Mother! (2017)

Stars	User	Rating
14	Leonardis	92 _71st
I love Arronofsky. That being said, this definitely is not for everyone. Neither was Black Swan or Requiem for a Dream. This is certainly one of the most bizarre movies I have ever seen, but I do really like it. It gets really crazy but it also gets really powerful, especially that ending scene between the leads. Bardem is really good and Lawrence is magnetic. Really dark, complex, unsettling, claustrophobic, and totally bonkers. I don't think anything can fully prepare you for this.
14	Paxton	69 _56th
It's as if Paul Thomas Anderson was so outraged with the end results of Ben Wheatley's High Rise that he wrote his own version and then very wisely crumpled it up and threw it into the trash. End of story. Except Aronofsky is a little desperate after the failure of Noah and happens to be snooping around PTA's office when he finds it. He could take it but basing it on Ballard's novel would be obvious theft. Wait! What book sold more copies? That's right: The Bible. I now proudly present Mother!
13	moonsmilk	3 _8th
I think I hate this? There's some genuinely audacious imagery here, but the metaphors which drive this movie feels incredibly obvious and sophomoric. It pretends to explore a feminist narrative, but it comes off as really sexist and exploitative. This feels like watching a Bunuel film where Bunuel is shouting the allegorical meaning of every scene at you.
11	BillyShears	50 _21st
This was some allegory for me wasting money on movie tickets and not learning my lesson. Chili's baaaaaaaby back ribs.
10	terrymac	79 _81st
I get that this is supposed to be allegorical, but I'm not quite bright enough to be able to unpick all of it; I trust much of it was religious in nature? So, I'm left with a rather beautifully-realised fever dream of a film that got right under my skin. The camerawork and setting were very effective, creating a claustrophobic, tense atmosphere that just seems to escalate towards the frankly mental end scenes. The assorted cast were great. Quite terrifying in its own way, and worth another look.
9	AAAutin	85 _93rd
This is what happens when you let guests keep their shoes on in the house.
9	guy piranha	60 _40th
What's set up with enough ambiguity to allow the plot to work on its own merit, without the biblical allegories, quickly devolves into a bombardment of quasi-preacherous setpieces that don't leave room for anything but attempted shock value and finger-wagging at humanity's depravity. It's almost as if aronofsky watched "project x" and thought: "hey, wanna see a house party REALLY get out of hand?"
8	twincinema	55 _30th
I love the technical aspects of this film (love the use of close-ups and surround sound), and the first half where it feels like "Repulsion/Rosemary's Baby" is a very good film. However, the second half which comes in as an assault on your senses, featuring scenes that loudly proclaim "THIS IS A BIBLICAL ALLEGORY" were too much for me. Oh my god, I am complaining that Arnofosky, the man who brought us "Requiem", is not subtle.
8	TrixRabbi	87 _94th
I can understand mainstream audiences rejecting this but film people shitting on this should know better. I was never an Aronofsky fanboy before this but time will vindicate him and this amazing film which has been nothing but oversimplified since its press screenings. Phenomenal work.
7	Luna6ix	27 _1st
There was a small outcry from conservative Christians when Aronofsky came out with Noah, which clearly wasn't supposed to be an adaptation of the bible, but he really wanted to piss people off when he wrote this conceited load of crap. I'm sure the same people who consider The Holy Mountain to be "high art" will praise it, but Mother! sucks balls. It's like the script was made from sticking a Bible and The Exterminating Angel in a blender and taping it back together in no particular order.
7	bernardobrum	45 _5th
Aronofsky's ego trip, where he tells the same story three times, a lot of biblical metaphors without any reflection and a home invasion film redundant to the limit. A weak and self-indulgent version of what Roman Polanski, George A. Romero and Wes Craven did much better.
6	schnofel	23 _7th
It functions exclusively as a metaphor, which is just another level of tiresome to me. And existentially speaking, isn't the whole religiously tainted oversimplification of life the (fundamental) burden of our time? Because after Noah and this, I'd ask Aronofsky to please step away from my front door.
6	Suture Self	6 _54th
J Law is Aronofsky's sacrificial lamb and she is flogged for the duration of what one could call an extended 2 hour long biblical metaphor. I'm not sure it adds up to much, though for a while the sequence of events does keep you guessing. Some discrete moments are undeniably powerful. The problem is, the glue that connects the sequence of events is often weak and incoherent. You can project all kinds of "statements" onto the story, which, at the end, reveals itself to be somewhat of a gimmick.
6	Mentaculus	94 _94th
The Bible condensed into two hours, as told with particular emphasis in certain key places by a Kabbalistic Gnostic. Spoiler alert. To its credit, mother! builds to a feverish, nonsensical delirium in just those key places, thanks to its Black Box theater style - using cinematic tools (including some of the best sound design this year, and the use of close-up) to generate the dramatic dread a good chamber drama should. Unfortunately, its pretentiousness will keep most viewers at a distance.
6	monclivie	60 _21st
First it's annoying, then it goes over the top, then it goes way further becoming a parody of itself, and finally it became so ridiculous that I just didn't care anymore and enjoyed the ending as a comedy gold.
