[star rating=”1″] MOTHER! Directed by Darren Aronofsky, with Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer
JANE MAYNE reviews
If you take a minute to rewind to the likes of director Drew Goddard’s Cabin in the Woods, written by veteran Joss Whedon, one can marvel at the depth of the film’s synthesis of occult esoterica, which on the surface reads as an increasingly silly gore fest. It’s absolutely stacked with profound ‘conspiracy content’, but the double layering is so clever, if you didn’t know any of that stuff you wouldn’t be any the wiser.
Not so with Mother! All the criteria are here for a solid dose of scares – there’s the A-list cast; the isolated house located god-knows-where; and a stream of mysterious creepy visitors offering plenty of headroom to ponder about. But Aronofsky wields his surreal ‘parable’ like a sledgehammer that slays you soon after the first blow.
But the damage isn’t done by profundity of any kind. Lawrence is such a simpering, gutless character you want to jump up and shake her around a bit, just so you can fast-forward her to the end credits. Her one-dimensional portrayal is accelerated by Bardem’s cryptic self-absorption, which is so withdrawn it leaves little to hold on to. Add to that, crowds of silly evil folk who storm the house for some regular blood-letting – who finally bring the horror to fruition. And that’s a wrap.
The supposed framework the characters play out is: Jennifer Lawrence as mother, Javier Bardem as Him, Ed Harris as man and Michelle Pfeiffer as woman.
After leaving many viewers stumped Lawrence has subsequently explained that the movie aims to be an allegory. “It depicts the rape and torment of Mother Earth … I represent 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, there’s Cain and Abel and the setting sometimes resembles the Garden of Eden.”
Aronofsky adds his two cents: that the film title’s exclamation mark “reflects the spirit of the film and corresponds to an “exclamation point” of the ending.” ‘Erm, ok then!
If you find these premises wildly exciting, then this Mother! of all boring films may have value, but else be warned – it’s a repetitive battering ram that traps you in an agonisingly-long 121-minute dead zone.
Ultimately, Pfeiffer cuts through with a crisp, focused and sinister performance. But this still doesn’t explain how the production warranted competition selection for the Golden Lion at the 74th Venice International Film Festival.
Film: Mother
Rating: Rated R for disturbing violent content, nudity, language
WS
