_mother!_, a movie title with no upper case letters. Well _mother!_, I'm glad you saved those capitals because I have a question which is going to require a lot of them: "WHO THE FUCK WAS THIS FOR!?" _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

Nuts. <em>'mother!'</em> is an enjoyable watch, even if I didn't fully understand what was happening - I had a rough guess in my head throughout, but I was off given what I've read elsewhere online since. I'm fine with that though, I felt entertained which is all that truly matters. Jennifer Lawrence is great, as is Javier Bardem. Those two are very much the stars of the film, though you also have Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer in noteworthy roles. Excellent casting for all four. The film, meanwhile, looks superb, from the effects to the cinematography. It's quite unsettling and wild to watch it all unfold, in a positive way though. One of the weirdest watched no doubt, and I've seen <em>'Rubber' (2010)</em>...

Let's be honest, this is a home invasion movie trying to push itself off as an art house flick with a higher IQ. It kind of lies to you and really hate it when movies try to pass themselves off as more than they actually are. You can't blame the actors here, it's all the director and the studio. They wanted controversy, they wanted drama, they wanted critical praise and the wanted people to talk about it.... ...but in the end, it's a home invasion movie and it wouldn't have had any of what the studio and the director wanted if they just made an honest film. But then, if they were honest about what they were making, it probably would have done better, it would have made more money. People wouldn't have been so confused about it, the critics would have panned the hell out of it and ten years down the line it may have had a cult following. Instead, you have a crap movie trying to pass itself off as art house...and all the pretension that comes with that.

**_Looks great, awesome themes, tedious storytelling_** A renowned poet and his much younger wife (Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem) live in a huge old house in the sticks. He has writer’s block while she’s restoring the house after a fire. When unannounced strangers show up (including Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer), it naturally has a negative effect on the beautiful woman and her world. “Mother!” (2017) was helmed by Darren Aronofsky, who’s known for artsy stuff like “Requiem for a Dream” and “The Fountain,” but he’s perfectly capable of doing more conventionally entertaining flicks, like “The Wrestler.” This one falls in the former category, although the first act is fairly conventional and compelling in the manner of, say, “What Lies Beneath” or “Cold Creek Manor.” Yet it gets increasingly incomprehensible and tedious. You could say it starts like a Roman Polanski film, in particular “Cul-de-sac” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” but ends with the surrealism of Luis Buñuel. You’re thinking maybe home invasion à la “Desperate Hours” before the proceedings become unfathomable. Part of the fun of a movie like this is trying to figure out the symbolism and meaning. In this case, you’ll need to be up on biblical material and ecology, otherwise you’ll be lost. So, I’m in the middle on this unique work. It’s professionally made, Jennifer is beautiful in her prime, it begins interesting enough, and the themes are unforgettable but, as a standard viewing experience, it gets dull and annoying. I never want to see it again, yet I’ll probably be pondering the metaphors the rest of my life. I respect it, but can only recommend it to those who are intrigued. It's not for everyone. The movie runs 2 hours, 1 minute, and was shot in Montréal and Québec. GRADE: B-