6	Detox	43 _17th
Like a remake of Life of Brian, but it's funny for all the wrong reasons. The movie never succeeds at making the stupid crap that happens here believable and when the brothers came I started to laugh. The dialogues are atrocious and the characters don't deserve that label. And yes, I get that almost everything was allegorical but nothing comes around but the usual stuff about art and fame and blablabla.
6	moraesfelipe	35 _9th
Worst biblical metaphor ever made.
6	MArkjp	85 _80th
aka "The Introvert's Worst Nightmare" An absolute hellscape vision of the 21st century.
6	mrsdalloway	25 _9th
Rachel Weisz did the right thing.
6	SageSledge	100 _91st
Much like David Lynch's "Eraserhead", albeit with more of a slight narrative bent, "mother!" is a film that demands your exclusive attention, from its first frames to the moment it ends, a glorious, crashing concerto of sound, fury, and inescapable, crushing dread, with much of its thematic content being buried under layers of subtext. It's there, it's deeply rewarding to see play out when you're clued in, and I've never seen something quite like it. Not for everyone, but most certainly for me.
5	yoohoo	75 _52nd
What. The. Fuck. I have my ideas and so do other people. Some people don't have any ideas at all and I'm almost jealous of them. It's polarizing and the last 30 minutes is a delve into complete insanity that I don't know if is matched in film history. Aronofsky was entirely intentional with what he did here and that is both sickening and awe inspiring.
5	djross	84 _94th
On creation: artistic, procreative and terrestrial. On the one hand, an intensification of Scorsese's LIFE LESSONS, on the other hand, an allegory of the fall: first with the arrival of man, second with the age of the Book and sacrifice, third with the Anthropocene as planetary apocalypse. Many agree that cinema is oneiric, but never address the fact that dreams are in the first person: here, Aronofsky pushes this question further than he did in BLACK SWAN. Negative responses seem disingenuous.
5	Kojiless	60 _65th
In this prequel to Hunger Games, Katniss prepares dinner and washes Michelle Pfeiffer's panties while little old Arren from down the block compares thinking up a good poem to childbirth.
5	frederic_g54	6 _35th
In a perfect world, this would be Buster Bluth's favourite movie.
5	KasperL	75 _77th
This allegorical and definitely-not-to-be-taken-literally psychological thriller-turned-apocalypse-level-craziness is clearly ripe for lots of interpretation and extrapolation, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it might go up a few notches on a rewatch. But I'm not exactly itching to sit through *that* finale again anytime soon!
5	omgfridge	9 _92nd
!, Volatile, infuriating, downright ridiculousness crafted with absolute finesse into a face/off of patience. I was mad, I was crazed, I laughed, I was squeamish, !. Just the sort of experience you want to talk about.
5	Dakota99	9 _95th
My god, I have no idea what I just watched, but I know I loved every second of it. Mother! Is maybe the darkest, and most complex movies I've ever seen. Aronofsky's project delves deep into emotional and physiological divide between man and women and the lives they envision. The imagery and imagination for this type of film isn't for everyone, but is so unique that I am left in awe over it. Bardem and Lawrence are great, both powerful and showed a lot of range for something like this.
5	rosenritter	7 _69th
I loved it, I hated it.
5	BlakeEngel	4 _1st
If one decides to demolish all sense of story for the sake of pure allegory, then the allegory should provide insight. We are all familiar with the Biblical stories, so "updating" them should be a tool to connect these archetypal stories to something familiar. In mother!, there is no insight, no familiarity, nothing to connect to or with. I went into this movie knowing that humans are currently desecrating the world. When I walked out, I learned nothing new. What was the point?
4	CCLZA	70 _51st
Well executed narrative mess. Pfeiffer's character deserved better! It's quite funny and entertaining, though. But the underlined, obvious parables don't work as neatly as Aronofsky thinks they do.
4	Filligan	75 _33rd
Darren Aronofsky is a fucking fucko but he's a talented filmmaker. This film is the antithesis of nuance and subtlety. At the halfway mark, it eschews its allegorical surface story and embraces the allegory itself as its story. Fucking weird, fucking ridiculous, fucking pretentious as all get out. And though it starts to wear on the senses, it's done so well that I can't fault it from a technique perspective. In fact, I admire it on that level. But it's a fever dream and those are never fun.
4	Bricks	35 _4th
What a waste of two hours
4	cagedwisdom	100 _90th
Buckle up (literally), Aronofsky is back in form - and what form it is. Definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea but for me it's the most brilliant and uncomfortable two hours of 2017 thus far, and I need to lay down immediately. Bardem and Lawrence are fantastic.
4	Ytadel	5 _57th
This is a 100% accurate depiction of how I feel every time my wife has houseguests over
4	Nathan S	4 _74th
The religious allegory seems to have been either too esoteric for mass audiences, or bludgeoned with a hamfist for more enlightened cinephiles, but for me this film's power lays in a more straightforward and timely metaphor: a woman is not the master of her own dominion, put upon by any who stroll through the door, idolized as a "goddess" but destroyed and taken advantage of. It's immediate and visceral, gut-wrenching and dreadful, communicated with stellar sound design and warped perspective.
