mother! (Darren Aronofsky)

Agent Coulson

Paramount’s worldwide president of marketing and distribution Megan Colligan released a statement addressing the critics and audiences who were disgusted that the studio would release such a......

Colligan basically says that Aronofsky is an auteur, Jennifer Lawrence is a star, and not everything has to be palatable

“This movie is very audacious and brave,” Colligan said in an official statement, defending the film against audience backlash and the muted box office. “You are talking about a director at the top of his game, and an actress at the top her game. They made a movie that was intended to be bold. Everyone wants original filmmaking, and everyone celebrates Netflix when they tell a story no one else wants to tell. This is our version. We don’t want all movies to be safe. And it’s okay if some people don’t like it.”

http://www.vulture.com/2017/09/paramount-shades-netflix-in-mother-backlash-response.html?mid=imdb

hmmm

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Paramount’s worldwide president of marketing and distribution Megan Colligan released a statement addressing the critics and audiences who were disgusted that the studio would release such a......

Colligan basically says that Aronofsky is an auteur, Jennifer Lawrence is a star, and not everything has to be palatable

I don't think I've ever liked one of the big distributors before now. Well done Paramount.

MilesMorales1

I think you need a really big ****ing head to make something that awful.

dinneenp

Spoiler:

Detailed explanation https://www.google.ie/amp/www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/mother-meaning-spoilers-biblical-references-ending-explained/amp/

charlie_says

hmmm wrote: »

I don't think I've ever liked one of the big distributors before now. Well done Paramount.

No doubt that was a carefully made decision for them to release this as it's extreme for a major picture. I expect there to be (if there isn't one already) a big backlash against it by the easily offended. In fairness that will probably promote it for free and get more ticket sales. So much money in controversial material nowadays.

Fysh

Got a chance to see this tonight, and that was fully as barmy as expected. I can't recall when I last saw a film that so successfully made the audience feel tense, anxious and uneasy for so long, especially not with such sparse characterisation.

Definitely some elements of Von Trier in there, various bits in the latter half of the film could easily have been penned by him IMO.

I can see why some people might not enjoy it, but really, anybody familiar with Aronofsky's past films can't really complain about it being "out there". IMO it's unambiguously an Aronofsky film, and for me the biggest deviation from his normal approach is the comparative lack of music or score.

Telecaster58

I really enjoyed it, but doubt I could watch it again.
The first two thirds of the film were excellent and really funny. Michelle Pfeiffer was superb and carried off the malevolent role well. The last third just came out of left field but I got into it and went along for the ride. Jennifer Lawrence's reaction through that bit was not unlike the audience's, total bewilderment! All the main players deserve plaudits.

homerun_homer

The one time Cineworld don't have adverts and trailers for over 20 minutes and it's this bloody film. I arrived at my usual time which allows me to avoid all the ads but see all the trailers, I walk in and the film was already on and my seats occupied. It annoyed me, especially since I knew that this was the type of film where if I missed even one minute then I'd miss out on something potentially significant. By the time the ending came around it was obvious how the start played out but still... Pain in the arse.

It's hard to say I enjoyed the film. It's certainly as jarring as everything I've read about. The whole way through I was trying to figure it out and feeling dumb for not fully understanding, but then I am not the only one. When I came out of it I had a sense of what some of it stood for. It's a good film to digest and mull over the symbolism and meanings behind it. However I don't think it's a film I'll be jumping to watch over and over. The acting was fantastic from all the main cast.

MilesMorales1

homerun_homer wrote: »

The one time Cineworld don't have adverts and trailers for over 20 minutes and it's this bloody film. I arrived at my usual time which allows me to avoid all the ads but see all the trailers, I walk in and the film was already on and my seats occupied. It annoyed me, especially since I knew that this was the type of film where if I missed even one minute then I'd miss out on something potentially significant. By the time the ending came around it was obvious how the start played out but still... Pain in the arse.

It's hard to say I enjoyed the film. It's certainly as jarring as everything I've read about. The whole way through I was trying to figure it out and feeling dumb for not fully understanding, but then I am not the only one. When I came out of it I had a sense of what some of it stood for. It's a good film to digest and mull over the symbolism and meanings behind it. However I don't think it's a film I'll be jumping to watch over and over. The acting was fantastic from all the main cast.

This happened to me to! The cineworld thing I mean.

bkrangle

homerun_homer wrote: »

The one time Cineworld don't have adverts and trailers for over 20 minutes and it's this bloody film.

This happened when I saw mother on Sunday and close encounters on Monday.

Not sure if something has changed in cineworld

Dr Crayfish

Just back from viewing. That was f**king nuts! I really enjoyed it though. I'm not going to try and analyse it too much or look into what it's supposed to mean but it was an enjoyable ride, I thought J Law was very good. Brilliant.

ancapailldorcha

It's a weird one alright.

