Rating of
3/4
the beauty of biblical horror
cacb3995 - wrote on 10/19/17
Jennifer Lawrence plays a character only known as “mother”, she is the young wife of Javier Bardem’s “Him”, a writer who’s been struggling with writer’s block for some time. The two live in an old house on the field, isolated from the rest of the world. Their lives start spiraling out of control with the arrival of a mysterious man (Ed Harris) and his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer). The situation starts escalating becoming increasingly more surreal in nature, the house becomes full of unexpected guests, and Lawrence’s character begins to lose her mind.
The first thing that needs to be mentioned when discussing “mother!” is that a literal reading of the film will be impossible, or at least, it won’t take is anywhere interesting. Like I said, the events of the film do become all the more surreal and unbelievable as the plot progresses, many deeming the film as an allegory, some praising it for this and others hating it for the exact same reason. When I first saw the film I got caught on a more grounded interpretation, a story of the artist’s ego and he being unable to see the sacrifices his loved one has made for him, and while this reading is perfectly valid and does adjust to the film’s premise, the grander elements of the narrative make it apparent that there is something more going on under the surface.
Full review at: breakingthefourthwallsite.wordpress.com/2017/11/10/mother-the-beauty-of-biblical-horror/
