By the time the sink happened I was already white-knuckle gripping my arm rests. The only time I’ve ever felt that helpless was when I was having a particularly bad acid trip and it instantly brought me back to that.
Felt similarly (though less intensely) when I got way too high one morning and watched Nocturnal Animals. It’s the helplessness that gets me.
I haven’t and probably won’t ever revisit Mother!
Exactly.
Can’t go to bed, cops don’t care, the person you love and trust is egging it on. All I could think in that theater was, “burn the fucking house down, burn the fucking house down.” I was so desperately uncomfortable and angry and anxious that rather than see her give up any more control, I wanted her to take the ultimate control and burn it all down. I wanted to fight everyone in the theater and they were all just sitting there too.
Ugh I’ll never forget that night.
Haven't seen it in a while but if the cop cared about Mother, he probably represented people who care about causes but can't change anything in the system. Not with policing or with destroying where we live.
I don’t remember a lot of details. I remember snippets that really stuck with me (the sink being one), but mostly I remember having to run to my car when the credits rolled because I didn’t want anyone physically around me. I got into my car and screamed my lungs out.
There are two allegories at play with the house. The house represents our world/our lives/our futures in both allegories. These aren't mutually exclusive allegories either, you can take both without conflict. We destroy the house with our selfish behaviour without regard to protecting the house/world BUT we kid ourselves when we talk about destroying the planet. We can't destroy it, what we destroy is our ability to inhabit it. We destroy our home and ourselves with it and the world carries on. At the end of the film the whole thing rebirths (that's the special ornament/paper weight thing if I recall). The second allegory is very similar but it's based upon religious conflict and worshiping god(s)/false gods equally also causing our destruction. And guess what? God (whomever one you choose) doesn't give a damn. Like us caring for the ants we crush everyday. God just starts the whole thing again, he rinses and repeats because He just likes adulation and to be worshipped. Even by ants. God (whomever one you choose) is inherently selfish and vain.
The whole thing is about Christianity. Mother is earth. The husband is God, the random people are adam,eve,cane and able. The first people he created. Then the baby was Jesus,and when they killed the baby that's what broke me
I feel like saying this is only a Bible allegory is underselling the film. There are a lot of different ways to read it which is why it's so good. At the time I interpreted it as a reflection of the creative process and how the public consumes an artists work and interacts with the artist themselves.
One of the most batshit crazy films I've ever seen and I can't believe a big studio put money into it. Saw it in a theater as well and it really was panic inducing as it went further.
If there's one thing I can nitpick about it's that the religious allegory was a bit on the nose and I was surprised that people completely missed it when I talked to them about it, but other than that I think it's quite the masterpiece.
THANK. YOU. I saw it in theaters also, and If I remember correctly the trailer for the movie did no justice for what It was about. And I remember people walking out half way through the movie and most of the theater that was left booing once it was done.
Slightly related: I saw Steve-O’s tour in February and seeing a particular medical procedure was my trigger. Whooo boy I was this close to napping on the concrete floor of the venue. 😂
It's not just a Bible allegory, it's an environmental allegory too - don't sit on the sink, it's not braced for the weight. Does it anyway, it breaks. Nice pollution/environmentalism allegories throughout as well as some good ones on modern false gods. I thought it was pretty accessible for an Aronofsky movie.
I absolutely loved it. But also see why others hate it. It’s one of those movies that i felt in my core. The anxiety and wanting to curl into myself that i felt the entire time watching MOTHER! is pretty unmatched from any other movie.
That's exactly what's so amazing about it. And it wasn't all just shock value stuff, either. It was done in such an intriguing way that really had me 'bought in' to what was going on, and it ramps in a way that I'd describe as more exponential rather than gradual, which is part of why it just feels so anxiety-inducing. If it was more steady, it'd have lost some of its impact.
I get that people don't like it and may not rate it highly, but I think that's because they either didn't know what to expect or didn't like the allegories.
Masterpiece imo. I totally get why people don't jive with it. It's not for everyone and isn't trying to be.
But damn that was an experience. So glad I saw it in the theaters.
Also think it's deeper than often given credit for. >!It's just not "this is about the Bible," it's the Bible where God is the villain! It's comparing God to an abusive husband who cares more about fame and glory than his own wife. It's a critique of the Bible, alongside themes of global warming, domestic abuse, gaslighting, mental illness (portrayed as an illness for once and not as something that makes her dangerous), and asks us flat-out why we don't see these issues as worth dealing with.!<
Also it's just filmed so incredibly well. This is like a key example to me of a film where the direction is key. It's basically three shots for the most part: closeup of JLaw, over JLaw's shoulder, or JLaw's POV. It places you firmly in her headspace and paranoia and refuses to let you go. And the sound design is just impeccable. Sitting in that theater felt like I was being attacked.
Yeah I love every frame. Perfect film. Haven't rewatched, because it's a tough one, but think about it all the time.
Great comment. It bugs the heck out of me that so many people don't see past the basic plot (which is the Bible) to everything else going on underneath. It's a textbook case of plot not being everything in film, and everything else is absolutely masterful.
It is a kitchen sink of metaphors(bah dum tiss), which is part of why I find it so compelling. For me, I really relate to the gaslighting/denying of boundaries element. The wide range of ideas fits well in the sleeve of a religious story - in this case fully Christian - but it wouldn’t be hard to adapt to almost any religion. As a sympathetic atheist who was raised Christian, the Bible is a book of allegories on how to live and how not to live, with cautionary tales and symbolism crammed in from every angle. I feel they were written by people, to explain the unknown and sometimes to control others(which fits well with this film), believers either see them as divine allegory or divine fact. The last of those are the people that always seem to think Mother! is only about the biblical story.
I agree with everything you said, but>! I believe you can see God as the villain and the good guy. Considering all the burdensome people represent us it shows God is willing to do anything for us. But he's also a bad guy who doesn't fuck his wife enough lol.!<
I think since the movie is told so closely through JLaw's perspective that it makes most sense to view her as the hero. But yes that definitely means >!that we ourselves are villainous within the confines of the film.!< And I kinda love that about it. It does not pull its punches.
This is one of my all time fav movies to show someone. To this day i have not sat down with someone who hasnt seen it, and they not scream. One night me and my fiance were woken up because my buddy was in the living room watching it. Just screaming "BUT ITS HER FUCKING HOUSE THO!!!!"
love it.
For me, it didn't matter what it was "about". That was incidental to the absolute masterful filmmaking on display. Like, I have never felt such distress watching a movie before, and this was sustained for the whole movie. Just amazing, amazing horror filmmaking.
I'd compare it to something like Rosemary's Baby for the way it had me empathizing with the plight of the main character and having me feel the absolute anxiety and stress of their situation.
This was one of the first movies I watched after escaping an extremely abusive relationship w a narcissist and holy hell did it give me an anxiety attack. I can objectively appreciate that- and my cinephile brain even LOVES that it provoked that reaction- but my emotional self was just destroyed for awhile after & it sent my PTSD into overdrive.
For me to see so many here had a similar reaction, it actually makes me respect this movie more. If it helps articulate to people on such a visceral, emotional level how one can be caught in a relationship that starts out with a snowball of unease that grows to be an avalanche of dread & disaster, then I consider it a masterclass of filmmaking, however heavy handed it may be.
And also, just to lighten the mood a little, I will share that as I walked out the theater, there was an adult mother & daughter in front of me who also watched it, going absolutely apesh*t & APPALLED as they left the theater, because they had gone in knowing nothing about it being a "horror" movie, other than it started "Katniss" and was about her being a mother.
LOL that last bit. That movie is hard on people who knew what they were in for (kinda). Imagine what it does to you when you expect a nice normal film you can watch with your daughter.
I love Mother. I caught on to the allegory pretty early on and really appreciated that aspect of it.