4	AFlickering	3 _38th
why does aronofsky tether us to Mother's perspective? why are we affiliated with the violated vagina, the shattered muse, the scorched earth, and never the ecstatically ejaculating pen(is)? i don't believe this decision is intended as (would-be disingenuous) apologia; more like aronofsky wants to fuck us into flames too, so his creation can shine ever brighter. at the very least, i can't deny he got inside.
4	Vassago	87 _94th
Everyone captures a different side of the story but I think the biblical aspect is so underlined that it is actually not about Bible. IMO, this is a story about a creative man having difficulties finding his new work. Harris is the first character he writes, than comes Pfeiffer and their sons. The writer becomes the creator of his story, a god perhaps. Finally he produces something, than comes the fame and glory with it but all this process excludes his wife, who strives to be a part of it..
4	cgcore	48 _25th
what an allegorical shitstorm..
4	chadisdanger	80 _61st
Flawed as all hell: unconvincing on a personal level (making the blunt and somewhat shallow allegory really stand out) and it's clear that Aronofsky wrote this in a really short period of time. That being said, this is a wildly audacious, thrilling, and impressively directed piece of work. I'll take this, warts and all, over committee-designed studio stuff any day. Big props to Paramount for allowing this madness to happen.
4	fenixdown	87 _95th
A masterpiece of insanity. Metaphors bouncing all over the place.
4	Bown	87 _84th
Heavy-handed and overwrought - of course, its Aronofsky - but also stunningly powerful and angry, with some of the best raw filmmaking of his career. The claustrophobic cinematography and impressive use of surround sound make for a truly unnerving experience, while Lawrence and Bardem are incredible and terrifying in their allegorical roles. The blend of environmental and Biblical themes are bound to put off many - how did this get a wide release? - but it's an amazing accomplishment.
4	Judo Koala	80 _75th
An allegorical tale so blackly hilarious, so completely bonkers, and so very memorable as to elicit an emotion--any kind, every kind--from you, regardless of how you feel towards it on a personal level. Disgust, anger, confusion, amusement, awe, whatever: Aronofsky creates an environment whose palpable claustrophobia is matched in Mood-Setting by ingenious sound design, an environment as hostile to its characters as to you, the Viewer. Aronofsky off the rails is creative freedom at its finest.
4	cogsworth	80 _53rd
Supremely unsettling.
4	glumpy_99	90 _82nd
As an analogical interpretation of Genesis/Creation, film is a little too obvious and on-the-nose at times, but an incredibly unnerving and disturbing experience taken at face value as a bizarro full throttle horror film -- Aronofsky claims it was written in 5 days as a fever dream and that's exactly how it felt! Lawrence is frighteningly intense in the lead, almost matched by Pfeiffer in support. It's a shame that perhaps by design, Bardem and Harris are given little to do.
4	Darren	85 _84th
Maybe I'd hate it if i saw it again but honestly feeling a bit validated being a Noah defender because Aronofsky was clearly growing to something like this. An unhinged look at environmentalism,religion,the nature of celebrity and the struggles with creation literally and artistically. How he was given huge money to do this and it got a wide release is crazy. Love Paramount sticking up for the film and tossing shade at netflix in doing so.
4	HiResDes	65 _26th
How many biblical references can I hamfist into one movie? It's entirely too on the nose and would be more effective with a little subtlety. The narrative proceeds in an inorganic manner without any regard to establishing context and a total attention to biblical plot devices and overtly force feeding its pedantic statements. There's a self congratulatory smirk that persists throughout it cutting through all of its suspense and tension, which renders its most potentially tense scenes comedic.
4	NothingsGood	10 _5th
The Bible for Mac users (or film students).
4	bof	60 _39th
This may be the most 2017 movie imaginable; the trappings of fame, the folly of male genius and the plebs who would analyze Aron... uh, God, the entitledness of those who have everything and those desperate for something to believe in, the normalization of the quite literally unheimlich, all through the eyes of Woman with a capital Whuh? Impressive as it is, though, I'm not sure a feature-length version of the dog-suit blowjob scene from The Shining is the best framework for all that allez-gory.
4	Dumptruk4Lif	96 _92nd
If there was a cinematic adaptation of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, this would be it. One of those movies where the level of dread is equal to the level of discomfort and comedy. It's amazing how the story can blend so much emotion and psychological confrontation, at the same time telling a very abstract story with multiple ways to interpret it, and have it all make sense.
4	eCitizen	50 _49th
The first third is far too slow. It's a confusing surreal slog through almost all of it. Filled with chaos, rude bizarre people, strange events and weird visions. Eerie and foreboding music and sound. Jennifer Lawrence is prominent and captivating. It is incredibly tedious and awkward, but it occasionally strikes the nerve of a forgotten childhood fear. I intensely disliked the deranged psychotic ending which is a grotesque descent into religious allegory.
