again creating a cycle of violence. I saw Bardem as God, the Judaeo-christian idea of God, and I think it's hard not to as Aronofsky uses very blatant biblical references throughout from Adam and Eve imagery through Cain and Able (especially literal here), all the way to God giving his only son to be killed by mankind. Lawrence is the homemaker (literally), beautiful creation, being trampled, exploited, brutalized by that same mankind. And as much as Bardem loves her, his love and compassion and forgiveness for mankind allows her to be victimized again and again. Humanity is vicious in Aronofsky's eye.

But one can't help but see the gendered aspects of this story too. Bardem is a man and has all the qualities of stereotypical good maleness. He is wise, protective, caring, providing, creative, a natural leader. Lawrence is female and exhibits all the qualities of stereotypical good femaleness. She is nurturing, accommodating, sacrificing, loving, the source of life. Sun/Earth. Patriarch/Matriarch. When the first man and woman appear they exhibit the non-desirable qualities of their male and female attributes. We are seeing the abuse of women, the exploitation of women and the way it is normalized in our world. I see Aronofsky connecting the genders to the concepts of western religious ideas. Our western concepts of creation and religion tied to ideas of gender feed into this cycle of abuse, destruction, and the evil that men do.

As I watched mother!, even the most stomach turning moments, I was fascinated with the reflection on this anger towards God, or our understanding of God. The idea of unconditional love leading to violence actually being the cause of that violence is an idea that I will wrestle with for a long time. Did mother! entertain me as a movie? Probably not. Aronofsky's one track visions felt bombastic most of the time. But did it set my mind reeling? Certainly.

So should you see it?

mother!
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Geelson, Brian Gleeson, Kristen Wiig
Writer/Director: Darren Aronofsky