Back in September, Mother! infamously became known as one of the very few films to ever get an F CinemaScore grade. It isn’t without merit because the film is easily one of the worst films of the year. For one thing, Mother! is an extremely pretentious film disguised as an artistic film. It’s essentially a commentary about the beginning of Christianity all the way to its impact on society.
One would think that after the failure that was Noah that Aronofsky would try and shy away from religious subject matters. But not only does he go back to it, he makes a film that’s absolutely weird and abstract. If you know nothing about the Book of Genesis and or Christianity, then you’re most likely confused as to what’s going on. In addition, Mother! compresses the entire Book of Genesis, the birth of Jesus, and modern day Christianity into its 2-hour runtime. So everything comes at you at a rapid pace. The abstract weirdness and pace are just too much for this film to handle. There are too many bad things going on all at once.
As for the cast, they all provide nothing to the film. Their characters are all unlikeable and it’s frustrating seeing them oblivious to everything around them. Jennifer Lawrence gives a stale performance as Mother. She’s our connection to the film but, unfortunately, she’s not an interesting character to connect to. Lawrence is monotonous and confused throughout the film. Javier Bardem is easily the best thing about the film. He looks like he’s having lots of fun in the role. Then again, he is essentially laying “God” it makes sense that he’s having fun.
As for the rest of the cast, they’re nothing more than just glorified cameos. That means don’t expect to see a lot of Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris, Domhnall Gleeson, and Kristen Wiig all appear in the film for a limited amount of time.
Overall, Mother! is an amazing film… If you an art school student. Yet the fact that this is a Hollywood film is mind-boggling. Despite its stellar cast, the film fails in its execution to pull off whatever large idea Aronofsky was trying to execute. I respect the fact that Aronofsky wanted to do something different. But sometimes an idea just gets too big for their own good.
Movie Rating: 0/5 atoms
Video
Mother! hits 4K Ultra HD with a Dolby Vision/HDR10 2160p upscale transfer and a 2.39:1 aspect ratio. As bad as the film is, the video presentation is really good. The film isn’t very particularly bright so thankfully the black levels are never crushed due to the Blu-ray’s HDR feature. However, when the scenes are bright, the highlights are dazzlingly bright. In addition, the picture is crystal clear and incredibly crisp. The film isn’t very colorful but when it is, it’s rich and vibrant. Even with a cooler color temperature, the flesh tones are natural looking and consistent throughout the film. Overall, this is a great release of the film.
Video Rating: 4.5/5 atoms
Audio
Mother! hits 4K Ultra HD with a Dolby Atmos and Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Master Audio track. The review will reflect Mother!‘s core Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Master Audio track. The audio presentation is easily one of the most immersive presentations I’ve seen this year. Every channel in your sound system will get some work. The surround and rear surround channels nicely weave the sound effects and dialogue across the soundstage. It never overpowers the other channels but it will scare you at points. Also, the front and center channels clearly convey the dialogue even during the insane final act. Overall, the audio tracks are one of the best out there.
Audio Rating: 5/5 atoms
Special Features
Mother!‘s 4K Ultra HD and 1080p Blu-ray contain the following special features:
- mother! The Downward Spiral
- The Makeup FX of mother!
As you can see there the Blu-ray release of Mother! doesn’t come with a whole lot. “The Downward Spiral” featurette is easily the best special feature on the disc. Yet it’s only the best because it’s the longest featurette on the disc. It’s your standard behind-the-scenes featurette. It has some interesting tidbits so it’s worth checking out if you want to find out more about the film. “The Makeup FX of mother!” is also another interesting featurette but it is a bit short.
Special Features Rating: 2/5 atoms
Overall, Mother! is wasted opportunity from a capable filmmaker and its stellar cast. Unfortunately, the high concept was too big of an idea for Aronofsky. The video and audio presentations are absolutely amazing. The special features are sufficient but nothing more than that.
Overall Rating: 3/5 atoms
This Blu-ray was reviewed using a retail/advance copy/unit provided by Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment.
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