*Mother!* Full Movie Reaction
Added 2024-07-30 19:20:15 +0000 UTC
Comments
The most disturbing part of this movie is that we see ourselves in all the characters, they are all aspects of our own weaknesses that lead to our downfall an destruction, as we give in to our desires. Also the anger comes from the unfairness of the treatment and total lack of consideration of women, a very real thing, almost universal in a world dominated by men. The slavery to men that is "so traditional" as to be considered "normal gender roles" by most of the world is shown in all its ugly vulgarity, and laid bare as a form of agreed-upon insanity. She never left the house. He was free to come and go, and let all manner of sickness and destruction in. Her only sin was that of passivity, and to protect her husband from the truth, that he was responsible for everything bad, while trying to blame it all on others. Mad? You should be mad. What the Father did is how men are. All of them, to a certain degree. The civility shown towards womenfolk is a feint, to get what they want. As soon as they don't automatically get what they want, they start lying and doing evil things to get it anyway. There was no Ours in his mind, only His. This is in everyone and hurts to see, because all he did was prove to her over and over again she meant nothing to him as person, only as a reflection of himself, as he wanted to be seen. Sounds like a lot of men. The other women were all seen as rivals and enemies, and used lies and the truth to manipulate her, leaving her with no one to trust, breaking her down to where she could not trust herself even. The yellow powder was "Mother's little Helper" a thing from the mid 20th century, a tranquilizer, that was prescribed by men to keep women compliant and prevent "hysterical ideation" such as realizing their men are selfish psychopaths using them as slaves and really have no care for them as human beings. And yes this is how our "great" religions think of women. They are either saints or whores, no in between, and only exist for the benefit of the men, and to make the babies for the men to prove their manhood. They all are like that, really, even the so-called enlightened religions are only for the man, and his glory. Female empowering religions are called witchcraft.
spikeysnack
2024-08-04 18:59:30 +0000 UTCYou thinking she pushed the lighter into the wall when she just pushed it behind💀💀💀
tom_j
2024-08-03 21:19:12 +0000 UTCSuch a great reaction. I feel your anger girl! I loved how in the first part of the movie you commented on the camerawork. It's so brilliantly directed. Also, I don't know if you know that this is the same director as Black Swan, but he also uses some similar POV-from-the-back-of-her-head shots in that (to a lesser extent).
Melissa Reynolds
2024-07-31 11:26:27 +0000 UTCSame. This was A LOT to take in.
ivyboundmoon
2024-07-31 10:27:26 +0000 UTCThis is such a fantastic breakdown/explanation of the movie. And yes Aronofsky has talked about how the film is an allegory for humanity’s destruction of the earth. She is Mother Earth/Nature who wants to create a paradise, and the house is her body but also her child, which is slowly being destroyed by the human invasion brought by God, the ‘great creator’ (writer/poet) of humanity.
Melissa Reynolds
2024-07-31 10:25:28 +0000 UTCI love this movie, but it never stops being a stressful nightmare no matter how many times you watch it. This film makes much more sense when you view it through the lens of a Biblical allegory and a blistering critique of God as a creator. The husband, of course, represents God - he's arrogant, hypocritical and self-righteous. Jennifer Lawrence is a manifestation of Mother Earth, who gives everything but is never enough. All God's attention is fixed on humanity, despite the horrors they commit, instead of appreciating the beauty that was already there. I was taking notes on this viewing, and here's some specific examples of the allegory that I spotted: - God and the Earth are alone together, but God is restless and feels a need to create something new; the house (Earth) isn't enough for him, despite the love and care Mother Nature has put into it. - One day, a man appears as if from nowhere. He's Adam, the first man. He's an intrusion, and doesn't appreciate Nature, but he's not actively harmful. - God takes one of Adam's ribs (the scene where Adam is throwing up and God hides the wound in his side) and the next day a woman appears. She's Eve. - Adam and Eve start to feel more at home, and Nature tries to accommodate them despite her misgivings, but they become increasingly bold, until they trespass into God's office (the Garden of Eden) and break the crystal heart, which takes the place of the forbidden apple in this allegory. - God is furious and banishes them, then locks Eden away so no-one can enter. - They soon begin having sex, representing original sin and man’s fall from grace. - Adam and Eve's sons arrive, Cain and Abel, and Cain kills Abel (the first murder); Cain receives a mark on his forehead and is left to wander away. - The wake becomes increasingly chaotic, symbolising humanity's downfall following Abel's death. - Humanity's belligerence and refusal to heed Nature's warnings (jumping up and down on the sink after being told not to sit on it) results in a flood, and all the people are forced to leave. This of course is in reference to the story of Noah and the Ark. - With humanity gone, and after God affirms his love for Nature there's peace again, and life springs anew; Nature becomes pregnant, and when God is struck by inspiration she sees a vision of a rejuvenated world and calls it beautiful. However, God is always needing to feel loved and soon people start rushing back to the house. - This is the end of the Old Testament portion of the allegory and the start of the New Testament, where Nature's baby takes the form of a Messianic figure. - Before he's born though, Nature is put through a gruelling and horrific experience surrounded by war, human trafficking, and other nightmarish visuals before God finally reappears after being nowhere to be found for a long time, and brings her to his private office where she can give birth to their son. The allegory here seems to be that God abandoned the Earth for stretches at a time before the messiah figure was born. - Nature wants to protect the child, but God's arrogance and need for love is so strong that he freely gives his own child to humanity, who snatch away the baby, kill it, and eat its flesh as they worship at an altar to God, before violently assaulting Nature again, even more horrifically than before. - So even when presented with a savior - an innocent - mankind only kills, eats the flesh of the Messiah (i.e. communion), then proceeds to assault Mother Earth with God absent yet again. - When God does show his face again, he espouses that He and Nature must forgive them. - This last part is less clear to me, but I don't think it's an accident that Nature uses oil, a fossil fuel, to set the Earth on fire and end humanity while God just watches powerlessly. - The very ending suggests that after the apocalypse, God will simply try the whole thing over again because of his need to create and his obsessive desire for love. I like your idea about the heart inside the walls being a representation of Mother's own heart, and to extend this idea to the allegory of the film, it's a symbol of the environment dying as humanity spreads its influence. None of this is surprising when you take Aronofsky himself into account: he's firmly an atheist and environmentalist, and this is evidently his view of God: a figure who is frequently absent when needed yet constantly feels the need both to create and to be loved despite the terrible behavior of mankind and the abuse they shower upon Mother Earth. I don't know what the yellow liquid is supposed to represent, if anything, and not all of the events are one-to-one with the Biblical stories, but this is the interpretation that makes the most sense to me, and watching it through this lens transforms it into a completely different film. This was a great reaction, even if I'm going to bed incredibly stressed out now lol. I'm glad you didn't just shut down like some people do as the more surreal elements start coming. Very excited to see what film will be next 💜
Jordan McLaren
2024-07-31 01:01:16 +0000 UTCI just watched this movie for the first time so that I could watch your reaction to it after, but now I need some time to emotionally recover before I watch it again with you.
Lime Pie
2024-07-31 00:28:13 +0000 UTC
