I hemmed and hawed about whether or not to include this on in my Best of the Year list, but ultimately, I just couldn't do it, for reasons that will become more readily apparent. Nonetheless, I had a lot to say about it, and felt compelled to share my feelings about the movie, so here is my exclusive review of the much-ballyhooed and debated Mother!
On a side note, I have a movie I wanted to do for my Flashback Friday this week, but I decided to postpone that as well, as it's Valentine's Day-related, and I wanted to post it closer to the holiday, for obvious reasons. (Those who know me will probably be able to predict what it will be, lol.)
I'm not sure what I will do instead for tomorrow, so we'll see, but rest assured, there will be a bonus Flashback Friday by Valentine's Day, for sure, and I will still try and do one next Friday as well, so technically, you'll get two in one week, so there's that- lucky you!
Now, without further ado, here's my take on Mother!
Back in my early days in college, I used to live in a dorm, and it was a bit of a pain in the ass, what with all of the rules and regulations and curfews and all, so when the opportunity to move off-campus came up, I jumped at the chance. I moved in with a relatively newly-wed couple, who were struggling financially- hence their taking on a roommate. The place itself wasn't a whole lot bigger than my dorm, really, but I could come and go as I pleased and have overnight guests when I wanted and so forth, so I was happy with it, more or less.
However, it became readily apparent that the couple were struggling in other ways. They argued a lot, and things got worse and worse, and eventually tragedy struck, which ended up causing both of their mothers to come and stay with us while the wife recovered. Now, remember, these were pretty close quarters, and the two of them smoked like a chimney, which I do not, and my room had an open partition on the front side, so smoke was easily able to seep into my room, causing me to develop a cough and just feel miserable all the time in general.
To make matters worse, no sooner had they left, when the husband, who stayed behind, started to have people come and stay with us, one after another. Most were recovering drug addicts, so they smoked as well. Now, I should interject here that I'm a bit of an empath- some of you may scoff, but it's absolutely true: when I'm around people that are suffering or in pain or angry or paranoid or so on, I often pick up on it, and it can be a nightmare.
Unfortunately, I was right in the middle of a semester, and it was a crucial one, so I couldn't move at the time, so I was forced to just deal with this constant parade of strangers coming in and out of my home, unbidden, all of which were suffering in some way or another, and whose behavior was unpredictable and oft-maddening.
Watching the movie "Mother!" was like reliving that experience anew.
As such, I don't know that it's the kind of movie I can recommend in good faith. The way it manages to replicate that feeling of the walls closing in and not being able to do anything about it, of dealing with forces beyond your control is astonishing; but at the same time, if you've been there, it may not be an experience you particularly want to relive, either.
Director Darren Aronofsky's films have almost always been an acquired taste, much like a left-of-center avant-garde rock band, a la The Velvet Underground and Nico at their most esoteric, Siouxsie and the Banshees at their most atonal, or something musically schizophrenic like Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Captain Beefheart or Mr. Bungle; or classical composers like Penderecki, Stravinsky or Philip Glass.
With the possible exception of The Wrestler (and even that's debatable), you kind of have to be in a certain mood to watch the likes of Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan and Noah and more often than not, it's not a mood you would ever want to be in- somewhere between a dream and a nightmare.
Don't get me wrong- he's an amazing filmmaker, and I own most of those films and have been known to watch certain ones now and again- mostly The Wrestler and Black Swan- when I'm in a weird mood. But more often than not, he's kind of a "one and done" kind of filmmaker, if you know what I mean. Put another way, his films aren't the kind you necessarily want to watch on repeat, unless you're a masochist into some sort of Clockwork Orange self-torture thing.
It's easy to see why audiences hated this one and walked out in droves- no one wants to see America's current designated sweetheart and most-desired drinking buddy, star Jennifer Lawrence, put-upon in such an extreme way, which reaches a nadir in a scene towards the end where she's near-trampled to death naked. Not exactly a fun time at the movies. (As opposed to watching her fight for her life and kill a bunch of kids in The Hunger Games movies, lol.)
