mother! (2017)

September 13, 2017 (US) • Horror, Drama • 121m

Overview

A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

Director

Jennifer Lawrence

Keywords

husband wife relationship nightmare nihilism chaos pregnancy bible house vandalism cult surrealism writer nature death madness stranger chaotic forbidden fruit mother nature uninvited guest

Where to watch

Free / Included

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Reviews

jessetaylor

⭐ 8/10

September 15, 2017

This film defies being rated on a scale of 1 through 5 - it's truly almost impossible to do so. I want to rate this a 5 and I want to rate this a 3 at the same time. Both would be wrong though so I'll just settle in the middle. Aronofsky has given us many brainsick films in the past, but this is on a whole other level. Remember the batshit crazy climax of _Requiem for a Dream_? Multiply that by 50 and you get the batshit crazy climax of mother! - and that is a *huge* understatement.

I don't really want to talk too much about the film's plot or the finale as not much about the film is known to the public at this point. It's absolutely worth it to go into this film as blind as possible or maximum effectiveness. All I'll say is that the _Rosemary's Baby_ influenced poster and marketing so far is a big curve ball - it has nothing to do with that film although Polanski horror elements are clearly an inspiration to Aronofsky here.

I do want to praise three specific elements of this film that worked the best for me: (1) The sound design was absolutely magnificent. There is no score to this film - not quite sure what Jóhann Jóhansson did here - but the sound design is eerie as hell and supremely memorable. (2) The production design is next level. The house in this film is basically the co-lead (you'll see what I mean when you watch it) and it evolves drastically over the course of the film (again, you'll see what I mean when you watch it). Excellent art direction that I haven't stopped thinking about all day. (3) The performance from Jennifer Lawrence is harrowing as she really gave herself to this film and to Aronofksy's vision, but the performance that stuck with me is the one from Michelle Pfeiffer. She really embodied her character and even though she's only in maybe the first 60% of the film, she left a deep impression on the rest of it as well. Her character is crucial to the film and she injected such mystery and gravity to the events that followed her exit.

Will soon watch this again and hopefully have more meaningful thoughts. It's hard to say too much right now when hardly anyone has seen the film yet, but believe me, there is a lot to be said about _mother!_

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Gimly

⭐ 5/10

January 5, 2018

_mother!_, a movie title with no upper case letters. Well _mother!_, I'm glad you saved those capitals because I have a question which is going to require a lot of them: "WHO THE FUCK WAS THIS FOR!?"

_Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

prestonthedm

⭐ 2/10

January 10, 2018

I'll start by saying, maybe I'm not the demographic this film was intended for.

That said, I spent 95% of the movie with a confused expression on my face, and asking myself "what the hell is this?" I walked into the theater expecting something good--not necessarily great, but enjoyable. This movie was confusing, inexplicably violent, never got to the point or fleshed out a story/plot, and left me feeling very uncomfortable throughout the fil… read the rest.

r96sk

⭐ 8/10

October 30, 2020

Nuts.

<em>'mother!'</em> is an enjoyable watch, even if I didn't fully understand what was happening - I had a rough guess in my head throughout, but I was off given what I've read elsewhere online since. I'm fine with that though, I felt entertained which is all that truly matters.

Jennifer Lawrence is great, as is Javier Bardem. Those two are very much the stars of the film, though you also have Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in notewort… read the rest.

GenerationofSwine

⭐ 1/10

January 14, 2023

Let's be honest, this is a home invasion movie trying to push itself off as an art house flick with a higher IQ.

It kind of lies to you and really hate it when movies try to pass themselves off as more than they actually are.

You can't blame the actors here, it's all the director and the studio. They wanted controversy, they wanted drama, they wanted critical praise and the wanted people to talk about it....

...but in the end, it's a hom… read the rest.

Wuchak

⭐ 6/10

September 24, 2023

**_Looks great, awesome themes, tedious storytelling_**

A renowned poet and his much younger wife (Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem) live in a huge old house in the sticks. He has writer’s block while she’s restoring the house after a fire. When unannounced strangers show up (including Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer), it naturally has a negative effect on the beautiful woman and her world.

“Mother!” (2017) was helmed by Darren Aronofsky, who’s known for artsy stuff like “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Fountain,” but he’s perfectly capable of doing more conventionally entertaining flicks, like “The Wrestler.” This one falls in the former category, although the first act is fairly conventional and compelling in the manner of, say, “What Lies Beneath” or “Cold Creek Manor.”

Yet it gets increasingly incomprehensible and tedious. You could say it starts like a Roman Polanski film, in particular “Cul-de-sac” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” but ends with the surrealism of Luis Buñuel. You’re thinking maybe home invasion à la “Desperate Hours” before the proceedings become unfathomable. Part of the fun of a movie like this is trying to figure out the symbolism and meaning. In this case, you’ll need to be up on biblical material and ecology, otherwise you’ll be lost.

So, I’m in the middle on this unique work. It’s professionally made, Jennifer is beautiful in her prime, it begins interesting enough, and the themes are unforgettable but, as a standard viewing experience, it gets dull and annoying. I never want to see it again, yet I’ll probably be pondering the metaphors the rest of my life. I respect it, but can only recommend it to those who are intrigued. It's not for everyone.

The movie runs 2 hours, 1 minute, and was shot in Montréal and Québec.

GRADE: B-

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Dr Nostromo

⭐ 3/10

December 1, 2025

29/100

A writer and his wife (who's renovating their home after a fire) keeps having unexpected, and destructive visitors parading through their house. This film was unsettling and uncomfortable from the word go. I had some idea of what was happening in the opening scene but I rejected that notion as it seemed to obvious. In the end, I was right ...making the whole thing futile and pointless. Plus, there's elements in the film that seem to ser… read the rest.

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Status

Released

Original Language

Budget

$30,000,000

Revenue

$44,516,999

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mother! (2017)

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew