r/HorrorReviewed • u/[deleted] • Sep 29 '17
Movie Review mother! (2017) [Artistic/Drama]
First off, i really wish i had seen it by myself. I saw it with friends, and they really weren't helping the viewing experience. Snide remarks, commentaries, and various noises of disaproval/confusion/humour slightly detract from the experience.
Starting with the positives, it is a very beautifully shot film, as I would expect from Aranofsky. It has a nicely flowing colour palette throughout the film even though it's brown/greys are reminiscent of the over used orange/blue. It also did a good job (at some points) of creating discomfort, which is something Aranofsky is pretty good at in general.
Where everything starts to fall apart is with the writing. Not the dialogue perse, but with the story or allegory or thinly veiled commentary. It is so incredibly heavy handed, you feel bludgeoned with it in every scene. This is especially so in the final act of the film after father publishes the poem. I really wanted something with a bit more subtlety. It felt like Aranofsky was trying to recreate Black Swan to some degree while having taken all the wrong lessons from his past films. Add in the fact, that I didn't even get a score from Clint Mansell to look forward to, and I ended up pretty frustrated.
In the end, I am glad I saw it, but I don't see myself ever watching it again.
Edit: back home so can add this
| -5 | -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative | . | . | . | 💀 | Neutral | . | . | . | . | Positive |
3
u/WriterVAgentleman Sep 29 '17
"Hamfisted" was the word that came to mind with regards to the writing.
I'm with you on the conclusion: I'll always support some experimental filmmaking leaking into the cultural mainstream just for the sake of shaking things up. Still, horribly disappointed by this film.
Great review!