What the...

Rating: 7/10 (17 September 2017)

"Mother!" is totally bizarre, and mind bending disturbing. No, clearly these are not props. Writer and Director Darren Aronofsky is angry and surreal in his apparent elegy of the artist's lost muse. After watching this "What the" vanity project, I have to wonder whether it extends far beyond mere indulgence. This is not at all a great movie. Really.
At times when I viewed the movie as an observer instead of being an audience, the story is laughably ridiculous, taking itself way too seriously. Then again that in itself is somewhat entertaining.
Literally, none of Aronofsky's characters have names. I'll use the actor's names when possible. Jennifer Lawrence plays the much younger wife of bestselling author Javier Bardem. Jenn is the melancholy wife, who valiantly restores their country home. Apparently, this was Javier's childhood home that was destroyed in a fire. Jenn wants a baby. However, Javier suffers writer's block, and has lost his muse. The two stopped having sex.
"Mother!" then spirals into the abyss. Ed Harris and his wife, in the movie, Michelle Pfieffer become uninvited house guests. Their prodigal sons return played by Brian Gleeson and Dowhnall Glesson, as Cain and Abel characters in Aronofsky's passion play. "Mother!" defies description, being so hard to figure out what is going on. It is strangely amusing in the over the top repulsive imagery and muddled logic.
In a weird way, I kind of enjoyed "Mother!" given the ending. Seemingly, the angst of the lost artist's muse is more than personal, at least for Aronofsky. "Mother!" will not be everyone's 'cup of tea'. It is neither mine, as well.