4	Kmilchev1	85 _91st
A beautiful and tragic allegory for the book of Genesis, presenting mother! as mother nature, the Man as God, the almighty creator, the first couple(Harris, Pfeiffer) as Adam and Eve, their sons as Abel and Cain, the occurings as global warming and the alarming message that nothing will change, we will parish and hopefully a better life will appear. A nice gem from the film would be the powder that mother was using in order to calm herself, which represents faith.
4	Mr.Olivier	87 _89th
Goddamnit I'm under enough stress between school & work & all this other bullshit, I really have to find lighter fare to watch in what little available free time I have, like Haneke or von Trier films. This was exhausting. Gonna go watch kitten videos on YouTube now.
4	Byder	85 _96th
Most movies let you experience things. This movie is a experience.
3	DMCrimson	70 _16th
1. someone is rude 2. "no, stop doing that" 3. they still do that but more. The beat-to-beat narrative is a mess and the underlying metaphor isn't good enough.
3	TheDiceman	75 _89th
I liked it.
3	bowfinger	30 _22nd
Allegory: The Movie. Let the interpretations begin!
3	amerigo	94 _98th
The only film I have ever watched that did justice to Kafka.
3	muutanet	91 _97th
She's got the devil in there. How misogynist and selfish a man can be. A user. And so is the entire humankind. Some very provocative images in the very end though it is not exactly a horror story.
3	Dean Franz	85 _84th
The biblical epic in cinema has invariably been fraught with a dire lack of personality, rendering all of them at least partially unwatchable. DeMille had his hilarously transparant hypocrisy and Pasolini his righteous political anger, but still- Éh. But Aranofsky has solved this conondrum wonderfully with this blatantly allegorical thriller. It's unwieldy, completely overambitious, utterly awesome and very much the work of an auteur rather than a committee.
3	Ofterdingen	45 _27th
I wish I had been provoked or annoyed and not just bored.
3	janus	85 _88th
Thank God for Aronofsky, one of very few English-language filmmakers anymore still operating at this immodest level of throat-grabbing gusto. The Biblical allegory (hackneyed eco-misanthropy, same as Noah) is as insubstantial and sophomoric as a Banksy but it's also kind of beside the point; it's more a gender politics movie, and a vehicle for great performances and filmmaking technique.
3	WWallce4prez	80 _72nd
The technical aspects of Aronofsky's film, unsurprisingly, are wonderful. The camera's intimacy, the sound design and the claustrophobic blocking all are impressive. The tedious 120 minutes are just that, however, and I can't say that this was an enjoyable viewing experience. The discussions to follow and the meticulous craft that went into the grand allegory are enough to make me appreciate the film, even if I plan to never watch it again.
3	Stewball	0 _0th
I'm passing on Rex Reed's review, saying the worst movie of the century. Also read it to see the best negative review of the millennium.
3	SirStuckey	85 _87th
I would recommend knowing as little as possible going into it as half the fun is trying to figure out what's going on along with the protagonist. You can still probably watch the trailer as that will just confuse you more. I watched it and could only assume (wrongly) what the movie actually was about. It's allegorical and while I usually dislike movies like that this one wasn't obtuse. There is a somewhat obvious allegory being made overall and some smaller ones you can also see within the story
3	Guillaume	71 _44th
During the view I was too unsure about some (possible) metaphors to actually appreciate them, so it was more annoying than reaffirming when I read up on them and saw them confirmed afterwards. Overall an unsettling movie with a "message" that will not reach everyone properly, but that's not a problem at all. I'll take form over function here, because the message itself is cheesy as hell.
3	bentien	65 _61st
A movie that in soooo many ways want you to either love it or hate it, which is what happens for most people. For me, the goods and the bads add up to a film just above average, manly because of the many interpretations, eerie atmosphere and fine performances.
3	Matthew Parkinson (CineMarter)	100 _99th
Darren Aronofsky has created a fantastic movie in mother!, but it's only going to show itself as such if you are willing to put in the mental work to figure it out. It's not obtuse to the point of inaccessibility, and it functions as a good horror-thriller even if you don't want to look for and figure out its various allegories, metaphors, and symbolism, but it only comes together as a whole if you are willing to think about it for some time after it ends. [Full Review]
3	Seethruskin	5 _80th
I was dying when they started crowd surfing the baby.
3	chmul_cr0n	33 _5th
I don't know...this is pretty much exactly what you'd expect, if Darren Aronofsky told you he was gonna make a very on-the-nose movie with really obvious metaphors and all annoying characters. And it would be a horror movie, but silly instead of scary. And boring. Don't know why personifying stuff always has to be so dumb in movies. Maybe, because it's always done in such an ignorant and self-masturbatory way. The only part I liked was when she started killing people. :D
3	mattorama12	80 _89th
For all that's great about the movie, probably the most interesting thing to me to is that Lawrence willingly became romantically involved with Aronofsky while/after making this movie. Seems strange given that the whole film is basically just about what she's signing up for.
3	P u l p	85 _94th
I love this CRAZY Aronofsky!
3	okayfrog	60 _44th
Any other idiot miss the allegory? I guess that's what allowed me to enjoy the film simply for being entertaining. Watching Jennifer Lawrence become more and more fed up with the people invading her house was humorous, and the big shift like 75% in took me a bit by surprise. Things do fall apart a bit when I think about the allegory and the ending, but that didn't stop me from enjoying most of it.
