A surrealistic masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2018)

I can't pretend to understand everything/anything of what was going on in Darren Aronofsky's Mother!. I'm sure far more intelligent people have tried to dissect its ideas and worded them far more eloquently than I ever could.
All I can say is that I was just consistently drawn to everything that was on screen, from the intriguing and mysterious opening images to their equally as intriguing and mysterious closing counterparts. I loved the slow build up from quiet discomfort and unsettling imagery to complete batsh!t insanity at the end. At the simplest and most superficial level , I just felt such a deep sympathy for Jennifer Lawrence's character. Watching people taking such disadvantage of her hospitality was harrowing to the bone. I guess that is some sort of metaphor for the destructive nature of mankind and how we treat Mother Nature, as well as other human beings. Again, I leave that for the more philosophically inclined among us to ponder.
Looking at it purely cinematically, I thought it was gorgeously shot. There was a sense of discomfort and dread all throughout, without relying on cheap jumpscares or other gimmicks. Leave it to Aronofsky to give us plentiful colourful and gorgeous imagery. It had a very similar surreal vibe to The Fountain, another movie of his that I love. It came across as very organic and realistic, despite the obvious surrealistic nature of what was transpiring.
Jennifer Lawrence was excellent, particularly in the first half of the movie. Seeing as she was the focus of pretty much every single shot, she needed to be. She was at her best as the friendly, but increasingly disgruntled and frustrated hostess. I do think in the more dramatic and loud scenes she has a tendency to become too screechy and somewhat over-the-top, but for the insanity of this movie, I think it worked. Javier Bardem's character is consistently sympathetic and frustrating throughout, a solid job by him as well as the rest of the supporting cast.
All in all, another fantastic addition to an already impressive resume by Aranofsky. He is one of the best film makers currently around, and I am deeply excited and intrigued to see what he comes up with next.