"Mother!"...I'm Still Messed Up About It

I know, I know, it's been nearly a month since I last posted a review.  I hate to have disappointed my nearly dozens of readers.  However, in my defense, the majority of movies released since IT have been...just...garbage.  OK, yeah, sure, there have maybe been a couple here and there that were debatably successful, but most of them seemed to be a gamble I'm not willing to take.  And I've been known to make some pretty poor gambling choices.

Regardless, there's nothing like a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence (and Javier Bardem as some extra icing) to bring this particular movie lover back to the theater.  I had heard several things about Mother!, but it was something I had to experience for myself before doing in-depth research.  To be completely honest, I'm still not entirely sure exactly how I felt about this movie; but what I am sure of is that I left that theater completely rattled and uncharacteristically perturbed.

Perhaps I should have done some more research, because this is definitely a movie that requires some mental preparation.  Before I get into the (spoiler-free) details that left me flustered, there are several noteworthy points regarding this movie--most of which are good--that deserve discussion.

First of all, I took note of the rather unique cinematography choices.  For instance, the camera work is heavily dependent on close-ups of Jennifer Lawrence's face; which, I should note, is incredibly far from a bad thing.  Although, had this movie starred just about anyone else, I'm sure I would feel differently.  Additionally, shots that don't use Lawrence as the focal point often appear to be in her first-person perspective, causing what's referred to as a "shaky cam" effect.  This may sound like a bad thing, but it actually proves to be enjoyable and ads to the film's intensity.  The only time I have an issue is when the amount of shaky cam rivals that of The Blair Witch Project.  In this case, I appreciated the directing choice of using this method of cinematography.

This may come as no surprise, but I can't write about this movie and not mention the brilliance of Jennifer Lawrence.  Despite the final two Hunger Games movies being anything but enjoyable, she once again proved herself to be one of the most impressive actors in Hollywood.  She was required to portray about every emotion possible--and did so wonderfully--often having to shift on a dime.  Amazingly, just when I think I can't enjoy her any more, she proves me wrong.  Although, to be fair, I'm pretty sure I had a fairly impressive breakdown after witnessing the same things she did.  So...I mean...where's my Oscar?

All criticisms aside, this movie truly is brilliant.  The entire story is an allegory that is depicted wonderfully.  I would actually suggest researching the symbolism whether or not you decide to see this movie, because it is quite respectable.  However, regardless of its brilliance, this is one of the most emotionally traumatizing movies that come to mind.  Saying that it's not for everyone would be one of the grandest understatements of this still rather young century.

I'm no inexperienced movie-watcher, and my tolerance level for brutality is far above average.  But even all my past gory, scary, horrific movie experiences left me unprepared for the final 25 minutes of Mother!.  I feel I've recovered (for the most part), but I haven't left a movie that shaken in a long, long time.  I'm not mentioning this to try and persuade anyone to not see it per se, all I'm saying is that I sure hope you can handle it.

I'll admit, this was a tough movie to come to a conclusion on.  This movie is good enough to receive, say, a 72%, but my suggestion would be to mentally prepare yourself and rent this from 

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There just seems something odd about paying ten dollars to emotionally distress yourself.  Unless, of course, you're into that.  Weirdo.