Annoying

Rating: 3/10 (28 February 2018)

For some reason Lawrence and Bardem are a couple. He doesn't do much of anything, a poet with writer's block--as always in the movies. She in the meantime single-handedly built the mansion in which they live apparently secluded, after a fire destroyed it.
One day there's a knock in the door. A stranger arrives who claims to be a fan of the poet. Because there's nowhere else to go, the guy invites the stranger to spend as much time as he needs in the house. There's some mysterious crystal that is the pride and joy of the guy and the stranger quickly wants to see it and touch it. Soon the stranger's wife arrives. And she's just insufferable. Right in the homeowner's face at all times, no filter between her mind and her tongue. She gives her a hard time about not having children. The stranger is seriously sick and a smoker.
Then suddenly the two sons of the strange couple arrive screaming, yelling, and fighting over a will. One son kills the brother in the living room. Get where this is going...?
For some reason the guy accepts that the funeral reception be at their house. The girl is aghast. Hundreds of people show up and they make themselves right at home. The girl flips out. The guy is delighted at all the sudden life in his house. They fight and have sex. She ends up pregnant and he suddenly finds the inspiration to write. He becomes world-famous. Again the house ends up filled with media, fans and assorted strangers to the disbelief of the heavily pregnant girl. She eventually gives birth and the guy parades the son like some trophy. The crowds go wild. Chaos ensues. Political battles take place inside the house, religious battles. SWAT arrives and it's all against all. The baby ends up being cannibalized by some worshiping crowd. And now the girl decides to put an end to it all.
Mother! is a rather infuriating movie. I had to watch it in two one-hour session because I just couldn't take it anymore. The girl is lovely and the camera is on her nearly the whole time. The guy is annoying in his anything-goes aloofness. They don't talk much at all in the two hours. And of course we are limited to this house the entire time. The strangers are insufferable on all levels.
Sure, the idea is not bad once you interpret it. And watching a history of humanity unfold in the last 30 minutes is kinda interesting. But for those 30 minutes you have to put up with one and a half hour of nothing. This is one instance where the writer should have taken more time to polish the work and he should have let someone else direct this project. I'm convinced that under another director's vision this movie could have been outstanding. As it is, though it's obnoxious to watch and hard to recommend.