The story makes about as much sense as tits on a bull.

Rating: 3/10 (18 September 2017)

Director Darren Aronofsky's latest starts intriguing but ends up being obnoxious.
Jennifer Lawrence plays Mother, a young woman living in a remote mansion together with her partner whom is credited as Him (Javier Bardem). Bardem is a poet struggling with writer's block. Lawrence is renovating the house. One night a stranger (Ed Harris) knocks on the door. Bardem invites him in but Lawrence isn't exactly fond of their guest. The day after the man's wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) shows up. After the couple's sons (played by real-life brothers Domnhall & Brian Gleeson) make an appearance things get stranger to say the least.
'Mother!' starts off pretty well. It's mysterious and exciting at first but somewhere halfway through the movie suddenly turns into 'The Hobbit' (the uninvited guests who plunder Lawrence's kitchen). Afterwards it becomes boring. The movie is filled with religious symbolism and hidden meanings but the story makes about as much sense as tits on a bull.
Lawrence plays her role mostly well. The camera almost never leaves her throughout its 2 hour running time (think 'Son of Saul' although not as extreme). Unfortunately when the story goes down the drain so does Lawrence's performance. During the third act her part is limited to screaming and groaning although at least you still feel sympathy for her. Bardem adds little. Then again the dialogue is severely lacking so there isn't much to work with. Luckily Ed Harris is always good and Pfeiffer really shines. The house also plays a part but it isn't as exciting as you would expect. Apart from the walls that seem to be communicating with Lawrence and a hole in the floor that resembles a lady's private parts there's nothing there.
The idea of following Lawrence that closely works well although Aronofsky and his cinematographer Matthew Libatique pass up some great opportunities to insert some elaborate tracking shots. 'Mother!' borrows a lot from 'Rosemary's Baby'. Big difference however is that the latter is a good movie.
Aronofsky wants people to talk about his movie and he will definitely succeed in that. It's different and audacious, especially the climax. Too bad he chooses excessive violence over a coherent story.
That's not to say there isn't an audience for this type of movie. Whether you like it or not 'Mother!' will stay with you for a while.