Films/DVD Asylum

'Mother!': Who's afraid of Rosemary's Husband . .

108.81.116.219

This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

A very compelling yet misdirected retelling of the classic. You get the feel of it immediately but boy are things different this time around. Bardem was the self-obsessed husband who brought his wife to a quiet country house where he could overcome his writer's block. Jlaw was the loving and devoted wife that would do most anything to help her husband to resume his poetry. They lived a very peaceful and serene life that would put most people to sleep.

Suddenly, Ed Harris shows up out-of-the-blue followed by his wife (Pfieffer) a day later. Harris was an imposition but Pfeiffer was the bitch of the week. Next, the two feuding sons show up and things begin to slide into chaos. From there the film becomes almost psychedelic with the ever-growing crowd that begins to arrive day and night all to worship Bardem for his newly released book of poems. Then the carnival atmosphere grows into a crescendo of Aronofsky excesses (as it always does).

Bardem is always good thanks to his force of personality but JLaw played her role with a deer-in-the-headlights POV. She didn't quite elicit sympathy from me, anyway.

Well acted and very well staged with all the insane action going on. Lots of neat effects but nothing outside the realm of reason. There's a lot to see but none of it ever seems to add up.

I read a criticism before seeing it stating it had loads of anti-Christian imagery. I didn't really notice any of that; nothing punched me on the nose. But, I did hear a senior bitty screeching about how this was the worst film she has ever seen in the lobby afterwards. I guess the excesses got to her but not me.

If you are on Aronofsky's wavelength then you will queue up. If you are an innocent bystander then you probably need to catch it on your big screen.

View YouTube Video

Follow Ups: