Some Interesting things...ultimately, just bizarre

Rating: 4/10 (17 September 2017)

In an interview in promoting his new film mother! (no capital "m", exclamation point part of the title) with Director Darren Aronofsky, he stated "You have to see this to believe it".
Truer words were never spoken.
It's not often that I leave a film and wonder "what the heck did I just witness?", such is the case with this film. I don't know if I have the proper words to describe the experience I just had.
So...let me start with what this film is NOT -it's NOT a horror film (though it is being promoted as one). It also is NOT a straightforward story. It also is NOT boring.
What this film is is visually interesting, well acted, mysterious, tense, intense, bizarre, strange, layered...one that will make you think after seeing it.
I often joke about a film that is not too deep that we did not need to "break out into discussion groups afterward".
For this film, I desperately want to find some folks that see it, so I can discuss - and maybe figure out - what was witnessed on screen. One problem for me - I was the only person in the theater for this showing (never a good omen).
So what is this film about? Well...that's tough to say. Jennifer Lawrence stars as a the wife of a well known poet (Javier Bardem) who is renovating a fire damaged house that the poet has lived in previously. She wants to make this house their retreat from the world while the poet works through a major case of writer's block. Into their quiet retreat comes a couple (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) who end up complicating their existence. After awhile, the couple's 2 sons (real life brothers Brian and Domnhall Gleason) come violently charging in. Did I mention that the house seems to be alive and there is blood and violence and things don't seem to be what they seem to be on the surface.
And that's only the first 1/2 of this film - the coherent part - because after that, things get bizarre and then even more bizarre and then really bizarre.
But...is this film worth watching? Hmmm...I don't think I'd go that far, unless you want your mind played with and have some bizarre images thrown at you (some grotesque and disturbing) which will make you want to talk about it afterwards.
I see a lot of films, so was thankful for something different - albeit strange. But, I don't think most of you will like this at all.
Letter Grade: C (But a strong, interesting, bizarre C)
4 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)