Whoa, is this an odd film. Wish I had skipped it.
Mother! (Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michele Pfeiffer) – There is a lot to hate about Mother!, the latest ode to cinema art from writer-director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, The Wrestler, Pi). From the opening disturbing images to the final (well) disturbing images, this horror/suspense flick stretches the limits of endurance, shock, and credulity.
Jennifer Lawrence is the best actress under 40 today, and she is exceptional here as the dutiful wife of a poet who is suffering from writer’s block. Javier Bardem plays her husband in full No Country for Old Menscariness. Ed Harris plays a cross between the coach in Radio and the imaginary CIA spook in Beautiful Mind. Michele Pfeiffer is obnoxious as Harris’ wife. Four exceptional actors totally wasted amidst a script right out of Lucifer meets The Stepford Wives.
The opening image of a freaky woman in the rubble of a massive, rustic home is disturbing and precedes our first look of the couple living in the home undergoing a huge renovation undertaken by Lawrence. What this movie does best is tension. As the audience, we know there is something wrong right away. Lawrence is too super-sweet. Bardem is awfully welcoming and mercurial. The characters are unnamed. As the female lead, Lawrence “feels” the disturbing image of beating heart when she touches the walls. Bardem’s character seems to almost worship a crystal orb on his shelf. He can’t write; she abides his moods; she adores him; he seems to avoid her affections.
From there, the story gets bizarre. When a stranger (Harris) knocks on the door, the movie is off and running. Harris’ sick ex-orthopedic surgeon idolizes the poet and is soon followed by his overly candid wife (Pfeiffer). They move into the house much to the horror of Lawrence’s character. Then, their angry sons follow. The drama of this family plays out graphically as one of the sons is killed. Lots of bad things happen, and then more people come to mourn the dead son. Think that is weird? It only gets stranger from here.
The film reminds me of The Devil’s Advocate, the Taylor Hackford film that devolves into a psychological, otherworldly sci-fi thriller. Mother! isn’t as good.
The best word to describe the film is disturbing. By the time we endure the looting of the home by (1) fans of the poet, (2) adoring followers of the poet; (3) soldiers, and (4) warriors from a long-ago time, I was ready to leave. As the film spirals into CG and sci-fi hell, it just gets gory, silly, stupid and ultimately weary. When the secrets are mercifully revealed, it becomes more gross than revelatory.
If you like horror films, you might want to give it a try. But otherwise, please please skip it. Even if you are a big fan of Jennifer’s, make this the one you miss. If you never see this, you won’t regret it.