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Mother!

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Mother!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDarren Aronofsky
Written byDarren Aronofsky
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMatthew Libatique
Edited byAndrew Weisblum
Distributed byParamount Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • September 5, 2017 (2017-09-05) (Venice)
  • September 15, 2017 (2017-09-15) (United States)
Running time
121 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[3]
Box office$13.5 million[3]

Mother! (stylized as mother!)[a] is a 2017 American psychological horror film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer. The plot follows a young woman whose tranquil life with her husband at their country home is disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious couple.

The film was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 74th Venice International Film Festival and premiered on September 5, 2017.[5] It was released in the United States on September 15, 2017, by Paramount Pictures. Upon release, the film received generally positive, albeit somewhat polarised reviews, with critics praising the acting (particularly Lawrence and Pfeiffer) and Aronofsky's direction, though some criticised its disturbing and allegorical narrative.[6]

Plot

Him (Javier Bardem) places a large crystallized object in a frame. The structure he is in changes from a burnt out husk to a newly renovated house. Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) forms in a bed and wakes up to wonder where Him, her husband, is. An acclaimed poet struggling with severe writer's block, Him's creative issues begin to take a toll on the tranquil existence that Mother has created for the home. She starts seeing things around the house that unsettle her, including visualizing a beating heart within the walls of the house.

One day, a Man (Ed Harris) turns up at the house, asking for a room. Despite some worries, Mother reluctantly agrees. During his stay, Man begins to experience prolonged coughing fits. Mother witnesses Him assist Man as he hovers over the toilet and catches a glimpse of a fresh wound by his rib area before Him covers it with his fingers. The next day, Man's wife, Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer), arrives to stay. Mother begins to become more and more frustrated with her guests, while Him begs her to let them stay as it makes the house feel alive to him. Him also tells Mother that the guests are fans of Him's work and that the male guest is dying, wanting to meet Him before he dies. However, when the Man and Woman accidentally break and shatter the crystallized object, Him and Mother come to a decision to kick them out. While preparing to leave though, the couple's two sons (Domhnall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson) arrive and start to fight over the will their father has left. The Oldest Son who will be left with nothing accidentally mortally injures his Younger Brother, and seemingly flees while Him, Man and Woman take the injured son to get some help. As Mother gets more and more paranoid after she is left alone in the house, the Oldest Son comes back but leaves abruptly, taking Man's wallet. Upon returning, Him informs Mother that the son has died and been buried. Dozens of people begin arriving at the house for a wake for the dead son. More and more arrive and behave in a way that bothers Mother, and she becomes angrier and eventually snaps when the plumbing breaks and begins to flood the house, kicking everyone out. Angry with Him for allowing so many people into the house for his own pleasure and ignoring her, she berates him before the two have sex.

The next morning, Mother announces that she is pregnant. The news elates Him and inspires him to finish his work. Within seconds, Him announces that his work has been published. In celebration, Mother prepares dinner for Him when a collection of fans arrive at the house to meet Him. As she barricades herself in her house, more fans arrive and begin to enter the house to use the bathroom. More arrive and the behavior devolves into stealing items that belong to Him, and disrupting the house. As Mother makes her way around the house, every room becomes more and more deranged and insane. Him's publisher (Kristen Wiig) takes part in the madness, executing civilians with point blank gunshots to the head. Military men with guns arrive to help Mother, but a cult of devoted fans forms around Him and engages in rituals. Mother goes into labor and finds Him, who takes her to his study, where she gives birth. The chaos outside subdues as Him tells Mother that the massive crowd wants to see the baby. Refusing to let them see the child or let Him take the boy, she holds tight onto her son. When she falls asleep, however, Him takes the baby outside to the crowd, who grab and break its neck. Devastated, Mother makes her way to the front where she sees the hacked corpse of her child and sees the crowd eating its flesh. Furious at them, she calls them murderers and begins stabbing them with a shard of broken glass. They turn on her, beginning to strip and beat her until Him intervenes and stops it. Mother escapes the grasps of the crowd and makes her way to the cellar where the furnace oil tank is. Despite Him's pleas for her to stop, Mother lights the oil on fire and destroys the crowd and the house.

