Mother! is an ambiguous creation of director Darren Aronofsky, whose films with the meaning are extremely symbolic and are perceived differently by the audience. The latest tape is no exception. The views of critics on the picture differ not only in the main message, but also in terms of interpreting the plot. The meaning of the film Mother! combines three subtexts at once: religious, environmental and toxic relationships between a man and a woman. The meaning of the movie Mother! 2017: Plot & ending explained
Description of the story
The plot of the film Mom describes the events taking place in a house located on the outskirts. The director intentionally did not name the main characters, naming the characters He is a writer suffering from a lack of inspiration (Javier Bardem) and Mother (Jennifer Lawrence). The painting begins with a man placing a crystal on a shelf. In it, he sees an inexhaustible source of muse, inspiration. At this moment, the main character wakes up.
On a note! Initially, the viewer does not attach much importance to the first scene. However, the ending of the film Mom, the interpretation of the final depends directly on it.
Mother begins to equip the home. Women, by definition, are considered the keepers of the hearth, they strive to create a piece of paradise from the surrounding space. Therefore, in the first minutes of viewing, the behavior is not striking. The fact that the director attaches special importance to the actions of the main character is hinted at by the heartbeat that periodically occurs in the walls, incomprehensible blood stains.
The main events of the picture begin to unfold when the owner lets a guest into the house, admiring creativity, and then his relatives. Mother strongly disagrees with the presence of strangers. At this point, a clear religious overtone begins to be traced in the picture:
- a scar on the back of a stranger (Ed Harris) in the area of the ribs (an obvious reference to the biblical Adam);
- the guest’s relatives appeared – his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer), two sons – Dinal and Bryn Gleason (Eva, Cain, Abel);
- the murder of a brother by a second son.
There are more people at the wake. The dwelling begins to symbolically fall apart, blood oozes from the walls and the shell (an allegory of the Flood).
During a time of relative calm, a mother gives birth to a child. It is symbolic that at this moment He finishes His work. But the disgruntled crowd that burst into the house destroys everything around. Seeing the newborn (Jesus), the people in admiration pass him from hand to hand, which leads to a sad outcome – the death of the child.
ending expained
At the end of the film, the enraged Mother, hiding from the crowd, does not intend to leave the created world to the crowd, blows up the house. A man finds a charred body, brings it to the office, takes out a reborn crystal from his heart. A renewed Mother wakes up (performed by another actress). What ended the film Mom, the director’s attempt to return the action to the beginning, to create a vicious circle.
Hidden meaning
The meaning of the film Mama can be interpreted in different ways. Among critics, 4 points of view are popular:
- Human parasitism, destruction of nature. In this case, the Mother is an analogy of nature, and the house is the planet Earth. She arranges life with love, takes care of Him (man). But there is a crowd of fans. With thoughtless behavior, they destroy everything, including the life of a child. In anger, nature destroys the created planet. The surviving main character is trying to build a former way of life on the remnants.
- Biblical interpretation. He is God, she is mother nature, whose destiny is to create paradise. The guests are an allusion to Adam, Eve and their sons. The newborn is Jesus, who was crucified by people, the explosion is the apocalypse. On the remnants of nature (crystal), God in need of love and reverence will build a renewed world.
- Feminist line (toxic family relationships). If you do not look for spiritual analogies to characters, then a man is a typical representative of patriarchy. Mother is an ordinary woman who is not appreciated. Despite the request, the main character still lets strangers stay. According to the feminist interpretation, the main meaning of the ending of the film Mom is that after the destruction of the house and the death of the heroine, He immediately finds a replacement for the deceased wife.
- Music and creator. At the beginning of the tape, the characters are in perfect harmony. Everything stops when the poet’s fans appear. Inspired by success, he forgets about the muse. The interest of the crowd is gradually fading away, the creator is left with nothing. The muse gives up the last piece of herself in order to restore the author’s ability to write.
On a note! Darren Aronofsky wrote the script in 5 days. The picture was a nominee at the Venice Film Festival and Saturn. But in parallel, she managed to get into the Golden Raspberry lists on 3 points at once: the worst director, the main female and male supporting role.
Even critics can’t agree on what the point of Mama is. Which interpretation to choose, Darren Aronofsky leaves to the discretion of the viewer. The author claims that he was inspired to write the script by boiling emotions and a constant wall of misunderstanding.
