Movie Review - mother!

I think I’ve gotten to the point where I can say, I don’t enjoy working out, and at this point I don’t think I ever will. That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy working out, I know that many people do. That’s also not to say that I think working out is a bad idea. It’s something that you need to do to maintain a healthy lifestyle, It’s something I will continue to do despite my decision to declare that I just don’t like working out. What I do like is having worked out. That feeling when your done and you can relax, but you feel good about yourself because you know you did something that was good for you and made the right decision. I enjoy having worked out, I just don’t enjoy working out in the moment.

I say all that to say I feel that’s what watching Darren Aronofsky’s movies is like. Aronofsky usually makes really great films. Your mileage may vary on one or two of them, but for the most part he is considered to be one of the better directors working today. But the movies he makes are not necessarily the most enjoyable things to watch. Aronofsky is willing to explore the darker sides of human nature, the parts of society we tend to not shine a light on and really bring some of those issues to the forefront of his work. And while this might result in a movie that might not be fun to see exactly, it usually ends up being a movie that you are glad you saw, or a movie that you feel better for having had seen it.

Aronofsky’s latest movie mother! (lowercase “m” and exclamation mark intentional) is probably one of his more surreal, just come along for the ride movies. In broad strokes it's the story of a couple (Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem) whose peaceful, idyllic life is shattered when a man (Ed Harris) shows up on their doorstep unannounced mistaking their house for a bed and breakfast. I know that’s not a lot to go on, but to go any deeper into the story than that risks giving too much away. It doesn’t exactly drift into spoiler territory, but it’s safe to say that this is a movie that’s designed to be experienced more than it’s a story meant to be followed, and the less you know about the movie going into it, the more likely you are to get the intended experience of the film.

One of the bigger news stories around mother! is the fact that it’s received a rare F rating on CinemaScore. CinemaScore is a company that rates audience response and a movie’s appeal with the theater going public. To give you an idea of just how unusual this is, it’s worth noting that mother! is just the nineteenth movie to ever get an F rating. And for comparison to other movie’s out right now, The poorly reviewed The Emoji Movie received a B as did The Dark Tower, and The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature. Movies tend to earn As and Bs on CinemaScore with poorer responses dipping into C territory, but an F rating is near unheard of. (Again only the nineteenth movie to ever receive the rating since 1978.) But at the same time the movie has received fairly positive reviews. It’s rated fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and has an even higher rating on Metacritic. So it’s not necessarily that the movie is bad, but it’s certainly divisive.

Let me be clear by saying this isn’t a run of the mill movie. This is clearly Aronofsky yelling out “Back up! I’m about to try some ART!” But it’s not that this is an experimental film that’s confusing and surreal simply for surrealism sake. Aronofsky has a lot to say with this movie and he’s clearly decided to take a shot at saying all of it. Whether or not you think it’s well made, it’s clear to see that it’s intended to be thought provoking. The movie is a product of a singular ambitious artistic vision and that in and of itself is enough to keep you involved with the movie. Where other movies might try to sneak a bit of symbolism in here and there, mother! is an exercise in symbolism that’s been applied by way of a sledgehammer. It’s not just that everything in the movie stands for something, it’s that everything in the movie stands for eight different things. But what’s amazing is as weirdly overly complicated as the movie is, all of it’s self indulgence seems to work. The metaphors don’t fall apart on closer examination, but instead will more often than not strengthen the more you think about them. And then when confronted with an interpretation that’s completely different, it ends up that both interpretations seem to work, Aronofsky crams just about everything you can think of into this movie’s two hour runtime and while it feels crowded it somehow doesn’t end up feeling like too much.

I can’t say that this is a movie you’ll end up liking.It’s strange, it's surreal, it’s bizarre, it takes heavy liberties with reality, it’s at times uncomfortable to watch. But there’s something about this movie that keeps you invested in it and can leave you emotionally drained by the end of it. You may decide that you don’t like it, but it’s very possible that this will be the movie that you end up thinking about the most long after the credits have rolled.