Both Mother and Him survive, but Mother is horrifically burned. Him asks her for the love she has left for him, and she agrees to give it to him. He then tears open her chest, removing a large crystallized object that he places in a frame. The burned down house transforms back to unburnt, and a new Mother (Laurence Leboeuf) forms in a bed and wakes up.

Cast

Themes

Lawrence said that the film is a biblical 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."[7]

Aronofsky said that the title's exclamation mark "reflects the spirit of the film" and corresponds to an "exclamation point" of the ending. The director discussed the film's unusual capitalisation in a Reddit AMA, saying, "To find out why there's a lowercase 'm', read the credits and look for the letter that isn't capitalised. Ask yourself what's another name for this character?" The characters' names are all shown in lower-case, except for Him.[7]

The lighter which appears throughout the film bears the Wendehorn, a symbol believed to represent "the cooperation between nature's eternal laws, working in effect and in accordance with each other." One of the film's unexplained elements is the yellow powder Lawrence's character drinks, which The Daily Beast suggests is a reference to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper".[7]

Production

After 2014's Noah, Aronofsky began working on a children's film, although he stated that he "couldn't quite break it." However during that process he came up with a new idea. He ended up writing the Mother! screenplay in five days, much faster than his usual pace.[8]The film uses a dream-logic narrative, which Aronofsky has noted "if you try to unscrew it, it kind of falls apart." He defended this by further explaining "it's a psychological freak-out. You shouldn't over-explain it."[9]

Jennifer Lawrence was reportedly in talks to join the film by October 2015.[10] By January 2016, Javier Bardem was also in talks to star,[11] and by April Domhnall Gleeson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris, and Brian Gleeson were added to the cast.[12] In March 2017, it was announced Kristen Wiig had been cast in the film.[13]

Shooting for the film began on June 13, 2016, and concluded on August 28, 2016.[14] Prior to the start of principal photography the cast rehearsed for three months in a warehouse during which time Aronofsky was able to "get a sense of movement and camera movement, and learn from that." During this time Lawrence was relatively laid back and as a result Aronofsky says he "didn't get to know the character until we started shooting, and she showed up."[8]

The film originally had a score composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson but after seeing the score synced up with the film, Aronofsky and Jóhannsson mutually agreed to not have a score. This is the first Aronofsky film without composer Clint Mansell's involvement.[15]

Release

The film was originally scheduled to be released on October 13, 2017,[16] but was moved to September 15, 2017.[17]

The film had its world premiere at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the Golden Lion,[5] and also screened at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.[18][19]

On August 7, the first official trailer for the film was released.[20]

Box office

As of September 17, 2017, Mother! has grossed $7.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $13.5 million, against a production budget of $30 million.[3]

In North America, the film was released alongside American Assassin and was projected to gross $12–14 million from 2,368 theaters in its opening weekend.[21] It made $700,000 from Thursday night previews and $3.1 million on its first day. It went on to open to just $7.5 million, finishing third at the box office and marking the worst debut for Lawrence in a film where she had top billing. Deadline.com attributed the film's controversial narrative and misleading advertisements, as well as its "F" CinemaScore grade, to the underperformance.[22] Other publications wrote that the film's CinemaScore grade, which is extremely rare, is associated with "a movie that goes out of its way to artfully alienate or confuse audiences".[23][24]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 69% based on 202 reviews and an average rating of 6.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "There's no denying that mother! is the thought-provoking product of a singularly ambitious artistic vision, though it may be too unwieldy for mainstream tastes."[25] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[26] The film received both boos and a standing ovation during its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.[27] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "F" on an A+ to F scale, making it one of fewer than twenty films to receive the score.[22]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety in his positive review of the film, wrote: "By all means, go to "mother!" and enjoy its roller-coaster-of-weird exhibitionism. But be afraid, very afraid, only if you're hoping to see a movie that's as honestly disquieting as it is showy." Gleiberman labelled mother! as "a piece of ersatz humanity".[28] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone awarded the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, described the film and Aronofsky's direction as "artist's cry from his own corrupt heart" and "a work of a visionary." He also called the film's allegorical narrative and cinematography "exploding" while praising the performances of Lawrence, Bardem, and Pfeiffer.[29] Writing for Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips stated: "Darren Aronofsky delivers a damning critique of the artist/muse arrangement, even as he admits to its old-fashioned patriarchal simplicity." He also referred the film and its script as "grandiose and narcissistic and, in quick strokes, pretty vicious" while drawing a similarity on Aronofsky's previous acclaimed film, Black Swan.[30]

