Director: Darren Aronofsky Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem Studio: Paramount Pictures Genre(s): Drama/Horror Rated: R (For strong disturbing violent content, some sexuality, nudity and language) |
I’ve opened my last few reviews with the undeniable fact
that I have been suffering from writer’s block, and, as a result, many of those
reviews have not been published. This
very well may be the exception to the rule because unlike many movies I’ve seen
in the past month (both good and bad) none of them have made me think so deeply
about their meaning like Darren Aronofsky’s “mother!” has. The film is bizarre in many ways and
disturbing in all the others. The images
are so unsettling, that a friend of mine described the movie as ‘Satanic’ on
her Facebook page. I’d call the movie
polarizing except it makes real polarizing movies look straightforward in
comparison. Besides, I’m not entirely
sure if what we have is a traditional movie here, so much as we have a
visualized moral objection to a deity. Let
me explain. I was writing a draft of
this review when I was under the assumption that I knew what it was about.
I assumed that this was an allegory for fame and the need
for some people to be loved by strangers, and how that hurts people we care
about the most. It didn’t really explain
all the supernatural elements, but I figured the movie had to be about
something, and this was the best guess I had at the time. However, I don’t remember character names
very well, and went to IMDB to check out what the names of the main characters
were. The answer shocked me: mother
(Jennifer Lawrence) and Him (Javier Bardem).
These are the only characters to be given names, as other actors are
simply referred to as Man, Woman, Younger Brother, Fool, and so forth. I contemplated the names. Why mother?
Why Him? Why does she have a
lowercase letter at the beginning of the name but his is capped? As I thought about the names I thought about
the structure, and it dawned on me that this is Aronofsky going through a bit
of a spiritual crisis as far as how humanity is treating the environment.
Now, take a trip back with me a few years ago when “Noah”
was released. For me, it was a decent
(if not unbiblical) telling of the story.
I’m not sure if Russell Crowe was my choice for what would make a good
Noah, but the thing that did stand out is that God seemed more interested in saving
the environment than mankind. As far as
He was concerned, man was destroying the Earth, and despite the human’s belief
in a supreme being, Noah’s family were the only people taking care of the environment. Thus, the world is flooded, and nature is
saved by preserving only the good humans on board. Now, let’s take that theme and apply it to “mother!” With the names firmly in place I take away
that mother is Mother Nature. The house
represents the Earth. Him is God, who
owns the house and lets Mother Nature make it beautiful. Then, a man (Ed Harris) and woman (Michelle Pfeiffer)
come along.
Him is happy to have company but mother suspects they can be
trouble. Sure enough, the two are fascinating
by a crystal glass that is in Him’s study.
This is the one item he forbids them from touching. But human nature is frail, the two disobey
and break the stone and Him gets angry. He
forbids them of entering the study again and boards up the room. mother asks Him why he doesn’t simply ask
them to leave, to which he replies, “they have nowhere else to go.” The story, as you probably guessed, sounds a
lot like Adam and Eve. At this point mother
is concerned with people being in her house and violating her space. Him loves people and is welcoming to all. He has writings that inspire millions of
people, but the more he gives the more they demand. The more he opens his house to mankind the
more it suffers. It even bleeds and
cries in pain.
mother herself consistently feels violated by the outpouring
of guests and His refusal to just be satisfied with her alone. Based on this movie (and the aforementioned “Noah”)
I feel that I understand Aronofsky better as a person through his direction: He
does not believe in God, and the main reason is that if a God exists, then he
is a jerk for valuing humans over nature.
Humans who take and destroy everything in their path for their own
selfish gain. Whether you call him an environmentalist
or a tree hugger, it is clear that we have a director who is concerned for the environment
and fears we are in big trouble if we are allowed to continue unchecked. He likely has nightmares about the world
imploding on itself (in the way the house does in this film) and is able to
visualize those nightmares with the help of top Hollywood talent and a budget
to bring it all to life.
“mother!” is a movie that I feel I understand more the longer
I think about it. Is it a movie I
like? Eh…’like’ is probably the wrong
word I would use. It is a movie I
respect. It is a movie that is about
something (though you may have to think long and hard to discover what that
is). I can’t say I really enjoyed it
though. I say that as I bring this
review to a close and am prepared to give it a grade that will surely give off
the strong impression of a recommendation to those who skim the text just to
see the stars. It won’t work that way
this time. If anyone see’s it just on
the star grade alone, I will have no choice but to recommend they read this
review in full to understand what they were REALLY getting themselves into! No, the star grade reflects a vision brought
to life by a complicated director. My fascination
with “mother!” has more to do with what it says about the director than what it
says about anything else.
It is a glimpse into the mind of someone who believes that
Earth is valuable and sacred, and who is suspicious of the idea of a God
because he can’t fathom why a divine creator would love the human race, which
he considers flawed and reprehensible.
If it is any consolation, I’ve been to many Bible studies where the
pastor ponders this same dilemma. No one
has voiced that concern in such a visually disturbing way before, so I must sit
up and take notice. I do understand that
“mother!” is at the very least confusing, and many people will rightfully not
like it. I can’t even say for certain
whether I liked it or not. But I do
respect it. I do admire it. And in a year where movies are so boring and
by-the-numbers that I’m coming off a month-long writer’s block, it says
something that this film got me to get out my pen and start thinking, contemplating,
and forming words once again.
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, many of the images are grotesque and disturbing. There are grim sexual images, and violence done to a baby that are unspeakable. NOT recommended for children! For ages 18 and up.
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