Mother! (2017)

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

This is my favorite review of this movie as it pretty bluntly captures my feelings on this as well.

 

"It’s a really good movie, and I hated watching every minute of it."

 

 

[SlidePocket 707]

This one is going to be like Darren Aronofsky's last film Noah, critics liked it but audiences pretty much despised it.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

I remember watching Holy Motors because it had like a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, my wife was so furious with me for making her watch it with me.

 

I did like Noah and his earlier film The Fountain. Requiem for a Dream was thoroughly depressing but undeniably thought provoking. I just couldn't get into this though, and it just actively made me angry while watching.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

And this movie landed an F on cinemascore.

 

 

[RyanSz 3140]

I read the wikipedia on this and was just flabbergasted by what I read. Then reading on Yahoo about the F score, they were explaining that the main reason this was a wide release was because the studio basically knew it would have terrible word of mouth and that they needed to use the star power the film had and a marketing strategy that made the movie appear to be all out horror film to try and recoup some of the proclaimed 30 million budget, though the writer suggested the film probably cost much, much more as Lawrence basically is getting paid 15 million a picture and the other big names are making 3-10. Also doesn't help that a lot of the marketing for this basically gives away the final scenes of the movie, which is something that still baffles me.

[Soapstef 36]

This video helped me understand it, but it still sucks ass.

 

SPOILER ALERT

 

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

What bothers me about this movie is that in no way should it have gotten a wide release. And clearly i'm not the only one who thinks so, otherwise the advertising team for the movie wouldnt have had to actively lie to theater goers with trailers and commercials for this movie that are painting it as something it isnt.

 

There are levels that I can appreciate this movie on. Its beautifully shot and all the actors in it did fantastic jobs. Or that Aronofsky made a film that he knew would make people feel uncomfortable. If he at all had a hand in the promotional trailers designed to fool people into thinking that was a more standard horror/thriller film, it'd be hilarious. But this movie just makes you uncomfortable, even people who enjoyed it have admitted that a second viewing is almost inconceivable.

[HipGuide 196]

rian johnson thought it was hilarious.

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

i loved it. and hated it. i was angered by some of it and was in awe of other parts. it's a crazy movie that is worth watching on the big screen because it adds to the weight of it. it made me feel like crouching down sometimes (i won't say when or why for fear of spoiling it). i'm not sure if it will work on a tv though so if you are planning on watching it and want to get the full effect i'd recommend going to see it at a cinema.

 

it's the first time in a long time that i felt like i had experienced something at the cinema as opposed to just seeing a movie. good or bad? i still don't know. but it's got people talking that's for sure.

[Veronica_Sawyer 23]

i loved it. and hated it. i was angered by some of it and was in awe of other parts. it's a crazy movie that is worth watching on the big screen because it adds to the weight of it. it made me feel like crouching down sometimes (i won't say when or why for fear of spoiling it). i'm not sure if it will work on a tv though so if you are planning on watching it and want to get the full effect i'd recommend going to see it at a cinema.

 

it's the first time in a long time that i felt like i had experienced something at the cinema as opposed to just seeing a movie. good or bad? i still don't know. but it's got people talking that's for sure.

 

I think you nailed it.

 

I saw it with a friend and our reactions when it was over was she legit hated it. However she basically said "what the hell did I just watch? There's two hours of my life I'll never get back."

 

While on my end I got a lot of the story but had a hard time articulating it. I knew I didn't hate it but felt like I needed some time to digest it. The more time that passes the more fond of it I am. I do think it's a bit pretentious. I still have some questions...and I haven't really met enough people who saw it to ask.

 

I think the hatred comes from a few different places. The first is that some people literally didn't understand it. That's not to say those people are dumb but some people do not pick up on symbolism and metaphors. The second is they did get the point and they were offended or they felt that the director was trying to offend them by being "edgy". The final reason I see is that people got it and they feel that the director was trying too hard and that it was absurd and overproduced fluff.

 

But that's just my two cents.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

 

I think you nailed it.

 

I saw it with a friend and our reactions when it was over was she legit hated it. However she basically said "what the hell did I just watch? There's two hours of my life I'll never get back."

 

While on my end I got a lot of the story but had a hard time articulating it. I knew I didn't hate it but felt like I needed some time to digest it. The more time that passes the more fond of it I am. I do think it's a bit pretentious. I still have some questions...and I haven't really met enough people who saw it to ask.