Travis Johnson of Filmink gave the film 19 out of 20, calling it a "dense, delirious, playful and serious work of capital A art, and easily the most ambitious film to come out of a major studio since Kubrick died."[31] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave the film a B+, writing, "the filmmaking ranks as some of Aronofsky's most skillful."[32] Ben Croll of Indiewire gave the film an A-, noting "Awash in both religious and contemporary political imagery, Darren Aronofsky's allusive film opens itself to a number of allegorical readings, but it also works as a straight-ahead head rush."[33]

Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper rated the film 2 out of 4 stars, writing that while he appreciated Lawrence's performance, he questioned whether Aronofsky was mocking certain biblical passages featured in the film or presenting as a commentary on an artistic process.[34] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post similarly praised Lawrence's performance in which she drew a comparison to Mia Farrow's performance in Rosemary's Baby but criticized the film's climax which she referred to as "outlandish" and "mad rush".[35]

National Review film critic Kyle Smith called the film "a biblically-infused version of torture porn", saying "it may be the most vile and contemptible motion picture ever released by one of the major Hollywood studios".[36][37] Rex Reed, giving the film 0 stars for The Observer, wrote that despite some good cinematography, "Nothing about mother! makes one lick of sense as Darren Aronofsky's corny vision of madness turns more hilarious than scary. With so much crap around to clog the drain, I hesitate to label it the 'Worst movie of the year' when 'Worst movie of the century' fits it even better." Reed further dismissed other critics' positive reviews of the film as "equally pretentious" and "even nuttier than the film itself.[...] They all insist mother! is a metaphor for something, although they are not quite sure what it is."[38]

The Economist opined: "Mother! should open up new territory for creative cinema, especially if it proves to be a box-office hit."[39]

