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MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES
In Theaters
Directed by Darren Aronofsky. Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem
How do you get folks to warm up to a film that is a metaphor? If I remember my 8th grade English class, a metaphor is a figure of speech that is symbolic of something altogether different than any kind of literal interpretation (i.e. “Screaming bloody murder” or “Tasting revenge”). mother! is a film with (at least) four metaphorical possibilities including a) a meditation on humanity’s destruction of the environment; b) a reflection on the sacrifices made for art; c) the story of a destructive marriage; and d) the story of the Bible, specifically the Book of Genesis and The Gospels.
All four metaphors focus around creation. The film gives us two iconic types of creator: Eli, the poet (Bardem) and Grace (Lawrence), the nurturing wife. They live in a large country mansion out in the middle of nowhere. Eli is facing a drought of creativity, attempting to find new inspiration that could measure up to his past accomplishments. Grace is busy slowly renovating and painting a house that has seen the worst of wear over time, including some fire and smoke damage. They are together but distant in their relationship. Eli makes occasional demands of Grace; she acquiesces in ways that support his creative efforts.
Initially, mother! seems to be a two-character play. That is, until a stranger (Ed Harris) knocks on their door. He is lost in the country and is eventually invited by Eli to stay the night, which creates some genuine tension between husband and wife. The stranger will eventually reveal more about himself; his visitation will be followed by others, including other family members. Things get strange very slowly until they get strange very quickly. Time rushes forward and things fall apart. Chaos and control will contend with one another. There will be birth, death and resurrection.
I found myself totally engaged with this movie even as it went off into unexpected directions at least three times during its two-hour running time (mother! is not a short movie). Before you consider buying a ticket, however, you need to know about two major problems with the film:
1. mother! is pretentious and self-important. Not only is the title in lower case with an exclamation point (which is driving my spell checker crazy) but the lead characters are listed in the closing credits as “Him” and “Mother”, with other characters identified as Man, Woman, Cupbearer, Philanderer, Fool, Idler, Zealot, Lingerer, Epicure, and so on. There is a strong misogynism central to the storyline that is played out to the extreme.
1. mother! is pretentious and self-important. Not only is the title in lower case with an exclamation point (which is driving my spell checker crazy) but the lead characters are listed in the closing credits as “Him” and “Mother”, with other characters identified as Man, Woman, Cupbearer, Philanderer, Fool, Idler, Zealot, Lingerer, Epicure, and so on. There is a strong misogynism central to the storyline that is played out to the extreme.
2. The story of the Bible is first exploited and then blasphemed. Darren Aronofsky is a smart guy who knows his Scripture; he also claims to profess no religion. This is a confounding combo to find in a writer-director whose entire body of work (including Pi, The Fountain, and Noah) has dealt with matters of faith. Can agnostics make films with religious/environmental themes? Of course, but you get the results of working with questionable materials.
I do not consider Aronofsky to be an evil person, but I do believe that mother! is far more offensive than its creator may have intended it to be. That’s our story of The Fall, as well – we’re more offensive than our creator intended us to be. Thanks to redemption in Jesus Christ, our offenses are blotted out. mother! will just have to wait for death at the box office. It may be a short wait.
Two halos: Aronofsky’s intelligence and bravado, accompanied by a committed performance by Jennifer Lawrence, create an unforgettable film experience.
Five pitchforks: Many Christian viewers may wish that they could forget a film experience like this one, that intentionally includes most conceivable sins as well as religious blasphemy, occasional strong language, brief nudity, two sex scenes and intense violence.
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Reviews by
Rev. Bruce Batchelor-Glader
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