A film defined by binary oppositions, for better yet for worse

Rating: 5/10 (15 September 2017)

As the end credits rolled for mother!, Darren Aronofsky's latest esoteric cinematic offering, I was torn. On the one hand it takes at least an hour for the film to start getting interesting, and my patience was tested more than once over its protracted two hour running time. Yet on the other hand the film's switch into full blown, boundary pushing craziness in the last half an hour is something that has to be seen to be believed. Whether it's worth trudging through to reach depends on your tolerance for artsy, self-indulgent filmmaking that's intended to frustrate and provoke. What's even more shocking is the knowledge that mother! comes from a major studio, with Paramount staking its brand for a film that's surely going to divide audiences.
Jennifer Lawrence stars as the titular mother, a dutiful housewife to her writer husband (played by Javier Bardem). Living together in their countryside mansion, their peaceful bucolic life is disrupted when a stranger enters their home, setting off a chain of events that quickly spirals out of control.
To describe anymore of the plot would be difficult as the film is steeped in symbolism and metaphors that are not easily unpacked. The film becomes increasingly unhinged and abstract, and it invites a plethora of interpretations but offers no definitive answers. Is it a self-reflective indictment of the vanity of artists? A metaphor for the callousness of humans? Or just a reflection of Aronofsky's anger at the present state of the world?
The oblique narrative will prove frustrating for many, with reactions likely to range from calling it pretentious trash to an artsy masterpiece, and neither would be a wrong assessment. It's a film defined by binary oppositions; it's ugly yet beautiful, frustrating yet exciting, and all undeniable singular in its vision, for better yet for worse.
Some will say that the film will not appeal to mainstream tastes. I don't think that's fair because that implies there's something wrong with the audience and not the film itself. But if the intent of art is to provoke and elicit a response from it's audience then mother! succeeds unequivocally.
It's an angry film, which it harnesses to stir up and provoke viewers. So take the star rating with a grain of salt, as it's reductive of the film's intent. Perhaps the most blunt thing I can say is that while I didn't particularly enjoy my time with mother!, I can't say I regret watching it either.