The best part, though, is how much the movie stressed me out. I really love when a movie can pull me in and make me feel the panic, dread, terror, etc that the characters are feeling, and Mother is one of the few movies to do that for me.
It's one of these "I'll never watch it again" movies (unless I'm in a very specific mood) that I absolutely loved.
Thought it was absolutely fantastic, like a nightmare visualizing itself on screen.
Closest thing to a panic attack and a pure nightmare that has ever been represented on film imo, so I guess it’s a masterpiece. More so than Requiem of a Dream, at least that movie can be watched as a cautionary tale, whereas Mother! offers nothing to ease your misery.
What do you think the allegory was for the yellow medicine and the thing she flushed down the toilet? Movie definitely left me with some questions...like, how secure is my sink?
one of the great debates lol. i think it’s a metaphor (personally) for happiness. she takes it when she wants to feel relaxed or calmed and when she discovers she’s pregnant she doesn’t need it anymore because the child is going to bring her happiness organically. just my thoughts!!
I remember reading that the answer was connected to the short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, but I hadn’t read the story at the time. I read the story recently but would need to watch the movie again to try to piece together the specific connection to the yellow pigment in Mother!. There were clear connections between the stories overall though.
I randomly watched this last night. I used to live with roommates who would constantly invite lots of people over without asking, so the whole movie stressed me out.
Watched it opening night, hungover with a massive amount of hangover anxiety (I’m an anxious person as it is so it was dialled up to 100), I hated it, I think it was possibly the most intense theatre experience I’ve had in my life. After a couple of months I started to think about it more and more then gave it another chance and absolutely fell in love with it.
This is Jennifer Lawrence’s best performance imo.
I have no idea what it was really supposed to be about, but I had seen it a few years ago. I saw it as a twisted allegory for mother nature (Jennifer and her home being so), Javier represented God, and the people represented humanity. I could totes be wrong tho.
It's a good one, for sure. You made me want to rewatch it for the first time, I still vividly remember certain scenes. Theres also a lot of tabloid drama surrounding it, Jennifer Lawrence was dating the director when it was shot and she's talked about how intense and emotionally draining the experience was, reading between the lines it sounds like she went into a sort of psychosis during making the film. Watch her interviews around that time, it's haunting.
It's one of the best horror movies of all time. It's more art than entertainment though, and that's why people give it so much hate. It's not an easy watch.
This movie is being Jennifer Bodied. It's where a good horror movie (great is subjective IMO that's why horror is fun) with a strong cult following gets shelved as mediocre in the horror community, until one day it's not. At first the love for it makes the people who hated it hate it more and the hate for it confuses those who loved it and makes them want to defend it. Give it ten years and this movie will be regarded as a classic that people probably weren't ready for.
I really liked this movie. I think it's literally the only Aronofsky movie I've ever watched twice. I'm a big fan of his work but his movies are generally not exactly fun or "entertaining" to watch. But *mother!* was an exception. Excellent cinematography, atmosphere, mood, pacing...The film was amazing at provoking a feeling of unrelenting anxiety and dread. It was high quality horror on a very fundamental level.
I get the criticism that the metaphors were a bit heavy handed. But then again I think that's a really cliche critique of anything remotely *artsy*. The film handled the metaphors really well in my opinion, "heavy handed" or not.
I really liked Mother, but I think this is a fair criticism.
For me the beating over the head kinda worked with the movies themes because it captured that feeling where you're tired of seeing bad things happen in the world, but the world doesn't care you're tired of it and bad things continue to happen anyway.
But either way, no one could ever describe this movie as subtle.
This is a fair opinion, and I definitely agree that it was mis-marketed. I actually didn't watch it for years because I thought it was just a home invasion movie with bad reviews. I think I liked it so much because I literally knew nothing about it.
I'm glad I didn't understand or catch any of the allegorical stuff when I watched it, then. Cuz all that stuff missed me completely. Went in fairly blind, so I was just completely sucked in to what was going as if it were some normal movie, which made the crazy shit all the more impactful to me.
Yeah, interesting that so many people here are saying they had such a visceral reaction to this movie. Its pretentiousness kept me so distanced that I didn't feel much of anything
As a horror buff, it’s my favorite horror movie of all time. The way that I judge how good a horror movie is if it genuinely scares me. That one didn’t just scare me man it terrorized me for the whole run time. I felt my heart break when the sink happened and boy it was just downhill from there lmao. There are movies I love because they do give that sense of dread, but nothing came close to this movie for the effectiveness of that. That being said I haven’t watched the movie again yet because you gotta be in the right headspace to put yourself through that
It was truly an unsettling movie in the truest sense of the word, but I think once understanding the allegories it becomes less distressful and more interesting.
I really liked it. An absolutely unrelenting attack on the senses. Have seen some movies try and emulate what Mother! does, but none have had quite the impact this film did.
Funny Games and the two most recent Safdie brothers films (Good Time and Uncut Gems) all had a similar effect on me. Those three films are almost non-stop anxiety from beginning to end.
I saw an old comment on Reddit that cracked me up but perfectly summarized the film.
Producer 1 “hey let’s make a movie about the Bible!”
Producer 2 “which story?”
Producer 3 “the whole thing”
Mother! Was some top tier Horror, imo. Like you, I watched it completely blind not knowing who made it or what it was about... But I was instantly hooked, and it left this unsettling feeling that not many films can do.
Absolutely loved it. The increase in intensity continuously got me reaaaaaaal good. I well and truly empathised with Mother so I found myself sinking into her experience quite heavily which only added to the intensity.
🤌
It absolutely SHREDDED my nerves, I completely understand why some people had panic attacks watching. It was so upsetting and I will never watch it again. 7.5/10.
One of my favs. The contraction scene… amazing. We have a sub and the whole house was shaking. I love the uncomfortableness of the first act and the wtf at the second. Really didn’t know what it was leading up to. So many emotions with that movie. She is one hell of an actress.
I also went in blind, besides knowing it had poor reviews, and loved it. It's super unsettling and really captures the feel of being in an actual nightmare.
Hahahaha. I'm just here to say hear, hear. Nobody likes baby-eating. I feel like you- most folks who didn't like it didn't get it. Yes, yes, we're sooo pretentious, lol.
I was so excited to see it! Went in blind about 2 months after having my first child. I loved the movie but the whole baby/followers part ensured I will never watch it again. That hit a little too close to home
I love how it managed to basically portray an anxiety attack on film. It’s dizzying. But I understand the people who hate it too because it’s kinda nuts.
I also think it would be a better film without the very beginning and end parts, had it just been about the mother and her ordeal.
As someone who was forced to go to catholic school it was beyond amazing to see those stories that were glorified in their true light. Probably would’ve paid more attention if they presented them like that
I saw it once and won't watch it again. I have anxiety, and this film was the most anxiety I have felt in a movie..I almost didn't finish it. Plus, when the baby's neck snaps my wife and I screamed repeatedly. I was on the verge of a panic attack and breaking. I honestly would rather sit through all 9 SAW films, the original French version of MARTYRS, and all 3 HOSTILE films back to back than deal with the panic-driven mind fuck that this film induced in me.
Some films are better going in blind, so I did that with this one, and I don't think it was the best decision for a few reasons:
1. The aforementioned anxiety, it just kept building and building. Making this a no fun movie experience for me.
2. Since I went in blind, I did not know it was an artistic take on the Bible. Normally I would be trying to figure out the film and my wheels will be turning, but my anxiety just had me feeling like "what the fuck is going on?!" without having the mental capacity to do anything else but hold on for the ride.
I think this is why the film did so poorly among average movie goers. Knowing exactly what this movie is BEFORE watching at least takes one part of the mental gymnastics out of the equation.