 

I think the hatred comes from a few different places. The first is that some people literally didn't understand it. That's not to say those people are dumb but some people do not pick up on symbolism and metaphors. The second is they did get the point and they were offended or they felt that the director was trying to offend them by being "edgy". The final reason I see is that people got it and they feel that the director was trying too hard and that it was absurd and overproduced fluff.

 

But that's just my two cents.

 

Aronofsky was clearly successful in that his film is obviously getting very strong reactions from people both negative and positive.

And honestly the movie itself very well done.

 

My main issue with mother! actually has less to do with the actual film and more with both how it was marketed towards the public, and people falling over themselves to call Paramount brave for releasing this. Which is horseshit. If Paramount wants to do an arthouse film filled with biblical allegories thats just fine and dandy, if they actually stood behind the movie. But to then actively market the movie as being more in the mainstream paranormal horror genre is not only dishonest to potential theater goers but also to the movie itself.

 

Paramount thought that Aronofsky might give them something that might end up as successful as Black Swan. Its also clear that when this was screened for the executives they lost their minds and forced their marketing team to come up with trailers and ads that were meant to trick people into seeing it.

 

What makes it hilarious is that this movie must have made the studio so happy in the beginning in terms of the clout of the director and the very high profile cast, the end result probably sent a significant amount of people at Paramount into hysterics.

 

Below is a trailer for Holy Motors, and that movie is as strange as advertised. They didnt edit a bunch of scenes to make it seem like a rom-com or thriller.

 

[RyanSz 3140]

I am watching this now and I hate that I had to wade through 90 minutes of boring shit to make it to the utter craziness. It doesn't help that the metaphors/allegories are as subtle as a wrecking ball, but the final act does help make this film a bit easier to swallow. I did tell a friend as I am watching this that if Eve was as bitchy and overbearing as Michelle Pfeiffer was playing her to be, I'd have kicked her out of Eden as quickly as possible.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

Thats why I can never give this movie a glowing endorsement, I like watching weird movies.  But 90 min is way too long to wait for a pay off, I get that this was intentional in some respects. He clearly wanted people to be on edge throughout into the building insanity crescendo that was the ending. 

I'll be interested to watch what he does next, but this just wasnt as good as some of his other recent projects which is a shame. 

[RyanSz 3140]

Also, the fact that in all of the promotional interviews the cast and director were going on about how this was such a mind-blowing, you won't see coming message and how there were all these hints, which would seem interesting if it were like Noah that did have some interesting elements and twists,  but everything can be sussed out in seconds if you just pay attention to something as simple as the name. It's like a pothead telling you something that they think no one else has blatantly noticed and then amazed when you aren't as shocked as they are because we've known it all along.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

On 8/5/2018 at 6:35 AM, RyanSz said:

Also, the fact that in all of the promotional interviews the cast and director were going on about how this was such a mind-blowing, you won't see coming message and how there were all these hints, which would seem interesting if it were like Noah that did have some interesting elements and twists,  but everything can be sussed out in seconds if you just pay attention to something as simple as the name. It's like a pothead telling you something that they think no one else has blatantly noticed and then amazed when you aren't as shocked as they are because we've known it all along.

 

Yea thats one of reasons why the marketing department of this movie did it no favors by lying to everyone about what movie actually was. The fact that they had to pull so many shenanigans just shows the overwhelming lack of confidence they had in this movie, and rightly so apparently. 

 

[CopKabob 1]

This is a real bonkers one. Big movie with Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris, Directed by Darren Aronofsky . This movie tried so hard to be Oscar bate but wasn't nominated for any major industry awards. It did get 3 Razzie nonitions for worst actress, worst directing and worst supporting character. It did win the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA) for Campy Flick of the Year (very prestigious and definitely not a category made for the movie). Its among the ranks of Safe Haven, Adore and Boy Next Door for starting out as a standard romantic comedy meet cute kind of movie then descends into complete madness. It gets more insane by the minute and the last 15 minutes is straight up indescribably fucked up for a main stream movie marketed as a slasher film. Anyone who has seen this knows what I mean and it also has an incredibly pretentious allegory that the film follows. Don't sit on this one and make sure June is there.

IMDB describes it as: A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.

[Ofcoursemyhorse 1043]

I've posted this one before as well and absolutely agree it would be fascinating to hear everyone's take on this very divisive movie.