Highly symbolic, highly disturbing, highly rewarding

Rating: 10/10 (7 September 2017)

I attended the premiere screening of 'mother!' and the entire audience left the cinema speechless. Potentially Aronofsky's magnum opus, 'mother!' benefits from rich religious and environmental symbolism with so much more bubbling under the surface than the majority of mainstream cinema today.
With a genius marketing plan - the film itself is shrouded in secrecy, with intriguing trailers which actually give away nothing - 'mother!' exceeds expectations and takes turn after turn, each more shocking and tantalising than the next.
Aronofksy prefaced the screening with an apology for what we were about to witness, but that we will "feel better tomorrow", while Jennifer Lawrence noted its biblical and environmental themes. That doesn't give away anything, though. It's almost impossible to describe it - go and see for yourself -- but give yourself some time after to decompress.
Lots of discussion will emerge after this film's release, and that's a good thing. It's esoteric but not alienating, and covers such a wide scope of themes that everyone will pick up something different. I found the film to be feminist in nature, and a brilliant comment on a woman's societal role in the modern era.
Though the acting is top-notch, the film's overall message makes 'mother!' a winner. The sheer pathos of the film overrides it's slightly clunky dialogue, and Aronofsky's assured direction will set this film to be the most-discussed movie of 2017.