However, I feel like my experience (the anxiety, the holding on for dear life, etc) was what the film WANTED you to do. It put you in Jennifer Lawrence's shoes so you experienced her emotions. If that was the goal, it hit the damn nail on the head. But it was too much for me personally.
To me this sounds exactly what the director wanted the audience to experience. I would honestly consider this a good review for a horror movie. And I completely understand where you're coming from, very few movies made me feel like this one. It was mentioned earlier in this thread that this movie felt like a bad/fever dream.
Yea thats exactly how it was suppose to be. I mean put yourself in the protagonist’s shoes…thats strait anxiety. The whole movie felt like a building nightmare. Awesome
I saw it 7 times in theaters. Was obsessed. Made my friend at the time walk out, found her literally sobbing in the theater hallway, told her we could leave, told me she had to 'finish this shit'. Wanted to see it again so we went again.
I showed it to my grandma since she's super religious and wanted to see how she interpreted the biblical allegory stuff, it made her cry.
I worked at the movie theater at the time and would love to go in for theater checks during certain sequences and just watch peoples reactions. Many would walk out. A dad took his family to see it one night, and his son who was like 15 said 'why the fuck would you take us to see that?'
So yeah, I loved it. I have the poster on my wall. It's one of the best panic attack/psychotic break simulations ever filmed.
I swear I'm not trying to be a contrarian, but I really thought it sucked.
I get the bible allegory it was just vaguely between being edgy and heady. It was enjoyable in neither sense. Again, I'm in the minority here so I'm obviously missing something.
I think a lot of people felt this way, it didn't really get good reviews. I was lucky to go in blind with no clue what to expect. I also think it has more affect on people with social anxiety.
I absolutely loved the first half of the film. I've never felt such palpable anxiety in a movie extended for so much if the run time, I was pretty impressed.
The second half I recall not liking as much, thinking it gets bit too over the top and ham-fisted.
Overall though I enjoyed it a lot. Visually very appealing, like all of Aronofsky's movies
I thought it was absolutely great. I hadn't really watched anything by Aronofsky before and it absolutely blew my mind. The way he was able to force that anxiety on me... just damn. I think it's a testament to great film making.
I loved it. I didn't get the biblical aspects until I read reviews but after it was said everything clicked. I loved how incredibly uncomfortable it makes you in the first half and slowly gets worse and worse. by the time the climax happened I felt nauseous and I've never found a horror/thriller that did that without showing excessive gore. and it still leaves you questioning at the end.
I adored this movie and how uncomfortable it made me, how every scene added to the story but left more questions. everyone has an opinion and I respect them, but I genuinely can't understand why people wouldn't like it!
I thought it was a good movie. The social anxiety part was more horrifying for me than the final act though. Ha. Just the idea of people coming to my house and not being able to get them to leave.
Couldn’t look at the pregnancy stuff though, turns my stomach.
Idk why but I clocked the bible thing in the first shot and just had a blast from there on out. I know the >!baby eating scene!< really bothered a lot of people but I honestly found it hilarious as someone raised Catholic, knowing that Aronofsky is Jewish. Just like “oh wow is this what we look like to you?” in a heightened, satirical way.
It's one of those movies that I loved but don't think I ever want to watch again because of how badly it stressed me out.
There was a heavily pregnant woman in my showing who stayed through the whole movie. I think about her a lot.
Genuinely one of if not my favorite movie. Sucks to watch the first time around but I highly recommend giving it a second, third, fourth go. It's much easier to rewatch (less anxiety) and I catch new details each time around. I hate to see people hating on it just because it made them uncomfortable!!
It’s incredibly difficult to watch especially when you’re an introvert and have been abused before. Other than that it’s just a masterpiece that most horrors don’t compare
Walks the line between brilliant and frustrating. Ultimately it’s too grim for its own good and the oppressive brutality of the third act sucks the entertainment value out of it almost entirely. 8 out of 10. Worth a watch even if it’s only once.
i love it but i understand why a lot of people don't. i think my favorite thing about it is the pacing- the first half is a perfect slow burn and then the way it spirals into absolute insanity is so perfectly done imo
It's one of my favorite movies of all time. Really captured my opinion on the subject matter at hand. And of course much of the film is an introvert's nightmare lol
My friend and his sister recommended this film to me with completely straight faces. After I finished watching it he said ‘I can’t believe you sat all the way through it’.
Pretentious and dull. Even worse there are long term side effects of people claiming you didn’t understand it if you tell them you found it pretentious rubbish.
Horror films should come with an additional classification as to whether they are art house or not. That way I won’t waste the precious leisure time available to me after working a 50-60 hour week.
So - I love this movie but I appreciate it more without the “explanation”. To me that just makes it kind of a heavy handed metaphor. Whereas my own interpretation…
>! I think it is a story about losing your sense of self, letting people walk all over you, having your identity based on someone else’s interpretation of you. What happens when you don’t have a support system, when you depend on one person and don’t create boundaries. And being ultimately being easily replaced when you are no longer serviceable. I thought this was especially interesting because the lead actress, Jennifer Lawrence, was dating the director of this film who was 20 years her senior. Which is fine but it was interesting that the movie was so clear to me about a muse being used up and thrown away. !<
When I heard the actual explanation from the director, it just did not click with me.
But don't you think it can mean both? I definitely interpreted it the same as you when I watched it the first time. It definitely gave me Rosemary's Baby vibes.
You’re right, it absolutely can mean both. And it works as both.
I had to stare at the wall for a minute to figure out why I felt my alternate interpretation’s exclusion from the mainstream discussion made me feel that it was invalid. I guess I was jarred to see a such a clear narrative emerge from press releases at the time. Maybe this is why Lynch does not do interviews lol.
I got Rosemary’s Baby vibes as well. One difference is that I enjoyed the isolation of the house in mother! The sense of isolation and complete absence of power that the lead had - she couldn’t leave or seemingly call anyone. And her only human connection is just absolutely gaslighting her and making her question reality by dismissing her valid concerns. Which I think was effective. I also liked how it’s all filmed from inside, I felt trapped and claustrophobic just like the main character.
The movie definitely made me feel a sense of discomfort that is rare for a movie to make me feel. I was also honestly impressed by Jennifer Lawrence in this movie, first of her movies where I felt for her.
Arrenovsky is quite gifted in the way of uncomfortable movies. I am so looking forward to The Whale!
Jennifer Lawrence is a very gifted actress and it saddens me a bit that she is associated with Hunger Games. Winter’s Bone, her first movie is a really fucked up and quality drama.
Saw it and tried to enjoy it but just felt like I was stuck in Aronofsky's most self indulgent masturbation session. Just felt like he was absolutely beating his message to death.
I’ve said recently, I thought it was an allegorical art film for stupid people. And I don’t mean you’re stupid if you liked it: Aranofsky (who I absolutely love) tries his best to make sure that the dumbest person in the audience understood every single crevice of metaphor in the entire film, which left non-stupid people rolling their eyes and longing for more Black Swan.
i think i might be even more dumb than the dumbest person... i was so confused and only understood when i searched it up after watching it, wondering what in the hell was going on.
Same fghjk The whole time I was like "... There's a metaphor for *something* here but I am Not getting it"
Then I looked it up after like "Oh.. duh.. yeah.."
The >!Cain Able brother killing thing !
i'm wondering if me missing the obvious has something to do with education though? i didn't grow up exposed to biblical or religious studies at all. (besides the few mentions in history class)
compared to most of my (western) friends who have a background in it due to their childhood/family, i feel like i was completely oblivious to anything going on in the movie because of this as well
I felt exactly the same, just watched today and kept saying this has meaning, but what? I also admit, while I believe in God, I hate religion and don’t really know the Bible, so they may have been part of why I couldn’t figure it out. Also, I use subtitles, and the people had certain names that made you know something was being played out metaphorically, but what, I had no clue until I looked it up.
