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[tab title="Movie Review"]

Some people enjoy playing with Rubik's cubes. Others, like me, don't know how to solve them and wind up wanting to throw the cubes against the wall in frustration. I had that same chucking-a-Rubik's-cube feeling many times while watching Darren Aronofsky's latest movie, mother! Who were the nameless characters supposed to symbolize? What did the strange plot mean? And was it even worthwhile, trying to figure it all out?

The movie is open to interpretation; what follows is mine, but you might come up with your own (if you choose to watch this bizarre flick yourself). There are good arguments that it's a story about religion, or about God and Mother Earth. But the way I saw it, mother! is more like an allegory on the dangers of "selling out" as an artist. Javier Bardem plays a poet called simply, Him, whose insatiable love of adulation and praise eventually leads to death and destruction. He's married to Mother (Jennifer Lawrence) and they live in a huge, sprawling house seemingly in the middle of nowhere. At first, Him is plagued by failures to perform both sexually, due to impotence, and creatively, due to writer's block. He will overcome both, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

One day they receive an unexpected visitor, Man (Ed Harris) and later his wife, Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer). While Mother feels uncomfortable and offended by Woman's boozy rudeness, Him enjoys their company, especially since Man turns out to be a fan of his work. To Mother's horror, the unwelcome visit is compounded when two sons also arrive and-get this-one murders the other right in front of Mother. This is just the beginning of increasing violence that takes place as the once tranquil home turns into the scene of nightmares. A pattern continues where Him allows the outside world to intrude more and more, and Mother watches with growing terror.

The last act of mother! is beyond insane. It's so far over the top, you can only see the top with binoculars. If you found the beginning and middle strange, the ending will blow your mind completely. Needless to say, the movie is not for everyone. In fact, I'm not sure who it's for besides die-hard fans of Jennifer Lawrence (incidentally, about 2/3 of the movie seems to be closeups of her face).

Speaking of Ms. Lawrence, she received a Razzie nomination for her work in mother! but her performance wasn't the problem. Even a talented actress can't polish poop.

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[tab title="Details"]

MPAA Rating: R for strong disturbing violent content, some sexuality, nudity and language.
Runtime: 121 mins
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writer: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris
Genre: Horror
Tagline: seeing is believing
Memorable Movie Quote: "You give, and you give, and you give. It's just never enough."
Theatrical Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Official Site: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMotherMovie/
Release Date: September 15, 2017
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: December 19, 2017.
Synopsis: a couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. from filmmaker darren aronofsky (black swan, requiem for a dream), mother! stars jennifer lawrence, javier bardem, ed harris and michelle pfeiffer in this riveting psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice.

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[tab title="DVD Review"]

DVD Details:

Home Video Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Available on Blu-ray - December 19, 2017
Screen Formats: Widescreen version enhanced for 16:9 TVs
Subtitles: English; French; Portuguese; Spanish
Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital/French 5.1 Dolby Digital/Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English audio description
Discs: DVD Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

• None
  

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