Seeing is believing
Wow… what a ride. Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem deliver two oscars-worthy performances in a new movie that could only have come from Darren Aronofsky’s mind. Riddled with symbolism, metaphors, and religious undertones, Mother! tries to be a lot more than it is. I appreciate Aronofsky trying to bring his thoughts and visions to light and while most of them worked, the movie will fall flat on most viewers.
Mother!
A married couple are spending their days in an old house when uninvited guests begin to show up and cause disturbances. One thing leads to another and their happy lives are destroyed. Read below for spoilers and what I thought this movie represents.
[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The story unfolds quickly through the climax and at the end you’re left with questions, confusion, and possibly tears.[/perfectpullquote]
The first 30 minutes of this movie have no score, soundtrack, or ambient noise. It’s just you and the characters on the screen. This can be annoying if you’re in a theater with other humans who breathe, eat, and are just naturally noisy. The lack of music allows you to immerse yourself in what is going on between the on-screen characters. Jennifer Lawrence has great poise and there is not a scene in this movie without her. Javier Bardem shows many different sides and it’s his best performance since No Country for Old Men. The story unfolds quickly through the climax and at the end you’re left with questions, confusion, and possibly tears.
Who should watch this movie? Fans of Aronofsky, fans of great acting, and people who can look past blatant attempts of symbolism of our current society.
Who shouldn’t watch this movie? People looking for a movie to just entertain them, people who struggle with violent images, and viewers that do not wish to think about the meaning of a scene or character.
Score
7.5 / 10 – Very moving acting on top of a weak premise.
See more of my move reviews here
*SPOILERS*
Read on for spoilers, stop here if you haven’t seen this movie
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Javier Bardem’s character is God or Him, Jennifer Lawrence plays mother nature, the old couple are Adam & Eve, with their sons being Cain & Abel. Each character that has screen time or lines represents a biblical character. The entire movie revolves around the fact that God gives the world something and all they can do is take and take until there is nothing left to give. Nature is the house which is why the mother character feels so attached to it and watches it die right in front of her. Some of the images in the third act can be directly related to what is going on in the world today. I like Aronofsky’s way to escalate what’s going on around mother without advancing the story timeline. This will be a good movie to rewatch after knowing some of the symbolism and seeing how it unfolds. P.S. This is the film debut of Jennifer Lawrence’s boobs.