3	jacobclark12	86 _81st
The ambiguity and allegory of mother! makes it one of the deepest cinematic experiences I have ever had. Lawrence and Bardem's performances reveal so much about the various possible meanings present that the evocative imagery present hints toward. Despite some deliberate pacing issues that help the story and allegory but hurt the film, Darren Aronofsky does not shy away from presenting his vision in its full glory and gore, making one of the most thought-provoking films of the decade.
2	iqcumber	88 _92nd
Domestic power struggle on acid
2	Bunyas	78 _83rd
What an intense movie.. Aronofsky, you Mother!....
2	Icarus	40 _8th
God cycles through women in repeated attempts to bring life to the world, but these attempts always fail because he's just so damn self-absorbed.
2	chengming	80 _87th
Never fond of navel-gazing (here, how a creative star is dealing with the public) or allusions, particularly biblical ones, but the riveting fashion in which the story develops, as well as the great cuts and sound effects, make this movie a very cinematic experience.
2	Obdurate	80 _66th
The marketing was dogshit. This is not a horror movie; it's told through an ominous lens and has imagery that is reminiscent of that genre, but it is not horror. Excellent sound design and acting work all around. It is a spectacle, especially the last half hour when everything is chaotic. It is at that moment that the secrets reveal themselves; it's thoughtful and metaphorical, but the allegory is not quite as complex as some think. Still great even if it's not as good as most of his other work.
2	Neonman	93 _96th
Obvious, overrated, and inconsistent allegories aside, mother! taken at face value is a purely awesome and cinematic experience, totally succeeding in conveying a fever-nightmare mood. Knowing nothing about it going in, this went into all sorts of unexpected and audacious places, all of which made sense in this story that addresses a wider society surrounding this intense relationship of Mother and Him, wonderfully realised by Lawrence and Bardem. Certainly my cup of tea.
2	Sissy Boy	50 _38th
This feels very much like The Fountain, where Aronofsky just goes berserk. And even though a slight whiff of pretentiousness runs though both, Mother's theme seems just a tiny bit ... banal? Technically - amazing cinematography.
2	getmoney	86 _81st
Makes Black Swan look like a kids movie (honestly, in some ways this is more like the Fountain).
2	snbutler	80 _94th
A film to admire but not to love, endure but not enjoy: a dazzling technical achievement that is an ordeal to watch. It's stressful and anxiety-inducing enough during the early 'uninvited visitors' and 'party' scenes, never mind as it ramps up remorselessly thereafter. For all that the film lends itself to multiple different interpretations, it's hard to shake the idea that Aronofsky is revealing himself to be a thoroughly unpleasant person and unapologetically so.
2	deaddilly	85 _84th
Aronofsky's Biblical revenge. Almost as if the response from "Noah" unleashed a fever in Darren to create this perverted telling of the Creation story. No compromise, no discretion, easily his boldest work.
2	VinegarBob	75 _67th
An allegorical tale of God and Gaia, the creation and destruction of the world, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel etc etc. To hell with all that biblical stuff though. If you just take this as a cinematic depiction of a woman's pre-natal anxiety, paranoia, jealousy and post-natal depression taken to hysterical heights then you can enjoy this just fine, because on a technical level it's great.
2	thewire	69 _56th
Kudos to Aronofsky for taking major studio money and making this. While it loses a lot in the third act and becomes a different film, the build to it is a quiet and disconcerting trek through religious parables.
2	dulbeb	90 _72nd
This movie is as ugly as sin, and almost as delightful.
2	Noblet	35 _11th
nah
2	closedmouth	80 _67th
I thought maybe it was a little too obvious and heavy-handed in its allegory, but reading comments afterwards it seems a lot of people missed it somehow. I like that something this confrontational and bizarre can be released alongside The Emoji Movie, but I suppose that's par for the course when it comes to Aronofsky. I know this could be seen as a reverential re-telling of an important story, but it came across to me as "religion corrupts society" which I found pretty entertaining.
2	Sieghardt	5 _2nd
This is essentially the flip side of God's Not Dead and equally terrible.
2	natebarrios	70 _56th
oh wow... OH WHAT?!
2	damil	85 _95th
Intense, uncomfortable, tactile, unsettling, disturbing. I think some of it can be left up to interpretation, but there's a very heavy religious allegory in there. But there's also other interesting stuff about the life of an artist and gender roles. It's directed very well, and relentlessly. All of the performances are good, and I thought this might be Jennifer Lawrence's best performance in ages. I thought it was an excellent film overall, but I understand why it's been so divisive.
2	ozonepaul	70 _16th
Mother (J. Lawrence) = Mother nature/Earth; Him (J. Bardem) = God; Man (Ed Harris) = Adam; Woman (M. Pfeiffer) = Eve; Oldest Son (D. Gleeson) = Cain; Younger brother (B. Gleeson) = Abel etc. I like the idea of "nature vs a narcissistic God" from nature's perspective, but it's a shame that the realization of the symbolic structure is a mess, it doesn't make me invested in the characters at all. In fact, with some of it's ridiculously misjudged scenes the movie itself becomes narcissistic.
