mother! Movie Review

Darren Aronofsky has a track record for being the Pied Piper of the Perverse. See any of his prior movies and you see disturbed characters acting in increasingly bizarre manners. Take the movie “Pi”, or “Requiem for a Dream”, or “The Fountain” or “Black Swan” or “Noah”. Each has a main character who tilts a little towards crazy, and everyone else in there does not fare much better. And that brings us to “mother!”…

Since none of the characters are named, there is a young Woman (Jennifer Lawrence) who is married to a much older Man (Javier Bardem). He is a famous poet of some repute, but he is having terrible writer’s block. She is a devoted wife who is very busy fixing and redecorating his old house. This house had burned down years before. Now they live in the very isolated house while she works building it up. It is so far from everybody that he hopes to get his poetry back on track.

The Man and the Woman do not have any children, yet that does not seem to be an important aspect. But one day a older Sick Man (Ed Harris) comes to the house. He says he is a big fan of the Man’s poetry. He is ill and he needs place to rest, so the Man says it is okay. But soon the Sick Man is joined by his Wife (Michelle Pfeiffer). Soon the two of them are flattering their way into the Man’s life, but leaving the young Woman out of all the fun.

The Sick Man and his Wife have two grown boys, and somehow they find their way to the house. They all argue and fight over a will and during a major conflict one of the brothers is killed. The Man is deeply moved and again opens his home to the various friends of the Sick Man and his Wife. They mourn the death of the son, and soon there is a party atmosphere. The young Woman is getting more and more upset at all of these people taking advantage of the Man’s generosity. Once they leave, the two make love and the young Woman will become a mother!

The Man loses his writer’s block and becomes great and famous once again. The very pregnant young Woman is about to serve a very special and very private meal with just her and the Man. But then she hears all the voices outside the door. Press people and publicists have come to interview and fawn over the wonderful poetry from the Man. The young soon-to-be-mother! is disturbed and shocked that people have come her secluded place. But it goes past disturbing to insanity when more and more people keep coming.

During that single night, dozens turn into hundreds and even more are on they way. The Man is looked up to and becomes adored. His word cause people to worship him and a religious cult is created. But there are also people out to loot and pillage and steal items from the home as souvenirs. The riot police come and huge fights break out just as the young Woman is about to give birth. But there is swirling chaos and unending waves and violence erupting in the house. Perhaps the better thing is to leave. but the Man will not have any of that. This is his house and this is where he and the mother! will stay. Perhaps…

To say this movie breaks down normal movie conventions is saying the least. This takes a typical domestic relationship and turns it into the Seven Levels of Hell. The story is no longer about two people in a struggling marriage, but it becomes microcosm of the world at large: fans who become fanatics and loose all control,  people who force all of life into the narrow scope of their own fears, police who use brutality to handle all situations, protestors who feel the need to destroy just to get their point across.

Jennifer Lawrence does a noble job playing a concept more than a character. Javier Bardem is also more a collection of traits than an actual character. Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer both do a fine job, but there is more going on between them than there is between the Man and the young Woman. Everyone else pretty much comes into the house in waves, but few people stand out. Of course, this whole production is based on the twisted mind of Darren Aronofsky.

Aronofsky seems bound and determined to, how shall we say… fornicate up your mind. This movie is a testament to the lengths he will go to make you feel uncomfortable…