Review: mother!


Well-cast film in which wife and interior decorator Jennifer Lawrence fixes up husband Javier Bardem’s childhood home while he suffers writer’s block. One night a stranger claiming to be a doctor (Ed Harris) happens upon their abode mistaking it for a B&B. Bardem, being a nice guy lets the stranger (who seems to have some kind of phlegm-y ailment) stay the night. Lawrence isn’t terribly happy about this. Soon when the doctor’s wife (a perfect Michelle Pfeiffer, in one of her best roles in years) turns up as well, Lawrence is even less pleased. Eventually Harris’ kids turn up, things get rowdy, and Lawrence appears to be getting anxious/neurotic/crazy about everyone’s indifferent or just plain rude behaviour towards her. Things are weird and only get weirder. I’m not kidding, the film is insane.



This 2017 psychodrama from writer-director Darren Aronofsky (“The Wrestler”, “Noah”) has wildly divided audiences. A lot of people loathe it. I’d wager most of those people simply don’t like the type of film this is. Perhaps people were unsure just how seriously to take it all, because this film is actually damn funny and I believe the humour to be intentional. The random funeral scene suggests Aronofsky is taking the piss a bit here at the very least. The film is nuttier than a fruitcake and only gets weirder. It’s far from flawless, but Aronofsky’s made a pretty good stab at a Polanski-esque psychodrama here. I just wish it were a bit shorter and little less admiring of early Polanski. The finale is unfortunately too close to one of Polanski’s most famous films for my liking.



Underrated by some, if it were 20 minutes shorter and a little more original this film would be an absolute winner. As is, it’s quite good and seriously nuts. Psychodramas are tricky to do successfully, but I think Aronofsky mostly succeeds here, partly by having some absurd fun with it. See it and make of it what you will. 



Rating: B-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Hellraiser (2022)

Recovering junkie Odessa A’zion accompanies scuzzy boyfriend Drew Starkey on a break-in where all they find is a weird puzzle box. A’zion later opens the box and after some weird shit happens, A’zion and Starkey figure it might be a good idea to learn more about this messed up trinket. Goran Visnjic plays a millionaire who possessed the box before our protagonist nicked it.   Is there any point in remaking/rebooting “Hellraiser” when the 1987 adaptation of Clive Barker’s original text was written and directed by Barker himself? And is considered a horror classic? On evidence here, absolutely not. Directed by David Bruckner ( “The Signal” ) and scripted by Ben Collins ( “The Night House” ) and Luke Piotrowski (ditto) this is an entirely tedious affair. I took a long time to get on board with the 1987 “Hellraiser” , I have to admit. It was wildly imaginative and original, like a nightmare transplanted on to film. However, the characters were stone cold and left me similarly chilly t
Read more

Review: Cinderella (1950)

The story of poor young Cinderella (voiced by Ilene Woods), treated as a servant by her nasty stepmother (voiced by Eleanor Audley), and dismissed by her thoroughly rotten, ugly stepsisters. Her only friends are a group of mice, who are forever being menaced by a cat named Lucifer (or as I call him, Grumpy Cheshire Cat). The King (hoping to find a wife for his charming son) is throwing a ball and every available young woman is invited to attend, and Cinderella is most excited to go. However, her stepmother and stepsisters do all they can to prevent this from happening. But with help from the mice and one fairy godmother (voiced by Verna Felton) later, and Cinderella looks set to attend the ball. You know the rest, folks.   Lovely 1950 Disney animated movie from directors Clyde Geronimi ( “Peter Pan” , “Lady and the Tramp” ), Wilfred Jackson ( “Fantasia” , “Alice in Wonderland” , “Peter Pan” ) & Hamilton Luske ( “Pinocchio” , “Fantasia” , “Peter Pan” ), that is a bit too s
Read more

Review: Eugenie de Sade

Eugenie (Soledad Miranda) makes a deathbed confession to author/biographer (Jesus ‘Jess’ Franco himself), recounting the tale of how her depraved stepfather (Paul Muller) groomed her into a life of depravity, debauchery, and murder.   Not to be confused with the similarly titled “Eugenie…The Story of Her Journey into Perversion” (by the same director) or “Justine de Sade” (which is not to be confused with Franco’s own “Justine” for that matter), this 1973 Marquis de Sade adaptation from writer-director Jesus Franco ( “99 Women” , “A Virgin Among the Living Dead” ) is perhaps the perfect marriage of Franco, sleazy material, and actors. Basically this is what Franco’s “She Killed in Ecstasy” might’ve been like if it were based on a Marquis de Sade work. There’s a few slow spots here and there, but overall I actually think this is Franco’s best film. Yes, even better than my previous choice “Vampyros Lesbos” , and better than his more ‘respectable’ films like “Count Dracula” (a
Read more