2	ericambler	73 _54th
A fevered parable from a master cinematic grifter, MOTHER! hinges on its veil of inscrutability. How you feel about the film depends on how soon you are able to see behind the curtain, and start thinking of it less as a puzzle to solve and more as a hot mess to enjoy. The theatrical craft is excellent, and the philosophy sophomoric--but that just ensures a myriad of takes to be found within this unapologetically confounding film, which projects an appealing confidence in its opacity.
2	TheDailyNathan	45 _12th
It's polarizing but was neither good nor bad for me. It's an extremely on-the-nose Christian allegory, but if you're not very immersed into that culture it's sort of just a story. Being so heavy-handed hurts it as a regular movie - there is no belief at all that anybody is a real character so there's zero emotional impact through any of the later scenes. It's also more "this is odd" kind of weird than tripping balls weird. It's not a very deep film.
2	isaboojum	3 _59th
I'm always bummed out when I realize what I thought was a descent-into-madness story is actually something else, something "bigger". But I did enjoy the ride while it lasted.
2	Calabria	79 _51st
Yeah it's a mother earth, yang acting on yin, ravaging-the-feminine, poor Demeter/Isis/Mary thing and all from that cerebral and disconnected comparative religion point of view, but it's really just one big anxiety nightmare...which kinda makes the title more appropriate than its true intention as a pretentious allegory.
2	3dRevelation	52 _16th
A philosopher's fever dream. I was on board until it went off the rails. I have my own idea about the meaning of the film (I'm sure there are several), but I'm not sure I care enough to dig deeper. Lawrence isn't bad, but none of the acting here should garner the praise of Portman or Rourke or Burstyn. The CGI moments don't look that good and I literally laughed at the ending. Easily the worst thing I've seen by Aronofsky in my opinion.
2	Goldbluming	59 _14th
No, Darren Aronofsky, no. I did NOT need to see the graphic mutilation and cannibalism of a newborn baby. I picked up your banal themes of female empowerment and Christianity. I get it. I don't need this extreme violence bullshit in my life. Fuck this movie.
2	DyanneThorne	59 _44th
Urgh. People.
2	donquixotic	1 _3rd
I groaned under a minute in when the exclamation mark appeared, I didn't make it much further
2	KenMeisters	80 _85th
mother! made me really uncomfortable. When I left the cinema, I had to take a walk before going home. When I came home, I was still thinking about it. A friend said, "tell me about mother!" I replied, "I don't know, man! I only know I never want to see it again!" I went to bed, expecting nightmares, since the movie comes pretty close to mine. When I woke up way too early for a Saturday, I reflected what I saw. And then things came to me. mother! is a great movie. But I'm never watching it again!
2	pyrosexual	68 _20th
I appreciate certain elements of this, such that it seems to be going for a modern Eraserhead from the female's perspective sort of thing, but hate other elements, such as the execution.
2	deep_green	65 _50th
I'm quite impressed by Aronofsky here. My feeling is he's a not very adventurous film-student, with an idiosyncratic/neurotic personality spilling over the edges of some dullard's cinematography and an unwillingness to properly break through into the stratosphere of some very interesting conceptual worlds. Aronofsky's depictions of heaven - or hell - seem so worldly; fallen angels without wings, and jaded beauty. Often unpleasant watching, but it's all veeeeerry interesting.
2	tancan	94 _96th
One of the best films in the 21th century
2	philamental	51 _20th
I've tried but failed to compress my thoughts on Mother into a mini review so this isn't the full picture. 'MArkjp' pointed out that this is an Introvert's worst nightmare, and I had already come to the same conclusion, genuinely needing to pause the movie on occasion to ease the tension I was feeling. I admire and love so much about this movie which I can't cover here, but this is not a movie I can enjoy watching. My scores reflect 'rewatchability' and this is why it gets 51 despite it's merits
2	Armilio	80 _89th
It's about his mother? it's a biblical allegory? or is she literally the Inspiration, the Musa, and all the film it's about the creative process in Aronofsky mind? i don't know, and in a way i don't care, it's a journey, Lynch-like but less weird and oniric, more paced. P.s: But yeah, it's about the creative process. Think about it. It's not even that hard to understand. Get the bible out of your head people.
2	JanaMarie	2 _1st
This movie flipped a switch and went from suspenseful to completely batshit crazy about 1/2-2/3 of the way through. I'm sure that it all meant something and I might be able to piece it together if I rewatched it, but I'm not willing to sit through it again. I think it probably had a smart, interesting idea at its inception, but the execution was just incredibly painfully boring due to not being turned into an actual storyline and my lack of understanding of it from the beginning. Sigh.
2	izx	64 _33rd
I was never the type of person with the background to understand what mother! was really about without having to read up on it afterwards, but even so, I thought it was pretty solid. An amazing cast, interesting visual choices, lively direction, and awesome sound design made this a pretty fresh little film. Despite what many may see as a low score, I think it is more than deserving of your time.