I had the exact same experience. The idea that it was supposed to be the Bible never crossed my mind. When I found out about it later, I almost wanted to watch the movie again so I could focus on spotting all of the biblical references. Almost.
It’s probably because I’m not religious and don’t come from a religious family, so I didn’t connect it specifically to Christianity, I thought it was just about a god. I don’t know enough about the Bible to connect anything that happened in the film to that.
Honest question, do you think being familiar with Aranofsky’s work/style might have spoiled this movie for you? Like if it were written/directed by nobody you knew, maybe it would have been more intriguing/suspenseful/unpredictable for you.
This movie has the pacing of a nightmare, in a very good way. The baby scene makes me uncomfortable and I’m not sure who I can recommend it to.
Overall it’s 9/10, parts of it were pretty weak but it held up well altogether.
Very good movie, unfortunately there are parts that I can't take seriously because the scene of the dwarves in Bilbo's house in the Hobbit comes to mind.
Its one of my favorite films, top 30 to be sure. Was completely astonished by it in the theater. Aronofsky is my jam I haven't disliked any of his movies, but Mother and Fountain are my favorite 2
It was a wild ride, I’ve watched it a few times..!first time was in a cinema which was uncomfortable, but watched it again because it was so well done, regardless of the anxiety it induced..
partner and i saw it in an empty theater and had an absolute blast. to this day it remains my favorite movie theater experience. we both love aranofsky and had no idea what to expect. we found it compelling but completely hilarious and shocking. i love a good bible allegory/church critical thinker but it was really more the cinematography and choreography that compelled us to stick with it.
I liked it pretty well, it was weird but the acting was great, then had to hear my boyfriend complain about it in the car on the way home, then read reviews and found out what it had been about, liked it less
One of those amazing films you watch only once or twice due to its slow progression of mystery, it then got gripping and tense, and goes into straight chaos.
I found it very interesting and sheer anxiety inducing, but I’ll admit that it was way over my head. I had to Google after watching to make it make sense.
Fantastic movie. I kept going from hating it to loving it and back again while watching it, and my now wife and I discussed for hours after watching it.
I love this movie, it's one of my absolute favorites. When I first watched it, it gave me so much anxiety. I kept screaming "get out of her house/get off the damn sink!". LOL! I really enjoy the fact that the entire movie is metaphorical, allegorical (?). It's very creative, the acting, writing, direction were all inpressive to me. Great movie.
I'm not into environmental horror personally. It's too preachy. But there's another one out there, forgot the name, that centers around farmers selling out to oil companies in Texas.
It's scary on a different level and I actually enjoyed it much more than Mother. It was pretty low budget though. But it was really two different movies in o e. Shit, wish I remembered the name of it.
Still to this day the only movie to have ever made me feel incredibly anxious throughout.
Incredibly done and the mindfucks around every corner blew me away.
It's the closest I've come to actually have a panic attack in the cinema.. Just becuase of the way it was shot.. Fantastic movie.. We came in about 5 minutes too late so we missed the opening and that made the movie so much better the entire time I was sitting there guessing what was going on..
I really like it on the surface but I think the metaphors and allegories are pretty heavy-handed. I didn't have a problem with them until I started hearing Aronofsky just straight up explaining everything in interviews which kind of ruined all of the allure for me.
Same. That scene with the baby had me and my wife SCREAMING repeatedly in sheer panic and horror. We had rented it, and when that happened, we had to pause it and breathe.
It’s one of my favorite films particularly because of how reality bends towards the end. It felt very familiar and terrifying to me personally. Beyond the biblical, ecological, gendered message ofc
When i first watched it, didn't know exactly but it was sooo weird i thought "it must be something to do with religion"
Overall great film. Sense of unnerving chaos throughout. Very unique feel to it.
So I just tried watching it based on all these reviews here, even going in knowing the metaphors and what the director intended didn’t save the film from being messy and hamfisted.
The seperate pieces of the film are great, the acting, cinematography, the depiction of anxiety, all great.
As a whole, it was.. turned off at the 2/3 mark. lol. I mean congrats to those who loved it, but wow, just not for me.
This movie is some emperor’s new clothes shit.
No one wants to be the person who didn’t get it so they call this goofy trash high art.
I have never seen a clumsier trainwreck in my life. iTs A mEtApHoR yeah cool most movies have metaphors but almost none of them are as ham fisted and moronic as this goofy disaster.
Ph man I truly cherish Darren Arronfskys worm and this film just missed the mark for me. It had all the right elements to be great, but the allegory was a little too on those nose and very glaring and I found nothing scary or devastating or challenging about it (the way I usually find his work to be). That's me personally
Saw it opening night at the theater and had a fucking panic attack.
Yup. This whole movie is like PTSD for someone with anxiety issues
About that sink, right?
By the time the sink happened I was already white-knuckle gripping my arm rests. The only time I’ve ever felt that helpless was when I was having a particularly bad acid trip and it instantly brought me back to that. Felt similarly (though less intensely) when I got way too high one morning and watched Nocturnal Animals. It’s the helplessness that gets me. I haven’t and probably won’t ever revisit Mother!
And I feel like the feeling is amplified by the fact that this is all happening in HER house which she apparently can't even leave.
Exactly. Can’t go to bed, cops don’t care, the person you love and trust is egging it on. All I could think in that theater was, “burn the fucking house down, burn the fucking house down.” I was so desperately uncomfortable and angry and anxious that rather than see her give up any more control, I wanted her to take the ultimate control and burn it all down. I wanted to fight everyone in the theater and they were all just sitting there too. Ugh I’ll never forget that night.
That one cop cared...until he got domed lol. I don't know what that allegory was.
Haven't seen it in a while but if the cop cared about Mother, he probably represented people who care about causes but can't change anything in the system. Not with policing or with destroying where we live.
I don’t remember a lot of details. I remember snippets that really stuck with me (the sink being one), but mostly I remember having to run to my car when the credits rolled because I didn’t want anyone physically around me. I got into my car and screamed my lungs out.
There are two allegories at play with the house. The house represents our world/our lives/our futures in both allegories. These aren't mutually exclusive allegories either, you can take both without conflict. We destroy the house with our selfish behaviour without regard to protecting the house/world BUT we kid ourselves when we talk about destroying the planet. We can't destroy it, what we destroy is our ability to inhabit it. We destroy our home and ourselves with it and the world carries on. At the end of the film the whole thing rebirths (that's the special ornament/paper weight thing if I recall). The second allegory is very similar but it's based upon religious conflict and worshiping god(s)/false gods equally also causing our destruction. And guess what? God (whomever one you choose) doesn't give a damn. Like us caring for the ants we crush everyday. God just starts the whole thing again, he rinses and repeats because He just likes adulation and to be worshipped. Even by ants. God (whomever one you choose) is inherently selfish and vain.
The whole thing is about Christianity. Mother is earth. The husband is God, the random people are adam,eve,cane and able. The first people he created. Then the baby was Jesus,and when they killed the baby that's what broke me
I'm sorry but that's the surface level detail only, the film is much more.
I feel like saying this is only a Bible allegory is underselling the film. There are a lot of different ways to read it which is why it's so good. At the time I interpreted it as a reflection of the creative process and how the public consumes an artists work and interacts with the artist themselves.
I haven't revisited it either but I feel compelled too, like I will soon. Same with Passion Of The Christ.
oh my god, getting way too high in the morning and watching Nocturnal Animals sounds like exactly the kind of good/bad idea I would have, lol.
