From Paramount Home Media and director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), comes the most divisive and controversial film of 2017 – mother! Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson, Kristen Wiig, Stephen McHattie and Jovan Adepo, the film is available own now on Blu-ray/DVD.
A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. From filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream), mother! stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in this riveting psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice.’.
Review
Mother! is a baffling, sometimes exhausting, but always unhinged and captivating movie experience. Darren Aronofsky’s movie about a couple trying to live peacefully out in the woods until various visitors and otherworldly problems wreck their home — sometimes both emotionally and physically. This is easily my favourite film that Aronofsky has made and one that will no doubt ruin 90% of the casual movie crowd’s day after seeing it. It’s hard to even talk about the film without ruining the surprise, but Mother! is a movie that is actually BETTER the second time around and you’ll want to actually see it a second time once you figure out the insane symbolism that Mother! is firmly entrenched in.
This is not a horror movie, this is not even really a suspenseful film, though it will stress you the hell out — repeatedly. There’s a scene near the end of the film that is so diabolical and so crazy that it may ruin the entire experience for you, but don’t let it. Mother! is a chaotic journey unlike anything else you’ll see in 2017 – maybe even ever for most of you brave enough to dive into this ingenious gem. The cast is spectacular, especially Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem, who both dive into their most ambitious roles to date. Once you figure out the meaning of the film and its characters, it only adds another incredible layer to each of their performances. Plus – it makes the second viewing experience entirely different and special.
So I won’t ruin Mother! for you, but by doing that — you may wind up hating the film if you’re easily freaked out by art-house concepts that you may not understand at first. Things happen – insane things and the film gets even nuttier the deeper into it’s runtime. But there is most certainly a plan here and mother! is not crazy just for the sake of being crazy – every little thing that happens in that house, means something and by the time you figure it out, you won’t look at our world the same way again. It’s that good.
Special Features
- mother! The Downward Spiral
- The Makeup FX of mother!
Director Darren Aronofsky developed the script for mother! with stars Jennifer Lawrence and Javiar Bardem, and they all rehearsed the film months before filming began. You get to see that creative process in the special features and it’s quite fascinating. There’s also some great behind-the-scenes moments showing how they made the mechanical baby for that bonkers sequence near the end of the film. That entire house was apparently designed and built specifically for the mayhem that would descend upon it. The two featurettes are wonderful additions to the film and if you’re brave enough to buy mother! on blu-ray, then you’ll most certainly be watching these, if only to try and further understand the concept of the film.
Rating: [star rating=”4.5″]