One of my favorite films of that year; Aronofsky is always someone whose work I look forward to. Whatever he's doing, he's going to swing for the fences and it's always at least interesting. mother! feels like one of those films where its creator had an inspiration they had to get out and even they themselves aren't certain what it 'means' if it can even be said to have a single meaning at all. To be trite, the film is a vibe.
Agree with the post. "Mother" does feel like a small miracle. The dig at Coral Springs cuts deep for me though (although that's just where I grew up, I live in Philly now).
As perhaps the one person in America who willingly went to see this in theaters twice, I appreciated this. I know A24 existed in 2017, obviously, and had already put out The Witch (among many others) by that point, but mother! feels like it should have been put out by A24 and is the only way it would be put out in so many theaters today. It's perhaps fitting that, if memory serves, Aronosky's next film is......with A24.
Maybe my favorite Aronofsky because this is the one that really feels like he embraced his own pretentiousness and had fun with it. His whole vibe before always felt like he was trying to “say something” or be important somehow, while Mother! feels like he’s trolling people to some extent while also loosening things up.
Not sure if this makes any sense or tracks for anybody else. I think directors who are strong stylists but always focus on a certain darkness or depravity (the Hanekes, the von Triers) just exhaust me, and Mother! is what broke Aronofsky out of that mold for me.
Now to be fair I’m not a completionist for any of these filmmakers - maybe Noah is a rollicking good time as well
Saw this in the theater in its 2nd week, when it was already pretty much a bomb and LOVED it. I'll admit, the edible kicking in just as it started didn't hurt, also the fact that the screening I saw at my neighborhood theater was when they show captions during the week. Pretty sure I might have audibly blurted out "HOLY SHIT" when the crowd got hold of the baby.
mother! is probably the *angriest* movie I've ever seen in theaters. Not sure I'll ever watch it again (Aronofsky has two of those for me!), but very glad it exists.
I'm in a movie meetup in Denver - we watch films together (usually indie) and then go out to eat or get a drink and discuss them. We almost never talk specifically about the film we just saw for the entire outing, as there is not usually that much to say. BUT NOT THIS MOVIE. The after-film gathering lasted 90 minutes and no one talked about anything but the film. A couple dozen people who were dazzled, outraged, confused, flabbergasted, and/or amused. Not everyone loved or even liked it, but people had *thoughts*. I loved that night so much, one of my favorite meetup events ever.
A rare good Letterboxd comments section is Matt Singer's review for this, where lots of people (me included) posted audience reactions they witnessed. It's like a Cinemascore commentary track.
I loved this movie, though I haven’t seen it since the two times I saw it during its theatrical run, so it may be ripe for a rewatch, as the world continues falling apart around us.
By far my favorite Aronofsky, because it seemed like he actually had fun. I had no idea what it was about the first time I saw it, but laughed my ass off with every succeeding absurdity. It was like a Luis Bunuel coke party, but maybe that says too much about me.
"I, in all my genius, latched onto an interpretation about artists, and abusive relationships, and then got home to literally every piece of media saying 'IT'S THE BIBLE DUHHHH""
so I actually for the first time feel a little vindicated in that interpretation, so thanks.
Also in September 2017, my first born was six months old and the scene in this movie where the baby's neck snaps is one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen.
Its a little wild that studios gave Aronofsky a significant budget after Noah, it being an even larger budgeted movie and more intended as a block-buster-ish movie. In that, when Noah is
faced with a threat to the human race, rather than the protagonist striving to figure out how to
save us all as would be the case in most blockbusters, Noah (both movie and character) struggles with whether humanity is worth saving at all. And, in fact, he seems all but convinced the answer is ‘no’. Quite the message for Paramount to stomach after spending $150M on it.
I respect this film, even if I don't ultimately care for it. I'm not and never would be one to give it an "F" CinemaScore rating, but rather a "C". For me it's actually... kinda dull? And veeerrrry tedious? I dunno, I didn't know about the Bible allegories (those went way past my head) but it was obvious that the whole movie was allegory, and yet this one just defeated my interest in watching something that's all allegory and no story (IMO, that is). It's like a bunch of things happen, amped up to 11, and it goes for over two hours testing my patience, and then it ends. But glad it has its ardent defenders here and elsewhere.
Agree completely and glad to see this post. MOTHER! was unlike anything else we saw that year. I admire DA trying something utterly bonkers.