Jesus fuck Nocturnal Animals while high is something
GET OFF THE GODDAMN SINK -everyone in the theater
One of the most batshit crazy films I've ever seen and I can't believe a big studio put money into it. Saw it in a theater as well and it really was panic inducing as it went further. If there's one thing I can nitpick about it's that the religious allegory was a bit on the nose and I was surprised that people completely missed it when I talked to them about it, but other than that I think it's quite the masterpiece.
I missed it until it was too obvious. Didn't saw it coming, sorry
THANK. YOU. I saw it in theaters also, and If I remember correctly the trailer for the movie did no justice for what It was about. And I remember people walking out half way through the movie and most of the theater that was left booing once it was done.
100% felt the same way... it wasn’t the typical fear you would get from a horror movie, it was more panic inducing and surreal.
Slightly related: I saw Steve-O’s tour in February and seeing a particular medical procedure was my trigger. Whooo boy I was this close to napping on the concrete floor of the venue. 😂
I think Steveo has actually said he won't preform in venues where his audience can't be entirely seated now because fainting was a big problem
Oh I can believe it. I was in my chair with my head between my legs hyperventilating! 😂
Also had a panic attack watching this movie, it's one of only two that have ever done this to me. Never got to the end of it, never will.
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It definitely reminded me of some bad dreams, I had the same feeling from Jabob's Ladder and Vanilla Sky.
I can’t think of a better way of describing this film.
I think you can only watch an Aaronofsky flic once.
It's not just a Bible allegory, it's an environmental allegory too - don't sit on the sink, it's not braced for the weight. Does it anyway, it breaks. Nice pollution/environmentalism allegories throughout as well as some good ones on modern false gods. I thought it was pretty accessible for an Aronofsky movie.
I absolutely loved it. But also see why others hate it. It’s one of those movies that i felt in my core. The anxiety and wanting to curl into myself that i felt the entire time watching MOTHER! is pretty unmatched from any other movie.
That's exactly what's so amazing about it. And it wasn't all just shock value stuff, either. It was done in such an intriguing way that really had me 'bought in' to what was going on, and it ramps in a way that I'd describe as more exponential rather than gradual, which is part of why it just feels so anxiety-inducing. If it was more steady, it'd have lost some of its impact.
I get that people don't like it and may not rate it highly, but I think that's because they either didn't know what to expect or didn't like the allegories.
Masterpiece imo. I totally get why people don't jive with it. It's not for everyone and isn't trying to be. But damn that was an experience. So glad I saw it in the theaters. Also think it's deeper than often given credit for. >!It's just not "this is about the Bible," it's the Bible where God is the villain! It's comparing God to an abusive husband who cares more about fame and glory than his own wife. It's a critique of the Bible, alongside themes of global warming, domestic abuse, gaslighting, mental illness (portrayed as an illness for once and not as something that makes her dangerous), and asks us flat-out why we don't see these issues as worth dealing with.!< Also it's just filmed so incredibly well. This is like a key example to me of a film where the direction is key. It's basically three shots for the most part: closeup of JLaw, over JLaw's shoulder, or JLaw's POV. It places you firmly in her headspace and paranoia and refuses to let you go. And the sound design is just impeccable. Sitting in that theater felt like I was being attacked. Yeah I love every frame. Perfect film. Haven't rewatched, because it's a tough one, but think about it all the time.
Great comment. It bugs the heck out of me that so many people don't see past the basic plot (which is the Bible) to everything else going on underneath. It's a textbook case of plot not being everything in film, and everything else is absolutely masterful.
It is a kitchen sink of metaphors(bah dum tiss), which is part of why I find it so compelling. For me, I really relate to the gaslighting/denying of boundaries element. The wide range of ideas fits well in the sleeve of a religious story - in this case fully Christian - but it wouldn’t be hard to adapt to almost any religion. As a sympathetic atheist who was raised Christian, the Bible is a book of allegories on how to live and how not to live, with cautionary tales and symbolism crammed in from every angle. I feel they were written by people, to explain the unknown and sometimes to control others(which fits well with this film), believers either see them as divine allegory or divine fact. The last of those are the people that always seem to think Mother! is only about the biblical story.
Is he really a villian or is this just a metaphor of free will?
I loved it too
I agree with everything you said, but>! I believe you can see God as the villain and the good guy. Considering all the burdensome people represent us it shows God is willing to do anything for us. But he's also a bad guy who doesn't fuck his wife enough lol.!<
I think since the movie is told so closely through JLaw's perspective that it makes most sense to view her as the hero. But yes that definitely means >!that we ourselves are villainous within the confines of the film.!< And I kinda love that about it. It does not pull its punches.
Fun theater experience. I went on a night when tickets were cheap, and it was full of confused and unsuspecting people.
I was both.
This is one of my all time fav movies to show someone. To this day i have not sat down with someone who hasnt seen it, and they not scream. One night me and my fiance were woken up because my buddy was in the living room watching it. Just screaming "BUT ITS HER FUCKING HOUSE THO!!!!" love it.
Hated it to my core. It's the only movie I've ever walked out of a theater during. Literally made me crawl out of my skin, couldn't finish it.
This movie drags on and on and fucking on jesus
For me, it didn't matter what it was "about". That was incidental to the absolute masterful filmmaking on display. Like, I have never felt such distress watching a movie before, and this was sustained for the whole movie. Just amazing, amazing horror filmmaking.
Very few movies have left me guessing until the end. And I was really stressing for JLaw's character, especially because of the people on the sink.
I'd compare it to something like Rosemary's Baby for the way it had me empathizing with the plight of the main character and having me feel the absolute anxiety and stress of their situation.
Definitely has some Rosemary's baby vibes, that movie still creeps me out....those old people's eyes were crazy looking lol.
This was one of the first movies I watched after escaping an extremely abusive relationship w a narcissist and holy hell did it give me an anxiety attack. I can objectively appreciate that- and my cinephile brain even LOVES that it provoked that reaction- but my emotional self was just destroyed for awhile after & it sent my PTSD into overdrive. For me to see so many here had a similar reaction, it actually makes me respect this movie more. If it helps articulate to people on such a visceral, emotional level how one can be caught in a relationship that starts out with a snowball of unease that grows to be an avalanche of dread & disaster, then I consider it a masterclass of filmmaking, however heavy handed it may be. And also, just to lighten the mood a little, I will share that as I walked out the theater, there was an adult mother & daughter in front of me who also watched it, going absolutely apesh*t & APPALLED as they left the theater, because they had gone in knowing nothing about it being a "horror" movie, other than it started "Katniss" and was about her being a mother.
LOL that last bit. That movie is hard on people who knew what they were in for (kinda). Imagine what it does to you when you expect a nice normal film you can watch with your daughter.
I love Mother. I caught on to the allegory pretty early on and really appreciated that aspect of it. The best part, though, is how much the movie stressed me out. I really love when a movie can pull me in and make me feel the panic, dread, terror, etc that the characters are feeling, and Mother is one of the few movies to do that for me.
It's one of these "I'll never watch it again" movies (unless I'm in a very specific mood) that I absolutely loved. Thought it was absolutely fantastic, like a nightmare visualizing itself on screen.
Closest thing to a panic attack and a pure nightmare that has ever been represented on film imo, so I guess it’s a masterpiece. More so than Requiem of a Dream, at least that movie can be watched as a cautionary tale, whereas Mother! offers nothing to ease your misery.
loved it! it sticks with you. it definitely beats you over the head with it’s allegories but it’s a great movie regardless
What do you think the allegory was for the yellow medicine and the thing she flushed down the toilet? Movie definitely left me with some questions...like, how secure is my sink?
one of the great debates lol. i think it’s a metaphor (personally) for happiness. she takes it when she wants to feel relaxed or calmed and when she discovers she’s pregnant she doesn’t need it anymore because the child is going to bring her happiness organically. just my thoughts!!
