Movie Review: Mother!

MOTHER (Lawrence) is the adoring wife of a poet, Him (­Bardem), ­who is suffering from writer's block. They live in a gorgeous mansion, which she is renovating.
Out of the blue, an orthopaedic surgeon, Man (Ed Harris), turns up at their doorstep, mistaking their mansion for a bed-and-­breakfast.
To Mother's dismay, her husband invites the stranger to stay the night. The following morning, the couple get another visitor, in the form of the surgeon's wife, Woman (Pfeiffer) who.
Of course, Mother hates her new visitors. She can't wait for them to leave her home.
Things get messy when the couple's two sons, Oldest Son and Younger Brother, turn up at the mansion and start ­quarrelling over their father's will. Oldest Son ends up killing Younger Brother.
After that, things really get out of hand.
I absolutely loved director ­Aronofsky's Black Swan and ­Requiem for a Dream. He can brilliantly mix madness and sanity in his works.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about his mother! In fact, I absolutely loathe this work of his.
Aronofsky is self ­indulgent and tries hard to pass off this pretentious film as intelligent art. He wants to present his audience with a puzzle to solve. But let me tell you, some puzzles are not worth solving!
He has injected plenty of symbolism into this film, which resonates with stories from the Bible, and the destruction of Mother Earth.
The poet is 'God', his wife Mother Earth, Man is Adam and Woman is Eve, while the two sons are Cain and Abel.
However, I failed to catch any biblical ­allegories. All I see is a selfish poet too wrapped up in himself, and too blind to see that he has a wife who loves him with all her heart.
And like the poet, the director is too blind and ­selfish to see that what he has presented to his audience is a chaotic train wreck.
Fortunately, the actors give some intense ­performances, especially Lawrence. Her volatile mood swings – from happy to sad, and calm to chaotic – add colour to the film.
The cinematography, which highlights the dark eerie atmosphere, deserves some praise too.
Unfortunately these strengths in the film could not save it from being a disastrous affair.
The film met with mixed reactions when it premièred recently at the Venice Film Festival.
Some booed it, calling it the worst film of the year, while others simply loved it, labelling the director as a super genius.
This fact is enough to tell you that mother! is not going to be ­everyone's cup of tea.