oh, mother!

Rating: 10/10 (16 September 2017)

Betrayed by a callous marketing campaign., mother! faces unreasonable expectations like its central character. Hyperbole such as "...will mess you up for life" or "you'll never forget where you were the first time you saw mother!" only created sky-high expectations. Studios seem to do this with films they don't know how to market. It's a cynical and short-sighted strategy. As much a I tried to divorce mother! from it's ad campaign, I couldn't avoid disappointment. I am an Aronofsky fan and a lover of horror and was disappointed to some degree on both fronts.
Mother! is less horror and more audacious allegory that can be seen from space. It's book-ended by Him removing the charred heart of Her and placing it on a pedestal in his office. At no point did mother! resemble real life. I was initially galled by the obviousness of of it's symbolism. Biblical signposts are all but announced through a bullhorn. That said, mother! raises some interesting questions. It's the creation myth as endless cycle of violence.
The more I've thought about mother!, the more grateful I am that it got made. It articulates something vital and makes us think. I almost can't believe I'm saying this because I initially found it to be a straightforward allegory with a heavy-handed environmental message. The notion of God a an egomaniac beholden to his fawning followers is rich. Mother! has stayed with me.