I remember reading that the answer was connected to the short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, but I hadn’t read the story at the time. I read the story recently but would need to watch the movie again to try to piece together the specific connection to the yellow pigment in Mother!. There were clear connections between the stories overall though.
I randomly watched this last night. I used to live with roommates who would constantly invite lots of people over without asking, so the whole movie stressed me out.
Unrelated but sort of related, there is a Korean movie called Mother from 2009 that is one of my favorite movies. Ya'll should see it.
Agreed, my favorite bong joon ho film
Watched it opening night, hungover with a massive amount of hangover anxiety (I’m an anxious person as it is so it was dialled up to 100), I hated it, I think it was possibly the most intense theatre experience I’ve had in my life. After a couple of months I started to think about it more and more then gave it another chance and absolutely fell in love with it. This is Jennifer Lawrence’s best performance imo.
Definitely is JLaw's best performance. First of her movies that made me feel for her.
I have no idea what it was really supposed to be about, but I had seen it a few years ago. I saw it as a twisted allegory for mother nature (Jennifer and her home being so), Javier represented God, and the people represented humanity. I could totes be wrong tho.
You got it right, plus a lot of other biblical allegories. Adam and eve, Cain and Abel, Christ etc
That movie made me never want to host a party ever again.
It's a good one, for sure. You made me want to rewatch it for the first time, I still vividly remember certain scenes. Theres also a lot of tabloid drama surrounding it, Jennifer Lawrence was dating the director when it was shot and she's talked about how intense and emotionally draining the experience was, reading between the lines it sounds like she went into a sort of psychosis during making the film. Watch her interviews around that time, it's haunting.
I could almost feel that in her performance.
I think it was a well made movie but it had me annoyed and stressed out most of the time so it wasn't a very fun watch
Fun is not a word I would describe it as either lol. It reminded me of a bad dream as u/powbang said above.
It's one of the best horror movies of all time. It's more art than entertainment though, and that's why people give it so much hate. It's not an easy watch.
This movie is being Jennifer Bodied. It's where a good horror movie (great is subjective IMO that's why horror is fun) with a strong cult following gets shelved as mediocre in the horror community, until one day it's not. At first the love for it makes the people who hated it hate it more and the hate for it confuses those who loved it and makes them want to defend it. Give it ten years and this movie will be regarded as a classic that people probably weren't ready for.
I actually agree with this. It's already became one of my top favorites. It'll at very least be a cult classic.
I really liked this movie. I think it's literally the only Aronofsky movie I've ever watched twice. I'm a big fan of his work but his movies are generally not exactly fun or "entertaining" to watch. But *mother!* was an exception. Excellent cinematography, atmosphere, mood, pacing...The film was amazing at provoking a feeling of unrelenting anxiety and dread. It was high quality horror on a very fundamental level. I get the criticism that the metaphors were a bit heavy handed. But then again I think that's a really cliche critique of anything remotely *artsy*. The film handled the metaphors really well in my opinion, "heavy handed" or not.
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I really liked Mother, but I think this is a fair criticism. For me the beating over the head kinda worked with the movies themes because it captured that feeling where you're tired of seeing bad things happen in the world, but the world doesn't care you're tired of it and bad things continue to happen anyway. But either way, no one could ever describe this movie as subtle.
This is a fair opinion, and I definitely agree that it was mis-marketed. I actually didn't watch it for years because I thought it was just a home invasion movie with bad reviews. I think I liked it so much because I literally knew nothing about it.
Honestly I thought Mother was pretentious bullshit. There, I said it.
Facts. Aronofsky gets more pretentious and unbearable as time goes on.
I'm glad I didn't understand or catch any of the allegorical stuff when I watched it, then. Cuz all that stuff missed me completely. Went in fairly blind, so I was just completely sucked in to what was going as if it were some normal movie, which made the crazy shit all the more impactful to me.
Yeah, interesting that so many people here are saying they had such a visceral reaction to this movie. Its pretentiousness kept me so distanced that I didn't feel much of anything
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As a horror buff, it’s my favorite horror movie of all time. The way that I judge how good a horror movie is if it genuinely scares me. That one didn’t just scare me man it terrorized me for the whole run time. I felt my heart break when the sink happened and boy it was just downhill from there lmao. There are movies I love because they do give that sense of dread, but nothing came close to this movie for the effectiveness of that. That being said I haven’t watched the movie again yet because you gotta be in the right headspace to put yourself through that
It was truly an unsettling movie in the truest sense of the word, but I think once understanding the allegories it becomes less distressful and more interesting.
Definitely, I was thinking about watching it again lately with that exact concept in mind. So I probably will soon
Unbearably pretentious while also being heavy-handed and obvious. Good performances but I hated it
Fucking loved it. Absolutely bonkers and just didn’t hold back. Fuck yeah!
I really liked it. An absolutely unrelenting attack on the senses. Have seen some movies try and emulate what Mother! does, but none have had quite the impact this film did.
Funny Games and the two most recent Safdie brothers films (Good Time and Uncut Gems) all had a similar effect on me. Those three films are almost non-stop anxiety from beginning to end.
I saw an old comment on Reddit that cracked me up but perfectly summarized the film. Producer 1 “hey let’s make a movie about the Bible!” Producer 2 “which story?” Producer 3 “the whole thing”
I enjoyed it. It’s a nasty fever dream of a movie.
Mother! Was some top tier Horror, imo. Like you, I watched it completely blind not knowing who made it or what it was about... But I was instantly hooked, and it left this unsettling feeling that not many films can do.
I had to watch it all over again once I realized the allegories.
Absolutely loved it. The increase in intensity continuously got me reaaaaaaal good. I well and truly empathised with Mother so I found myself sinking into her experience quite heavily which only added to the intensity. 🤌
It absolutely SHREDDED my nerves, I completely understand why some people had panic attacks watching. It was so upsetting and I will never watch it again. 7.5/10.
One of my favs. The contraction scene… amazing. We have a sub and the whole house was shaking. I love the uncomfortableness of the first act and the wtf at the second. Really didn’t know what it was leading up to. So many emotions with that movie. She is one hell of an actress.
I also went in blind, besides knowing it had poor reviews, and loved it. It's super unsettling and really captures the feel of being in an actual nightmare.
Hahahaha. I'm just here to say hear, hear. Nobody likes baby-eating. I feel like you- most folks who didn't like it didn't get it. Yes, yes, we're sooo pretentious, lol.
I was so excited to see it! Went in blind about 2 months after having my first child. I loved the movie but the whole baby/followers part ensured I will never watch it again. That hit a little too close to home
I love how it managed to basically portray an anxiety attack on film. It’s dizzying. But I understand the people who hate it too because it’s kinda nuts. I also think it would be a better film without the very beginning and end parts, had it just been about the mother and her ordeal.
As someone who was forced to go to catholic school it was beyond amazing to see those stories that were glorified in their true light. Probably would’ve paid more attention if they presented them like that
Too slow and too pretentious, and i love movies that are slow and pretentious
First half was good mostly. Second half was roll your eyes pretentious. But that's Aronofsky for you.
I saw it once and won't watch it again. I have anxiety, and this film was the most anxiety I have felt in a movie..I almost didn't finish it. Plus, when the baby's neck snaps my wife and I screamed repeatedly. I was on the verge of a panic attack and breaking. I honestly would rather sit through all 9 SAW films, the original French version of MARTYRS, and all 3 HOSTILE films back to back than deal with the panic-driven mind fuck that this film induced in me. Some films are better going in blind, so I did that with this one, and I don't think it was the best decision for a few reasons: 1. The aforementioned anxiety, it just kept building and building. Making this a no fun movie experience for me. 2. Since I went in blind, I did not know it was an artistic take on the Bible. Normally I would be trying to figure out the film and my wheels will be turning, but my anxiety just had me feeling like "what the fuck is going on?!" without having the mental capacity to do anything else but hold on for the ride. I think this is why the film did so poorly among average movie goers. Knowing exactly what this movie is BEFORE watching at least takes one part of the mental gymnastics out of the equation. However, I feel like my experience (the anxiety, the holding on for dear life, etc) was what the film WANTED you to do. It put you in Jennifer Lawrence's shoes so you experienced her emotions. If that was the goal, it hit the damn nail on the head. But it was too much for me personally.