Somewhat ironically, Lawrence was dating Aronofsky at the time, which is the very definition of an oddball couple. I mean, on a certain level, I get it- who hasn't been through an art-school-significant-other phase. No doubt she was attracted to his being a "true" artist that was older, if not wiser, and was perhaps someone that could take her career to a different kind of place, one where she was considered for material that wasn't young-adult-themed or would-be-blockbuster-types of movies. I get it.
However, the relationship was decidedly short-lived and it's easy to see why. According to Lawrence, Aronofsky was so obsessed with the film that even when they finished filming it, he continued to talk about it incessantly. I can see where THAT would get old fast. So, Lawrence can check "dated an auteur" off her list and move on to someone more tabloid-friendly from here, as she inevitably will. Nothing wrong with that.
Lawrence is perfectly fine in the role, if a bit young for it, much as she was for Joy. Not that she isn't old enough to be a mother IRL, mind you, just that she still seems too young for it, if you know what I mean- much less old enough to be married to the likes of intense actor Javier Bardem, who is solid, as always. Oh, mind you, he wouldn't be the first dirty old man to marry a girl way too young for him. They just don't seem like a believable couple, you know?
But even if you can get past all of that, the movie is just crazy personified. The plot, such as it is, basically just amounts to Lawrence's unnamed character- the mother(!) in question- being besieged by all manners of intruders and craziness in her house until it threatens to drive her- and us- completely insane in the process, if it doesn't kill her first.
The film is divided into two main parts: the couple's time together as newlyweds in their new home, as Lawrence attempts to renovate the somewhat dilapidated house and Bardem starts work on his new book, their peace and quiet interrupted when Ed Harris' character shows up out of nowhere and brings with him a whole parcel of insanity in the process, including wife Michelle Pfeiffer and feuding sons Domhnall and Brian Gleeson. (None of these characters have names, a signal we're in Allegory territory.)
In the second half, Bardem has finished his book and it has been released to much acclaim, while Lawrence is expecting her first child. With success comes excessive reverence, as fans clamor outside, begging to be let in and meet their idol, the writer. But will they stay put, or likewise invade the poor couple's home, like Harris and company before them? I think you know the answer to that.
From there, the film goes almost completely off the rails, as it abandons all semblance of reality for a movie that ends up playing like Buñuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise filtered through the movie version of Pink Floyd's The Wall. Or, for those unfamiliar with those films, kind of like an art-house version of 2014's Neighbors. I'm not sure I mean either as a compliment, and as unlikely as it seems, I actually enjoyed all of those films.
It's not that it's a bad film, per se, it's just a little on the pretentious side, as it's painfully obvious that Aronofsky has SOMETHING TO SAY, DAMMIT! Is it an allegory for the painful process of creating art? A dissection of modern-day celebrity? A Biblical tale? A warning not to mess with Mother(!) Nature? You be the judge.
To say it's not an easy watch is putting it mildly, and I'm not sure I can recommend it in good faith to everyone- like I said this is a definite acquired taste. Some will hate it- many did in the brief period it was in theaters. Others will find it endlessly fascinating, as did many critics. I don't think it's the sort of thing anyone will fall in the middle on, that's for sure.
Of the movies I saw last year, it wasn't my favorite, but I will say this- it certainly sticks with you. You might not ever feel compelled to watch it again, but you won't soon forget it, either- if you can get through the whole damn thing, that is. I couldn't stop thinking about it, but I don't particularly want to see it ever again, either.
Unfortunately, it hit a little too close to home for me- literally- given the personal experiences I mentioned above, which is not an experience I ever wanted to relive again, believe you me. But I'll give it this- it almost perfectly replicates that queasy feeling of the walls closing in and you not being able to do anything about it. If that sounds like a good time at the movies to you, by all means, check it out. As for me, I think I'll go and watch a nice Disney movie to cleanse the palate. 🙂
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