The film perfectly elicits a feeling of oppression from the viewer via the various over-the-shoulder shots and close ups of the characters.

The film's central premise is that it has taken various bible stories and repurposed them through a story of a couple renovating a home.

I think people will either be impressed by this for 120 minutes and enjoy (if that's the right word) the film or not and just wait for the cycle of events to play out. In that respect, I felt that the end was a bit predictable though I did enjoy the last few moments of the film.

I have no idea if I'd call it a good film or not. I don't regret watching it and it's certainly original in a sea of superheroes, cookie-cutter action flicks and rom-coms if nothing else.

El Duda

mother! - 8.5/10

This has understandably been getting a lot of press with reports of walkouts and general negative feedback. I went in expecting some real extreme cinema, perhaps in the same vein as Martyrs, Irreversible, requiem for a Dream etc..

I actually really enjoyed it. Although it was a tough, thought-provoking and challenging film, I didn't find it disturbing at all.  Some of the negative response from critics is baffling. Aronofsky should be praised for making something that goes against the grain of modern cinema conventions.

I found the tone to be very ethereal and dreamlike in a Lynchian way but without the absorbing atmosphere. It plays out in such a way that I very much felt like I was sat on the outside looking in, observing something rather than being wrapped up inside it

It completely lacks the subtle ambiguity of Lynch's work and the metaphor the film is portraying is dealt with in an extremely heavy handed manner. Some of it's imagery is so blatant and on the nose that it must be intentional. There are other ways you can read the story but there is a framework in place that it rarely detaches itself from.

I can't help but think that it may have benefited from a better female lead. I think someone like Emma Stone has the acting chops to add a few layers to the character.

Aronofsky puts Noah behind him and cements his place as one of the most interesting directors working today. A real wild ride.

SPOILERS

My initial thinking was that it was one big metaphor for rape and the way Man dominates Woman. I have read a few pieces on it and it seems that it's more about Mankind's destructive relationship with Mother nature.

pumpkin4life

I was bored to death by this. It was like a really bad parody of a David Lynch movie. Everything was just so on the nose and either boring or just flat out irritating. Hatred? Yeah, if you hate a movie, maybe its doing something right because you're getting an emotional reaction to it. For this? Nothing really.

Though I've never been a fan of Afonofsky tbh. Every movie of his, feels cold, boring, pretentious; like you're being given a lecture from some spoilt brat film school dickhead who has never worked a day in his life on the "art of the film and this is how it is to be done and what you're seeing is super important and address the human condition blah blah blah" when in fact he's never even bothered to get behind a camera. Like the "drugs are bad mkaaayy" bum of Requiem of a Dream. Like when lads be using big words to feel good about themselves and a **** can spot it a mile off.

Avoid it lads.

Look, if you want the whole, fear of having a kid issues with pregnancy and a family things, watch Eraserhead, which is one of the best films ever. Mother! is just bum.

pheasant tail

Anyone figured out what the yellow drink was she was taking or what it resembled?

dinneenp

pheasant tail wrote: »

Anyone figured out what the yellow drink was she was taking or what it resembled?

From a link I posted earlier in this thread-

Throughout the film Lawrence is seen pouring a yellow powder into her water, which makes the water come alive with a magical CGI glow. It’s the one aspect of Mother! that is never properly explained, though The Daily Beast has suggested it could be a reference to Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic short story The Yellow Wallpaper.

The story finds a young woman driven slowly mad due to the submission insisted upon her by her husband, and Lawrence’s mystery elixir, which helps her recover from random bursts of pain, could be a subtle reference to it.

Tar.Aldarion

Great film, loved the religious/mother earth engine bit this film could be about anything you want, whatever you take from it. Be it the actual feeling of being a mother, loss of control, being in an oppressive relationship, narcissism, mental health, depression, you name it and you could make it fit based on your own life experiences or thoughts.

Most enjoyable 2 hours of frustration and anxiety I could ask for.

ERG89

I just watched this tonight. I thought the couple that turn up early on would have a bigger role in the ending. It built up in a way where I spent a lot of time guessing what the inevitable plot twist was going to be as there was a lot to think about. I don't know what to think after that last half hour though. It was like a commentary on a lot of topics, some of which I'll admit went over my head. Far more than the endings to Black Swan or The Wrestler things got out of hand and I don't know how to feel.....looking into what was happening with the lead & director I felt a lot of it was maybe changed close to and/or during filming. I could be way off though.

It did leave this quote which was a great gutpunch penned by a person who likely felt this once:

"You never loved me. You just loved how much I love you."