2	larmor	42 _31st
Aronofsky is not Tarkovsky or Malick. Also, what fraction of the movie is just made of close-ups of a monolithic Jennifer Lawrence? (25%?)
2	ajmurad	40 _12th
Weak, uninteresting allegory. Aronofsky do better.
2	itsben	40 _36th
Allegorical shit storm aside this does have some very beautiful scenes
1	MadMan	98 _93rd
See this in theaters for the batshit crazy experience.
1	Kavu	92 _97th
Brilliant, if a bit more heavy handed than it originally lets on. It's going to take at least one more viewing.
1	driscarpin	8 _3rd
Cara, foi pior que eu pensei. Obviamente não tem nada de novo para mulheres que vivem sob a sombra do patriarcado e que tem a égide religiosa como seu maior inimigo, mas a execução disso foi tão podre, mas tão podre que nem acredito que alguém gosta disso. Aff. E eu que achava Cisne Negro ruim. BlurayRip Yify
1	cowfrappe	80 _88th
Great performances, great direction, great design, great score, pushes buttons. What more do you want, honestly?
1	Carlospro	75 _64th
melhor do que eu imaginava
1	Bojangles	50 _38th
Aronofsky's perspective is always interesting, but this rendition of it is too bitter for my taste. He seems angry, and maybe he's right to be. Maybe we won't be around for much longer. I just wish he was my friend so that he could explain his worldview to me because I don't have the knowledge base to see through the veil of symbolism. Darren, let's sit down for some vegan quinoa pancakes while you walk me through the ancient mysteries. Is God evil? Are the Gnostic Archons in control?? HELP
1	Ross	70 _71st
I assume there is tons hidden messages among the blatantly obvious allegories just waiting to be discovered. However, despite loving to theorize and delve into various interpretations, I cannot as a dad, see myself sitting through this one again, which I think is needed to get the full appreciation.
1	spamhead80	70 _35th
Interesting and sometimes a bit pretentious, though always with the intention to at least be thought provoking. I still don't know how I really feel about it.
1	roonay3k	80 _92nd
Brilliant! This movie didn't get good until I understood what it was all about. When I got it, everything just fell into place. A truly original and great written film and Jeniffer Lawrence did it justice.
1	Gursu	8 _76th
Don't worry about the Italian. Just enjoy the opera.
1	XakkMaster	79 _59th
A super uncomfortable movie that only works as an allegory. Most of the cast is just kind of there doing weird things, but JLaw carries the show with a sensational performance.
1	Prophet92	55 _14th
Just not my thing.
1	sellis	58 _23rd
Would've loved it if the story wasn't blatantly beating you over the head with the religious stuff in almost every single scene. The destruction porn and fever state editing/pacing is excellent. But I gave up hope that Aronofsky would stop with the self-importance artsy crap back when Black Swan came out, so I can't say this came as a surprise. Great use of Movie Pass.
1	eric-jan	80 _87th
MY FIRST REACTION: horrified, confused, angry, disgusted, exhausted.. and wanting to know WHY Aronofsky took me on that crazy rollercoaster ride.. The answer put everything in perspective (God and man versus Earth) and my conclusion is that I LOVED IT :)
1	letskillrobots	29 _86th
A weird sequel to the Giving Tree.
1	astrakhan	74 _33rd
Started well. The acting was good and I thought I was in line for a slow burning mystery or psychological horror film. Later it became apparent that is not what Aronofsky had in mind. I enjoy absurdism in small doses as much as the next man, but by the end he was just slinging so much crap at the screen with no regard for logic, it destroyed any enjoyment; meanwhile the lack of payoff took the film backwards by several rating points.
1	JohnSandwich	55 _31st
honestly pretty bad but when it goes off the rails in the last half hour was entertaining, it gets points for being wild like that. but this idea should really have hit the bin
1	CarsonWid	72 _64th
If you know the source material it takes away all the tension, and if you don't then you're just sitting there thinking WTF. Some good individual nuggets but as a whole it's just kinda meh.
1	burkayadalig	20 _1st
a huge disappointment... mother! darmadağın senaryosu, kör gözüm parmağına alegorileri, rahatsız edici kamera hareketleri, kulak acıtan surround ses efektleri, Javier Bardem'in bir deniz aslanından hallice oyunculuğu, Michelle Pfeiffer'ın botoxtan hareket etmeyen yüzü ve daha sayamadığım sayısız berbatlığıyla gerçekten çekilir gibi değil. Jennifer Lawrence bile filmi kurtarmaya yetmiyor... Yaşam kısa, lütfen değerli 2 saatinizi bu rezaleti izleyerek geçirmeyin.
1	iyisinek	85 _92nd
Korku sineması adına bir başyapıt.
1	medikolayn	80 _77th
hımm
1	karlson	100 _99th
After a third rewatch, this is definitely one of my 100's. I've read about the movie being an allegory of religion etc, but for me it's more fun to enjoy the sequence as a depiction of unmentalised feelings and behavior and a jammed pattern between the two lovers and parents-to-be, alas, in the context of him being famous and self-centered and she admiring him for his fame and wanting him for herself at the same time. Mother! is the most deranged, yet empathetic lovestory ever made.