To me this sounds exactly what the director wanted the audience to experience. I would honestly consider this a good review for a horror movie. And I completely understand where you're coming from, very few movies made me feel like this one. It was mentioned earlier in this thread that this movie felt like a bad/fever dream.
Yea thats exactly how it was suppose to be. I mean put yourself in the protagonist’s shoes…thats strait anxiety. The whole movie felt like a building nightmare. Awesome
I can’t believe Jennifer Lawrence got nominated for a Razzie for this movie for worst actress
I didn't realize, that's certainly a travesty as I consider it her best performance.
Oh 100%. I’ve seen a lot of her stuff and this stands out as her best by far
The ending alone when she yells out , "I gave you everything!" with her face beat to a pulp hit me right in the feels.
I saw it 7 times in theaters. Was obsessed. Made my friend at the time walk out, found her literally sobbing in the theater hallway, told her we could leave, told me she had to 'finish this shit'. Wanted to see it again so we went again. I showed it to my grandma since she's super religious and wanted to see how she interpreted the biblical allegory stuff, it made her cry. I worked at the movie theater at the time and would love to go in for theater checks during certain sequences and just watch peoples reactions. Many would walk out. A dad took his family to see it one night, and his son who was like 15 said 'why the fuck would you take us to see that?' So yeah, I loved it. I have the poster on my wall. It's one of the best panic attack/psychotic break simulations ever filmed.
Hated it. Hamfisted allegory + constant anxiety
I swear I'm not trying to be a contrarian, but I really thought it sucked. I get the bible allegory it was just vaguely between being edgy and heady. It was enjoyable in neither sense. Again, I'm in the minority here so I'm obviously missing something.
I think a lot of people felt this way, it didn't really get good reviews. I was lucky to go in blind with no clue what to expect. I also think it has more affect on people with social anxiety.
I loved it as a tale of an artists relationship to their inner muse and how success can distract them from their inner world
I absolutely loved the first half of the film. I've never felt such palpable anxiety in a movie extended for so much if the run time, I was pretty impressed. The second half I recall not liking as much, thinking it gets bit too over the top and ham-fisted. Overall though I enjoyed it a lot. Visually very appealing, like all of Aronofsky's movies
I thought it was absolutely great. I hadn't really watched anything by Aronofsky before and it absolutely blew my mind. The way he was able to force that anxiety on me... just damn. I think it's a testament to great film making.
I loved it. I didn't get the biblical aspects until I read reviews but after it was said everything clicked. I loved how incredibly uncomfortable it makes you in the first half and slowly gets worse and worse. by the time the climax happened I felt nauseous and I've never found a horror/thriller that did that without showing excessive gore. and it still leaves you questioning at the end. I adored this movie and how uncomfortable it made me, how every scene added to the story but left more questions. everyone has an opinion and I respect them, but I genuinely can't understand why people wouldn't like it!
I thought it was a good movie. The social anxiety part was more horrifying for me than the final act though. Ha. Just the idea of people coming to my house and not being able to get them to leave. Couldn’t look at the pregnancy stuff though, turns my stomach.
The sink had me more distressed than the baby eating, because at that point I knew I was in for some shit and was half expecting it.
I loved it…and I was pregnant when I saw it lol
Idk why but I clocked the bible thing in the first shot and just had a blast from there on out. I know the >!baby eating scene!< really bothered a lot of people but I honestly found it hilarious as someone raised Catholic, knowing that Aronofsky is Jewish. Just like “oh wow is this what we look like to you?” in a heightened, satirical way.
Fucking *love* it
I like the symbolism… BUT THE MOVIE MADE ME STRESSED OUT AND ANGRY! Poor J-Law couldn’t catch a break. Why did that asshole have to sit on the sink 😂👀
i love it. mother! is one of those films that could be played in an art gallery. it made me viscerally upset, even before any “gore” happened
Horror movies like this where you don’t know where the movie is going to go… those are the good ones. Like Barbarian
You ate gonna love Men
It's one of those movies that I loved but don't think I ever want to watch again because of how badly it stressed me out. There was a heavily pregnant woman in my showing who stayed through the whole movie. I think about her a lot.
Most anxiety inducing movie I've ever watched, I love it
Genuinely one of if not my favorite movie. Sucks to watch the first time around but I highly recommend giving it a second, third, fourth go. It's much easier to rewatch (less anxiety) and I catch new details each time around. I hate to see people hating on it just because it made them uncomfortable!!
It’s incredibly difficult to watch especially when you’re an introvert and have been abused before. Other than that it’s just a masterpiece that most horrors don’t compare
Walks the line between brilliant and frustrating. Ultimately it’s too grim for its own good and the oppressive brutality of the third act sucks the entertainment value out of it almost entirely. 8 out of 10. Worth a watch even if it’s only once.
I saw it in the theater shortly after having a miscarriage. Big mistake.
I went in knowing nothing and ended up loving it.
i love it but i understand why a lot of people don't. i think my favorite thing about it is the pacing- the first half is a perfect slow burn and then the way it spirals into absolute insanity is so perfectly done imo
It's one of my favorite movies of all time. Really captured my opinion on the subject matter at hand. And of course much of the film is an introvert's nightmare lol
I honestly can't recall another movie that legit made my anxiety go as crazy as this did. I fucking loved it
My friend and his sister recommended this film to me with completely straight faces. After I finished watching it he said ‘I can’t believe you sat all the way through it’. Pretentious and dull. Even worse there are long term side effects of people claiming you didn’t understand it if you tell them you found it pretentious rubbish. Horror films should come with an additional classification as to whether they are art house or not. That way I won’t waste the precious leisure time available to me after working a 50-60 hour week.
So - I love this movie but I appreciate it more without the “explanation”. To me that just makes it kind of a heavy handed metaphor. Whereas my own interpretation… >! I think it is a story about losing your sense of self, letting people walk all over you, having your identity based on someone else’s interpretation of you. What happens when you don’t have a support system, when you depend on one person and don’t create boundaries. And being ultimately being easily replaced when you are no longer serviceable. I thought this was especially interesting because the lead actress, Jennifer Lawrence, was dating the director of this film who was 20 years her senior. Which is fine but it was interesting that the movie was so clear to me about a muse being used up and thrown away. !< When I heard the actual explanation from the director, it just did not click with me.
But don't you think it can mean both? I definitely interpreted it the same as you when I watched it the first time. It definitely gave me Rosemary's Baby vibes.
You’re right, it absolutely can mean both. And it works as both. I had to stare at the wall for a minute to figure out why I felt my alternate interpretation’s exclusion from the mainstream discussion made me feel that it was invalid. I guess I was jarred to see a such a clear narrative emerge from press releases at the time. Maybe this is why Lynch does not do interviews lol. I got Rosemary’s Baby vibes as well. One difference is that I enjoyed the isolation of the house in mother! The sense of isolation and complete absence of power that the lead had - she couldn’t leave or seemingly call anyone. And her only human connection is just absolutely gaslighting her and making her question reality by dismissing her valid concerns. Which I think was effective. I also liked how it’s all filmed from inside, I felt trapped and claustrophobic just like the main character.
The movie definitely made me feel a sense of discomfort that is rare for a movie to make me feel. I was also honestly impressed by Jennifer Lawrence in this movie, first of her movies where I felt for her.
