Mother! You had me but I never had you.

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2017)

From the start of the movie I had to make an effort to keep from thinking I am going to be watching a newer version of Rosemary's Baby. Even before that I got sidetracked by the Marquee which, for some reason, made me think of John Lennon's song, "Mother". Moving on back to the movie, the eeriness was immediate. Waking up was eerie. Glancing around the room, looking for her husband was eerie. Walking out the door, still searching, almost mechanically, the entire sequence was eerie.
So, off to a good start. Even better, halfway through the movie I realized I was still asking myself questions in order to get to the bottom of the mysteries that still were not clear cut. I am sure that Aronofsky was succeeding of keeping the story moving along so wonderfully. I found myself suspicious of characters and activities. That's all I wanted for now.
While Mother (J-Law) was obviously the main focus in the middle of all the characters, everyone else kept her and me moving through our strained paces. Little things like background noises and unfamiliar images were enough to keep our attention and me on the edge of my seat. I soon started to hate interruptions by new nerve rattling characters. Small gatherings moved in and out as did the characters. Brazen, brash characters driving her over the edge and me glaring at them with a deadly stare that I had to distract myself from.
Jennifer owned this. She was magnificent and yet, I felt so bad for her personally because her investment in Mother was obviously heavy. I saw an interview with her and Aronofsky in which they both described how much of a strain this movie was having on her. She had to break away from scenes to read books (or portions of) that helped bring her back to reality. I am glad she stuck with it but for her own sanity, I hope she doesn't do another Aronofsky movie or any other that requires so much from her. If you remember how Heath Ledger may have lost his life due to his in depth characterization of The Joker, you get an idea of my reference.
Aronofsky definitely got his money's worth from all the actors and the props. Nothing was wasted in this movie. Otherwise slight, background noises, character developments, shadows and lights figured in to make this a great scare-affair.
Getting back to my earlier reference of Lennon's Mother, there were a couple other songs that came to mind. A very raucous scene not long before the finale reminded me of Revolution #9 because of its mysterious incantations and mental images. And for a finale, take it as you will, the closer was wrong in my opinion and should have been Joplin's Piece Of My Heart. But no harm...magnificent movie.
Since I rarely go to horror movies, giving this an 8 is about as good as I can give it, and that's a great thing.