One of my favorite films of that year; Aronofsky is always someone whose work I look forward to. Whatever he's doing, he's going to swing for the fences and it's always at least interesting. mother! feels like one of those films where its creator had an inspiration they had to get out and even they themselves aren't certain what it 'means' if it can even be said to have a single meaning at all. To be trite, the film is a vibe.
Agree with the post. "Mother" does feel like a small miracle. The dig at Coral Springs cuts deep for me though (although that's just where I grew up, I live in Philly now).
As perhaps the one person in America who willingly went to see this in theaters twice, I appreciated this. I know A24 existed in 2017, obviously, and had already put out The Witch (among many others) by that point, but mother! feels like it should have been put out by A24 and is the only way it would be put out in so many theaters today. It's perhaps fitting that, if memory serves, Aronosky's next film is......with A24.
Maybe my favorite Aronofsky because this is the one that really feels like he embraced his own pretentiousness and had fun with it. His whole vibe before always felt like he was trying to “say something” or be important somehow, while Mother! feels like he’s trolling people to some extent while also loosening things up.
Not sure if this makes any sense or tracks for anybody else. I think directors who are strong stylists but always focus on a certain darkness or depravity (the Hanekes, the von Triers) just exhaust me, and Mother! is what broke Aronofsky out of that mold for me.
Now to be fair I’m not a completionist for any of these filmmakers - maybe Noah is a rollicking good time as well
Saw this in the theater in its 2nd week, when it was already pretty much a bomb and LOVED it. I'll admit, the edible kicking in just as it started didn't hurt, also the fact that the screening I saw at my neighborhood theater was when they show captions during the week. Pretty sure I might have audibly blurted out "HOLY SHIT" when the crowd got hold of the baby.
mother! is probably the *angriest* movie I've ever seen in theaters. Not sure I'll ever watch it again (Aronofsky has two of those for me!), but very glad it exists.
I'm in a movie meetup in Denver - we watch films together (usually indie) and then go out to eat or get a drink and discuss them. We almost never talk specifically about the film we just saw for the entire outing, as there is not usually that much to say. BUT NOT THIS MOVIE. The after-film gathering lasted 90 minutes and no one talked about anything but the film. A couple dozen people who were dazzled, outraged, confused, flabbergasted, and/or amused. Not everyone loved or even liked it, but people had *thoughts*. I loved that night so much, one of my favorite meetup events ever.
Didn't Aronofsky and Lawrence themselves both say it was about climate change?
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/19/movies/jennifer-lawrence-darren-aronofsky-mother-explained.html
A rare good Letterboxd comments section is Matt Singer's review for this, where lots of people (me included) posted audience reactions they witnessed. It's like a Cinemascore commentary track.
I loved this movie, though I haven’t seen it since the two times I saw it during its theatrical run, so it may be ripe for a rewatch, as the world continues falling apart around us.
By far my favorite Aronofsky, because it seemed like he actually had fun. I had no idea what it was about the first time I saw it, but laughed my ass off with every succeeding absurdity. It was like a Luis Bunuel coke party, but maybe that says too much about me.
When I saw this originally I wrote on Letterboxd:
"I, in all my genius, latched onto an interpretation about artists, and abusive relationships, and then got home to literally every piece of media saying 'IT'S THE BIBLE DUHHHH""
so I actually for the first time feel a little vindicated in that interpretation, so thanks.
Also in September 2017, my first born was six months old and the scene in this movie where the baby's neck snaps is one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen.
Its a little wild that studios gave Aronofsky a significant budget after Noah, it being an even larger budgeted movie and more intended as a block-buster-ish movie. In that, when Noah is
faced with a threat to the human race, rather than the protagonist striving to figure out how to
save us all as would be the case in most blockbusters, Noah (both movie and character) struggles with whether humanity is worth saving at all. And, in fact, he seems all but convinced the answer is ‘no’. Quite the message for Paramount to stomach after spending $150M on it.
I respect this film, even if I don't ultimately care for it. I'm not and never would be one to give it an "F" CinemaScore rating, but rather a "C". For me it's actually... kinda dull? And veeerrrry tedious? I dunno, I didn't know about the Bible allegories (those went way past my head) but it was obvious that the whole movie was allegory, and yet this one just defeated my interest in watching something that's all allegory and no story (IMO, that is). It's like a bunch of things happen, amped up to 11, and it goes for over two hours testing my patience, and then it ends. But glad it has its ardent defenders here and elsewhere.
I still to this day cannot believe a major studio like Paramount funded this thing, saw the prints, and didn't completely freak out over it.