A decidedly inferior homage to Rosemary's Baby that amounts to little more than a series of pretentious metaphors and allegories

Rating: 5/10 (3 October 2017)

I can absolutely understand why someone would dislike or even hate this film, but let's start with the positives. Firstly, the sound editing is excellent; you hear every footstep and creaky floorboard in the imposing, shape shifting house that is a character in itself. These unnervingly sensual acoustics aid the DoP's extreme closeups, which create an awkward, uncomfortable atmosphere. The performances are good, too.
The problem is quite simply this - what on earth is it all about? Well, Aronofsky says his story is drenched in biblical references, but these complexities are only fully apparent to those who have either read Aronofsky's artist statement or are well versed in the good book. It's also been said that 'Her' represents mother earth while the rest of the characters represent the threats to our planet. This is the kind of over reliance of pseudo-profound metaphors rather than complex, believable characters and narrative that really turn me off. It's better to ignore Aronofsky's self- indulgence and see it for what is - a massively inferior homage to Rosemary's Baby with a semi-interesting metaphor about selfish masculinity at its core.
Now the theme of self-absorbed, self-pitying masculinity could make for a very interesting film, but any possible resonance is lost when a filmmaker communicates this subject through a litany of chaotic metaphorical surrealism.
The reverse is true of Rosemary's Baby, which is rooted in chilling reality with an endearing central performance by Mia Farrow, whose relationship with John Cassavettes's character is human and romantic. The relationship between 'Mother' (Jennifer Lawrence) and 'Him' (Javier Bardem), on the other hand, is bereft of development; we barely even see them communicate. You could argue that this is because 'Him' represents male self-absorption, but it's difficult to empathise with a couple that have such an odd lack of chemistry.
This dubious central relationship quickly receives even less attention as 'Him' entertains a gradually increasingly large group of hateful strangers who further harass and use 'Mother'. Her treatment caused me to feel some degree of indignation, but I didn't genuinely care because mother! amounts to little more than a sequence of pretentious allegories and metaphors. It's just like watching a bad dream, and dreams don't have the tangibility and resonance of reality.