I usually find most horror movies boring and pointless. Atleast, that was before Arenofsky's master piece "mother!"
It has taken me so much time to write a review, simply because I have been lost for words to express how I feel about this movie. Nonetheless, a story about love, devotion, and sacrifice has pushed me to say a thing or two.
mother! is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, directed and Produced by Darren Arenofsky and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer. It follows a young woman whose tranquil life with her husband at their country home is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious couple. hu
Jenifer Lawrence who plays the role of mother! describes the film as an allegory that depicts the rape and torment of mother earth. She represents mother earth.
Javier, whose character is a poet, represents a form of god, a creator;
Michelle Pfeiffer is an Eve to Ed Harris's Adam,
And their sons, Cain and Abel.
While the setting, sometimes resembles the Garden of Eden.
Surely, this was the reason behind the backlash it received from various religious groups which described the movie has being blasphemous.
But I do not fancy getting myself mixed up in issues as such and so, would do my best to avoid that topic in general.
So the bigger question is, was mother any good? The answer to this, is a resounding yes! I enjoyed the movie, in all its confusion and craziness.
mother! is not the sort of film I will advice my grandmother to watch because it might get too unwieldy for her as it is, for many others. This is a movie that at times, is slow, at times fast, other times I found my self laughing, other times disturbed, and at times sympathetic to mother's plight. So in general, it was a roller coaster of emotions which was intended by Arenofsky.
I sometimes struggled to know what metaphorical horrified message Arenofsky was trying to pass and what the point was in watching. Like Brian Tellerico (a reviewer on rotten tomatoes) said, and I agree; mother! is a movie despite what the critics said, that no one else could make besides Arenofsky.
At its core, it is a film about male ego, female instinct, and our need to sometimes please others at the expense of our self.
Arenofsky to me, is therefore beyond genius for his ability to take the genesis part of the bible and make it about a couple and a house. His genius is further made obvious in the little details and information which becomes more obvious with every re watch.
But this doesn't seem like a horror movie until after one third of the movie, when things take a turn for the complex of which I do not feel ashamed to say, that there are still some part of the film which I am yet to understand.
Looking at the acting, one can only use one word in describing it. Convincing!!! And it Is with roles and acting like this that has made many, including myself to believe that 2017 was indeed a year dominated by females in Hollywood, both on and behind the screen. But with the poor reception it received, its no surprise that when people think of female success last year, films such as "Wonder Woman, star wars, beauty and the beast, or alien covenant is what comes to mind. But with such convincing acting from Jenifer Lawrence and Michelle Pfeiffer whose role was although brief, left a mark in this film. I see no reason why we shouldn't acknowledge this women's performances more than we are.
Lastly, this particular write up would not be complete if I do not talk about the near perfect cinematography of this movie. But should we be surprised? I mean this is Arenofsky. We shouldn't expect less from him. But just how good was the lighting, close ups and camera angle? Arenofsky's shots were "extreme closeups" which he used to show and create a heightened connection between the characters and the audience. You would also notice that most times, the camera was behind the characters. This gave us a sense that we could see what they saw, or that we were the characters. Cinematography is picture story telling that's unique to different people. But non can argue about this particular work.
With all that I have said, it should therefore not come as a shock that I give mother a score of 85%.
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It has taken me so much time to write a review, simply because I have been lost for words to express how I feel about this movie. Nonetheless, a story about love, devotion, and sacrifice has pushed me to say a thing or two.
Jenifer Lawrence who plays the role of mother! describes the film as an allegory that depicts the rape and torment of mother earth. She represents mother earth.
Javier, whose character is a poet, represents a form of god, a creator;
Michelle Pfeiffer is an Eve to Ed Harris's Adam,
And their sons, Cain and Abel.
While the setting, sometimes resembles the Garden of Eden.
Surely, this was the reason behind the backlash it received from various religious groups which described the movie has being blasphemous.
But I do not fancy getting myself mixed up in issues as such and so, would do my best to avoid that topic in general.
So the bigger question is, was mother any good? The answer to this, is a resounding yes! I enjoyed the movie, in all its confusion and craziness.
mother! is not the sort of film I will advice my grandmother to watch because it might get too unwieldy for her as it is, for many others. This is a movie that at times, is slow, at times fast, other times I found my self laughing, other times disturbed, and at times sympathetic to mother's plight. So in general, it was a roller coaster of emotions which was intended by Arenofsky.
I sometimes struggled to know what metaphorical horrified message Arenofsky was trying to pass and what the point was in watching. Like Brian Tellerico (a reviewer on rotten tomatoes) said, and I agree; mother! is a movie despite what the critics said, that no one else could make besides Arenofsky.
At its core, it is a film about male ego, female instinct, and our need to sometimes please others at the expense of our self.
Arenofsky to me, is therefore beyond genius for his ability to take the genesis part of the bible and make it about a couple and a house. His genius is further made obvious in the little details and information which becomes more obvious with every re watch.
But this doesn't seem like a horror movie until after one third of the movie, when things take a turn for the complex of which I do not feel ashamed to say, that there are still some part of the film which I am yet to understand.
Looking at the acting, one can only use one word in describing it. Convincing!!! And it Is with roles and acting like this that has made many, including myself to believe that 2017 was indeed a year dominated by females in Hollywood, both on and behind the screen. But with the poor reception it received, its no surprise that when people think of female success last year, films such as "Wonder Woman, star wars, beauty and the beast, or alien covenant is what comes to mind. But with such convincing acting from Jenifer Lawrence and Michelle Pfeiffer whose role was although brief, left a mark in this film. I see no reason why we shouldn't acknowledge this women's performances more than we are.
Lastly, this particular write up would not be complete if I do not talk about the near perfect cinematography of this movie. But should we be surprised? I mean this is Arenofsky. We shouldn't expect less from him. But just how good was the lighting, close ups and camera angle? Arenofsky's shots were "extreme closeups" which he used to show and create a heightened connection between the characters and the audience. You would also notice that most times, the camera was behind the characters. This gave us a sense that we could see what they saw, or that we were the characters. Cinematography is picture story telling that's unique to different people. But non can argue about this particular work.
With all that I have said, it should therefore not come as a shock that I give mother a score of 85%.
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