Mother! (2017)

Mother! (2017) — Overview and viewer experience Mother! is a tense, surreal drama-horror from director Darren Aronofsky that follows a young woman (credited as Mother) and her husband (Him), an acclaimed but blocked poet, whose quietly restored country home is invaded by increasingly intrusive and mysterious guests. What begins as an awkward courtesy visit slowly unravels into chaos: the house fills with strangers, boundaries are erased, and the couple’s relationship — and the sanctuary they’ve rebuilt — is pushed to its limits. The film is a symbolic, often nightmarish parable about creation, ego, worship and destruction, told through escalating domestic breakdown and shocking, visceral imagery. What you’ll experience watching it - A mounting sense of claustrophobia and dread as small violations of privacy and respect become ever-more extreme. - Stark, often surreal visuals and inventive camerawork that shift the house from refuge to battleground, with moments of beauty disrupted by grotesque or disturbing images. - Intense, raw performances (notably Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem) that portray obsession, entitlement and helplessness. - A soundscape designed to jolt: abrupt noises, pounding rhythms and amplified domestic sounds that heighten tension. - Heavy allegory and symbolism — religious, ecological and artistic — that invite interpretation rather than offering easy answers. - A polarizing ending: the film builds to scenes that are emotionally and visually extreme, likely to provoke strong reactions and debate. Content notes - Contains disturbing and violent imagery, moments of gore, and intense emotional and psychological distress. - Explicit religious and symbolic themes that some viewers may find challenging. In short, Mother! is less a conventional horror story and more an intense, provocative allegorical experience: immersive, upsetting, and designed to be felt as much as understood. If you enjoy films that provoke discussion and push cinematic boundaries, this will be a powerful — if divisive — watch.

Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Runtime: 121 min

Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery

6.3 /10 76 /100 6.6 /10 6.8 /10