Notes

  1. ^ The film's teaser poster as well as its theatrical one-sheet stylise the title with a lowercase "m."[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Film Releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "MOTHER! (18)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Mother! (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  4. ^ Lesnick, Silas (February 6, 2017). "Darren Aronofsky's Latest Set For Fall Release". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Tartaglione, Nancy (July 27, 2017). "Venice Film Festival Sets Lido Launch For Aronofsky, Clooney, Del Toro, Payne & More As Awards Buzz Begins – Full List". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  6. ^ Giles, Jeff (September 14, 2017). "American Assassin's Aim Is A Little Off". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c White, Adam (September 16, 2017). "Mother! explained: what does it all mean, and what on earth is that yellow potion?". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 17, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ a b Riseman, Abraham. "Darren Aronofsky Doesn't Want You to Know Anything About Mother!". Vulture. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  9. ^ Brooks, Xan. "Darren Aronofsky on Mother! - 'Jennifer Lawrence was hyperventilating because of the emotion'". Guardian. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  10. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 13, 2015). "Jennifer Lawrence in Talks to Star in Darren Aronofsky's Next Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  11. ^ Kroll, Justin (January 11, 2016). "Darren Aronofsky's Film Starring Jennifer Lawrence Lands at Paramount (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  12. ^ McNary, Dave (April 15, 2016). "Domhnall Gleeson, Michelle Pfeiffer Join Jennifer Lawrence in Darren Aronofsky Drama". Variety. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  13. ^ Busch, Anita (March 23, 2017). "Kristen Wiig In Negotiations To Star In 'Where'd You Go Bernadette?'". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  14. ^ "What's Shooting". ACTRA Montreal. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  15. ^ Cabin, Chris (October 11, 2016). "Darren Aronofsky Teases Details of His New, Enigmatic Drama; Won't Be Collaborating with Clint Mansell". Collider. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
  16. ^ Donnelly, Matt (February 6, 2017). "Paramount Pulls Brad Pitt's 'World War Z 2,' 'Friday the 13th' Reboot From Schedule". The Wrap. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  17. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 21, 2017). "'Suburbicon', 'Mother!' Move Up; 'Cloverfield' Stomps To February – Paramount Release Date Changes". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  18. ^ Fleming Jr, Mike (July 25, 2017). "Toronto Film Festival 2017 Unveils Strong Slate". Deadline. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  19. ^ Kelley, Seth (July 31, 2017). "Watch Jennifer Lawrence in Ominous First Teaser for Darren Aronofsky's 'Mother!'". Variety. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
  20. ^ Foutch, Haleigh (August 7, 2017). "Full 'mother!' Trailer Reveals Darren Aronofsky's Horror Film Starring Jennifer Lawrence". Collider. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  21. ^ "Can 'Mother!' or 'American Assassin' Poke a Hole in 'It' Box Office Balloon?". TheWrap. September 12, 2017.
  22. ^ a b D'Allesandro, Anthony. "'Mother!' Dies With 'F' CinemaScore And $7.5M Start As 'It' Becomes Biggest September Release Ever With $218M+ Cume". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  23. ^ "Darren Aronofksy's 'mother!' Banished to Infamous F CinemaScore Club". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  24. ^ Hughes, William (September 16, 2017). "Mother! earns a rare, semi-coveted F from CinemaScore". The AV Club. Retrieved September 17, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "Mother! (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  26. ^ "mother! reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  27. ^ Ulivi, Stefania. "Mostra di Venezia 2017: Diluvio di fischi su «mother!», il film più atteso con Lawrence e Bardem è un flop" (in Italian).
  28. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (September 5, 2017). "Film Review: 'mother!'". Variety. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  29. ^ Peter Travers (September 13, 2017). "'mother!' Review: Darren Aronofsky's Virtuosic Thriller Will Make Your Head Explode". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  30. ^ Michael Phillips (September 13, 2017). "'Mother!' review: Trouble in paradise, starring Jennifer Lawrence". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 17, 2017.
  31. ^ Travis Johnson (September 5, 2017). "mother! Review". Filmink.
  32. ^ Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy (September 13, 2017). "God Is a Gaslighting Husband in Darren Aronofsky's Brilliantly Deranged Mother!". A. V. Club.
  33. ^ Ben Croll (September 5, 2017). "'mother!' Review: Darren Aronofsky's Audacious and Rich Cinematic Allegory Is His Most Daring Film Yet". Indiewire. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
  34. ^ Richard Roeper (September 13, 2017). "O 'mother!,' what art thou? Odd Jennifer Lawrence film pounds senses". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  35. ^ "Jennifer Lawrence radiates serenity and grit in the enigmatic 'Mother!'". The Washington Post. Ann Hornaday. September 14, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
  36. ^ Smith, Kyle (September 14, 2017). "Jennifer Lawrence's Grotesque Spoof of the Nativity". National Review.
  37. ^ Flood, Brian (September 15, 2017). "Jennifer Lawrence film 'Mother!' assailed as a 'grotesque and nauseating' attack on Christians". Fox News.
  38. ^ http://observer.com/2017/09/darren-aronofsky-mother-worst-movie-of-the-year/
  39. ^ N.P.B. (September 18, 2017). ""Mother!" is a startling scrambling of the horror-film genre". The Economist.
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