Mother! | Film Review

Hey Guys x

So... Mother!. I have many thoughts about this, so I'm gonna get straight in with telling you what it's about - I'll try not to spoil it, but if something slips through the cracks, I'm really sorry, it's a hard film to explain.

The film is about a couple, played by Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. They live a seemingly idyllic life, until they have a visitor who neither of them know. Lawrence's character wants him to leave, while Bardem's is more open and loving, he lets him stay. This man, played by Ed Harris, then brings his wife, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, to the house. As more people enter the house, Lawrence's character becomes more and more distraught, especially with her husband, who allows these people to come in and essentially destroy her home. But why is he letting them in? And will she be able to forgive him?

So, I'm just gonna be completely honest, I understand and appreciate the theme of the film (and the many interpretations), and I never normally say this, but I did not like this film at all. 

I don't know if this is a spoiler or not, but basically the theme of the film is, in a convoluted way, the story of creation, and the way that we as humans treat the Earth.

Now, the word 'pretentious' gets thrown around a lot when people talk about this film, and it definitely is. For me personally, I always find it weird when people make a huge statement about mankind while also being a part of mankind. Like, do you count as someone who is ruining the world or not?

And then there's the interpretation of God, or a God-like character. I'm not massively religious, but you don't have to be to see the religious undertones of this movie. I think it was a huge deal that the God of this movie wasn't made out to be as loving and powerful and amazing as religion (the bible etc) suggests. I'm not saying that it was a bad thing to make the film portray a different God (In fact, I actually found it quite refreshing), but I think it makes the film a lot more controversial than maybe the filmmaker wanted. But again, maybe that's exactly what he wanted.

Jennifer Lawrence, in particular, was really good in this. I completely empathised with her and thought she acted amazingly, as did many of the other characters in this movie. My gripe is more with the way that the movie was written/directed than the themes or actors.

I think that the idea of the creation story, as well as the fact that human beings may have, or may be ruining mankind is a story that is interesting and should be told. However, I think that maybe it could have been done in a way that was a lot less confusing. I didn't understand what was happening for 3/4 of the movie.

I will say, however, that Hazel Hayes made a really interesting video about it, which helped me to see some of the different interpretations of the movie. It has spoilers galore, so if you want to watch her video, watch the movie first. However, if you've already seen it, or if you don't care, check out her video, which I'll leave below.

Overall, I'm just giving my opinion. You might have seen it and completely loved it, I didn't. At all. But if you have seen it, tell me what you thought of it in the comments! I'd love to hear some different interpretations!

Lou xx