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    You are at:Home»Film Reviews»Mother! is Darren Aronofsky’s descent into madness

    Mother! is Darren Aronofsky’s descent into madness

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    By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 09/08/2017 Film Reviews, Videos

    After the 2010 triumph of Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky is back in Venice with another dark picture. Mother! could be summed up as “Jennifer Lawrence walks around a house while really crazy s**t happens”, but of course there’s so much more than that. A couple (the names are never told) lives in a countryside house so that he – a poet (Javier Bardem) – can find inspiration again. One day a stranger knocks at the door (Ed Harris), and soon his wife too (a marvellous Michelle Pfeiffer); from that moment on, a series of increasingly disturbing events take place. It’s a slow descent into madness, reaching the goriest and most violent moments ever seen in a film from Aronofsky.

    Jennifer Lawrence is brilliant in conveying a palpable sense of uneasiness; she’s always on camera and the key to her performance (one of the best of her career) is keeping it as understated as possible. The uninvited guests in this house make her life unbearable, doing whatever they want and ignoring her presence. As if that wasn’t enough, the poet acts so unreasonably and irritatingly it becomes almost impossible not to despise him; until he shows off – on close-up – his comforting, incredibly humane smile. From a casting point of view, there’s a similarity with Black Swan: there’s a young actress carrying the weight of the entire film, whose character depends on a man interpreted by a very charming foreign actor (Bardem/Cassel), and there’s also a female glory from the 90s playing an upset lady (Pfeiffer/Ryder).

    Jóhann Jóhannsson is the perfect choice for the score, very few composers can deliver the necessary edginess and eeriness for this brutally insane film; the soundscape matches the visual boldness of Aronofsky without ever overstepping it (Jóhannsson’s trademark). Whether you like this love/hate picture, your reaction will be: what the hell did I just watch? Unforgettable, probably the most powerful film of the year.

    Written by FILIPPO L’ASTORINA   Source: The UP Coming

    Darren Aronofsky film festivals Mother! Venice Film Festival
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    World Cinema Reports' Editors

    Cinema Without Borders' reporters from around the globe search and find international cinema content for our audience. when an outside source is used, we provide you with a link to the original source at the end of the article

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