1	ozdemibr	83 _84th
&Demet
1	aalperraa	88 _96th
Ocak 2018, Istanbul
1	fra paolo	65 _72nd
It thinks it is a great, portentous Work of Art, and it isn't. But it is an interesting film, resting on a sub-Nietzschean concept, that shift tones (rather suddenly at probably more than one point) and plays with the audience's expectations.
1	capodelnulla	50 _22nd
derdinin değerini, bunu farklı bir biçimde anlatmak istemesini, bundaki teknik becerisini bir tarafa; pratikte bunların neredeyse hiçbirinin işlemeyişini diğer tarafa koymak lazım. her an reaksiyon almak için öyle çabalıyor ki, bir noktadan sonra projeksiyona şimdi bir şey olsa valla sesimi çıkarmadan çıkışı bulurum diye düşündürtüyor.
1	sludgefeast	60 _45th
Pretty interesting. That's about it.
1	qwershady	80 _85th
A new David Lynch just born! when i get the chance of watch this again İ belive my point will go above
1	NetMaster	90 _68th
BOLD.
1	nothings	81 _80th
im dumb at understanding symbolism. i didnt catch a single snippet of allegory. didnt even know there was one till after the fact. im just here for the ride man idk
1	Temptershell	82 _81st
This film is a psychedelic departure in the atmosphere of Rosemary Baby with additional macabre scenes that are hard in this type of cinema. Shocking, devastating and tiring movie with fears inside. Not for everyone.
1	Yiannos	73 _77th
Like Von Trier, Aronofsky makes provocative films about women who suffer as a result of the controlling forces around them, and whose efforts to reassert themselves often produce catastrophic complications. Accusations of misogyny are misplaced as Mother delves deeper into the anxieties and fears of women than most genre pieces. Lawrence wisely trades sass for sensitivity, and Aronofsky's carefully modulated audio-visual assault expresses her mental disorientation with dynamic precision.
1	amazedemon	52 _6th
I profoundly disliked Aronofsky's Mother! The film is a competent allegory for the transition from the Old to the New Testament, but raises so many questions on purpose and intent that Aronofsky has obviously overlooked, simply rendering it Biblical bullshit with an environmental theme. Slow pacing caused by superfluous scene chewing coupled with bad dialogue, stiltedly delivered further fosters my disdain for both Bardem and Lawrence. What if Him had a 2nd home in Canada; does that mean aliens?
1	kljnsclkn	80 _50th
Well played, Aronofsky. Well played.
1	Haden93	76 _62nd
A film that doesn't hold back punches, doesn't compromise, or try to explain itself. A very engaging, weirdly interesting film with a message I'm every person that sees this will miss.
1	Gintoki	10 _1st
We get it, Darren Aronofsky! You read the Bible once. You're very smart and clever. Next time just try to be a little more subtle instead of bashing me over the head with your film school tier symbolism.
1	addeh	50 _21st
Subtle...
1	SnorlaxJones	79 _87th
i'm sweating omg?
1	WillyV	55 _24th
Darren lost his way here.
1	Pratchett3	8 _72nd
the first half was a little too strange for me, but once it went completely off the rails it got really cool edit: oh no shit, someone explained the allegory. I can't believe I didn't pick up on that, I went to catholic school and everything. I'll have to watch it again sometime.
1	Pawned	70 _52nd
Overrated af. We all get the references it's not bad but stop repeating yourself. Not bad.
1	maxmode	50 _24th
When the metaphor is understood, the film immediately loses its impact.
1	Arberwaticus	91 _59th
A very interesting and unique movie. It has a slow and unsettling build up to pure insanity at points.
1	Byroum102	89 _81st
A great film with biblical references and ideologies but the point was so weak. It is one of the films can only be watched once.
1	feublo	80 _57th
Aronofsky is fearless in this allegory that bends any real standards. I appreciated how absurd it felt.
1	Mo-	78 _58th
It was like watching a nightmare come to life on screen. Definitely worth watching.
1	anarchyintc	30 _5th
Oh. That movie is boring as hell with all its byblical references and shit.
1	greghend	82 _73rd
One of the most batshit crazy endings to a movie I have ever seen. This film is Aronofsky unfettered.
1	jentze	70 _32nd
For me it is easy to appreciate Aronofsky's idea and emotion behind Mother! but it is more difficult not to feel distant and unmoved by the film itself. I do not feel the humanism and "emotional realism" that should lie under the extravacant and increasingly absurd exterior. Great acting; intensive, intrusive and tactile directing, though.
1	Filmphil	70 _17th
What the fuck... Insane Creepy but also pretty intense a lot of Feelings. Its definitely a unique journey 🤣
1	taurus1982	20 _9th
For the first hour, I thought I was watching a cool, atmospheric horror film. Then it all devolved into over-the-top allegorical absurdity. This is what happens when a filmmaker takes himself too seriously. It's Aronofsky's "The Room." Cringe-inducingly silly.

Average Percentile 53.84% from 2588 Ratings