Mother!

Mother! is a 2017 American psychological horror film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky. Jennifer Lawrence plays the unnamed central character, credited as Mother, a young woman restoring an isolated country house with her husband, Him, played by Javier Bardem. The supporting cast includes Ed Harris as Man, Michelle Pfeiffer as Woman, Domhnall Gleeson as Older Son, Brian Gleeson as Younger Brother, Kristen Wiig as Herald, Jovan Adepo as Cupbearer, and Amanda Warren as Maiden. The film opens after Him places a crystal in his study, restoring the couple’s previously fire-damaged home to pristine condition. Mother works on renovating the house and wants a peaceful life with Him, a poet suffering from writer’s block. Their isolation ends when Him unexpectedly invites Man, a doctor, to stay overnight. Man is soon joined by Woman, his intrusive wife. Mother becomes increasingly disturbed by the guests’ behavior, especially their fascination with Him’s private study and its forbidden crystal. The situation escalates after Man and Woman’s two adult sons arrive and fight over their father’s estate. One brother kills the other, and the dead son’s blood seeps into the floorboards. Him later allows mourners to gather in the house, despite Mother’s objections. After she demands that everyone leave, Mother and Him reconcile, and she becomes pregnant. Him’s renewed happiness inspires him to write a poem that becomes enormously successful. As admirers of the poem invade the home, Mother’s private space turns into a chaotic public spectacle. The visitors damage the house, fight, steal possessions, and eventually form a violent cult around Him. Mother gives birth to a son, but Him presents the infant to the crowd while Mother sleeps. The crowd kills and consumes the baby in a horrifying ritual. Mother attacks the worshippers, descends into the basement, and ignites the house using an oil tank. Him survives the fire and removes a crystal-like object from Mother’s body, beginning the cycle again with another woman. Paramount Pictures released Mother! in the United States on September 15, 2017. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier that month. Its deliberately allegorical structure provoked sharply divided reactions from audiences and critics. Aronofsky described the film as an allegory connected to environmental destruction, religion, creation, and humanity’s treatment of Earth. Lawrence’s character is commonly understood as representing Mother Earth, while Bardem’s character evokes a creator figure whose need for admiration repeatedly overrides her suffering.