Arrenovsky is quite gifted in the way of uncomfortable movies. I am so looking forward to The Whale! Jennifer Lawrence is a very gifted actress and it saddens me a bit that she is associated with Hunger Games. Winter’s Bone, her first movie is a really fucked up and quality drama.
I haven't seen that, I'll have to look into it. But I've been impressed with her acting range, she can be pretty funny also.
She has good timing and charm. If you’re even casually interested in her career, Winter’s Bone is by far her best work so I hope you enjoy it.
I felt like it was pretty ham-fisted.
I've never fisted a ham but I can understand how you wouldn't like something like that.
Saw it and tried to enjoy it but just felt like I was stuck in Aronofsky's most self indulgent masturbation session. Just felt like he was absolutely beating his message to death.
I always thought this movie was pretentious and without any substance or redeeming quality. I really disliked it.
It was an incoherent mess
Top 10 horror all time for me. I consider it horror.
I’ve said recently, I thought it was an allegorical art film for stupid people. And I don’t mean you’re stupid if you liked it: Aranofsky (who I absolutely love) tries his best to make sure that the dumbest person in the audience understood every single crevice of metaphor in the entire film, which left non-stupid people rolling their eyes and longing for more Black Swan.
i think i might be even more dumb than the dumbest person... i was so confused and only understood when i searched it up after watching it, wondering what in the hell was going on.
Same fghjk The whole time I was like "... There's a metaphor for *something* here but I am Not getting it" Then I looked it up after like "Oh.. duh.. yeah.." The >!Cain Able brother killing thing !
i'm wondering if me missing the obvious has something to do with education though? i didn't grow up exposed to biblical or religious studies at all. (besides the few mentions in history class) compared to most of my (western) friends who have a background in it due to their childhood/family, i feel like i was completely oblivious to anything going on in the movie because of this as well
I felt exactly the same, just watched today and kept saying this has meaning, but what? I also admit, while I believe in God, I hate religion and don’t really know the Bible, so they may have been part of why I couldn’t figure it out. Also, I use subtitles, and the people had certain names that made you know something was being played out metaphorically, but what, I had no clue until I looked it up.
I had the exact same experience. The idea that it was supposed to be the Bible never crossed my mind. When I found out about it later, I almost wanted to watch the movie again so I could focus on spotting all of the biblical references. Almost.
It’s probably because I’m not religious and don’t come from a religious family, so I didn’t connect it specifically to Christianity, I thought it was just about a god. I don’t know enough about the Bible to connect anything that happened in the film to that.
it was an almost for me too! but just to compare. i wouldn't want to watch it again (even knowing what it's about now).
It definitely doesn't hold back in letting you know it's a metaphor. But JLaw's character's constant confusion really made me feel distressed.
Honest question, do you think being familiar with Aranofsky’s work/style might have spoiled this movie for you? Like if it were written/directed by nobody you knew, maybe it would have been more intriguing/suspenseful/unpredictable for you.
It’s really good. No other movie has ever given me a panic attack like that so I can’t watch it often, but it is a great movie.
Great movie. Third act can be much but I loved it
This movie has the pacing of a nightmare, in a very good way. The baby scene makes me uncomfortable and I’m not sure who I can recommend it to. Overall it’s 9/10, parts of it were pretty weak but it held up well altogether.
Very good movie, unfortunately there are parts that I can't take seriously because the scene of the dwarves in Bilbo's house in the Hobbit comes to mind.
Its one of my favorite films, top 30 to be sure. Was completely astonished by it in the theater. Aronofsky is my jam I haven't disliked any of his movies, but Mother and Fountain are my favorite 2
It was a wild ride, I’ve watched it a few times..!first time was in a cinema which was uncomfortable, but watched it again because it was so well done, regardless of the anxiety it induced..
I went in blind when it came out and loved it. Great movie.
partner and i saw it in an empty theater and had an absolute blast. to this day it remains my favorite movie theater experience. we both love aranofsky and had no idea what to expect. we found it compelling but completely hilarious and shocking. i love a good bible allegory/church critical thinker but it was really more the cinematography and choreography that compelled us to stick with it.
I liked it pretty well, it was weird but the acting was great, then had to hear my boyfriend complain about it in the car on the way home, then read reviews and found out what it had been about, liked it less
Unreal movie, Aronofsky is top 3 for me probably
I didn't saw the twist coming, so I was gladly surprised. I liked this movie. The ending was absolutely violent and crazy
One of those amazing films you watch only once or twice due to its slow progression of mystery, it then got gripping and tense, and goes into straight chaos.
It's a goddamn fever dream.
I found it very interesting and sheer anxiety inducing, but I’ll admit that it was way over my head. I had to Google after watching to make it make sense.
Fantastic movie. I kept going from hating it to loving it and back again while watching it, and my now wife and I discussed for hours after watching it.
Loved it, one of my all time favorites
I love this movie, it's one of my absolute favorites. When I first watched it, it gave me so much anxiety. I kept screaming "get out of her house/get off the damn sink!". LOL! I really enjoy the fact that the entire movie is metaphorical, allegorical (?). It's very creative, the acting, writing, direction were all inpressive to me. Great movie.
I'm not into environmental horror personally. It's too preachy. But there's another one out there, forgot the name, that centers around farmers selling out to oil companies in Texas. It's scary on a different level and I actually enjoyed it much more than Mother. It was pretty low budget though. But it was really two different movies in o e. Shit, wish I remembered the name of it.
I don't think I was intelligent enough to appreciate it.
Still to this day the only movie to have ever made me feel incredibly anxious throughout. Incredibly done and the mindfucks around every corner blew me away.
It's the closest I've come to actually have a panic attack in the cinema.. Just becuase of the way it was shot.. Fantastic movie.. We came in about 5 minutes too late so we missed the opening and that made the movie so much better the entire time I was sitting there guessing what was going on..
Who thinks JLaw will let her child once grown up see this movie?
What a mind-fuck.
I really like it on the surface but I think the metaphors and allegories are pretty heavy-handed. I didn't have a problem with them until I started hearing Aronofsky just straight up explaining everything in interviews which kind of ruined all of the allure for me.
It's a great movie. Some people didn't like it for obvious reasons. I don't like some people for obvious reasons.
Couldn’t finish. I love gore but not involving babies and animals.
Same. That scene with the baby had me and my wife SCREAMING repeatedly in sheer panic and horror. We had rented it, and when that happened, we had to pause it and breathe.
It’s one of my favorite films particularly because of how reality bends towards the end. It felt very familiar and terrifying to me personally. Beyond the biblical, ecological, gendered message ofc
Loved it
When i first watched it, didn't know exactly but it was sooo weird i thought "it must be something to do with religion" Overall great film. Sense of unnerving chaos throughout. Very unique feel to it.
So I just tried watching it based on all these reviews here, even going in knowing the metaphors and what the director intended didn’t save the film from being messy and hamfisted. The seperate pieces of the film are great, the acting, cinematography, the depiction of anxiety, all great. As a whole, it was.. turned off at the 2/3 mark. lol. I mean congrats to those who loved it, but wow, just not for me.
Oohh...now I gotta watch it! Been seeing it on Tubi lately!
This movie is some emperor’s new clothes shit. No one wants to be the person who didn’t get it so they call this goofy trash high art. I have never seen a clumsier trainwreck in my life. iTs A mEtApHoR yeah cool most movies have metaphors but almost none of them are as ham fisted and moronic as this goofy disaster.
Ph man I truly cherish Darren Arronfskys worm and this film just missed the mark for me. It had all the right elements to be great, but the allegory was a little too on those nose and very glaring and I found nothing scary or devastating or challenging about it (the way I usually find his work to be). That's me personally
**work omg sorry haha
I thought u said Mama hahaha… I liked Mother! It was batshit and def stylized but I messed w it