The film Mother! (2017) is one of the most controversial creations of director Darren Aronofsky, previously known for his films Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan. The movie is not for the general public with a complex plot, which hides a lot of details, has no obvious genre affiliation. The director himself made his creation universal for perception: each viewer can interpret the meaning of the film Mother! 2017 in different ways.
What is the movie Mother! about?
The action takes place in a dilapidated house, which is located in a deserted place. Here comes a couple, consisting of a down to earth young girl and a middle-aged man who is in search of inspiration for creativity. The task of the girl is to rebuild this place and make it a cozy nest for creating a family away from prying eyes. The man sees in this a prospect for his further creation. The creative crisis of the character and dreams about the motherhood of the heroine, literally and figuratively, give rise to a platform for further development of the plot.
At a certain moment, a man appears in the house, whom the man initially meets by chance, and later finds out that he is his fan. Gradually, the guest begins to behave in an impudent manner and violates the prohibitions established by the mistress of the house. Following this, the stranger’s wife appears, with whom strangers abuse hospitality. An uninvited guest distributes inappropriate items to the hostess of the house, and then breaks into a closed room and breaks a thing that is dear to the husband of the main character.
Children of the guests appear in the house, one of whom kills the other. Remembrances take place here. The mistress of the house runs out of patience and she kicks the guests out. Zealous for the attention of her husband, heroin makes attempts to conceive a child, which she succeeds in successfully. After a certain time, the appearance of guests is repeated, and their number exceeds the permissible limits. Fans capture the attention of her husband. At the same time, they make a mess in the house, destroy things. This action comes to the destruction of the nest, in which the hostess at that moment becomes a mother.
The husband takes the child from the mother and gives it to the crowd to be torn to pieces. The heroine goes crazy and burns down the house with the surviving guests and her husband. The only thing that remains of her is a thing of crystalline form, which the husband takes out of his chest and places in a closed room as a valuable relic.
The meaning of the movie Mother!
The meaning of the movie Mother! 2017 with Jennifer Lawrence. The idea of the director initially was to allow for many interpretations after viewing. He himself explains his picture as an allegory for the destruction of the planet by people. The main character, conventionally referred to as “mother”, is essentially her. In Aronofsky’s message, Jennifer Lawrence, playing the role of the mistress of the house, is the embodiment of the earth or nature, and intruders stupidly destroy their house and do not look back at the consequences. This can explain the flooding of the house and its subsequent burning as a result of global warming. The same meaning of the 2017 film Mother! was taken by the actress playing the title role.
Despite the director’s rather simple interpretation, fans who have seen numerous references to the Bible in his offspring allow for a close connection of the film with religion. It’s easy enough to see them. The protagonist is the image of God, and the mother is the role of the Virgin Mary. The first guests are presented as Adam and Eve, and their children as Cain and Abel. The baby born and given to be torn to pieces is Jesus Christ. This can also explain the desecration of the house by guests, the destruction of the first stone, which is the treasure of the owner of the house, fratricide. This is followed by the burning of the house as the personification of the apocalypse and flooding, as in the great flood known from religion.
Without looking into the details, one can notice the simple meaning of the relationship between a man and a woman, where the first is the image of a parent for everything. She gives away her body and mind on an unthinkable scale, and also serves as a consumable to hold the essence of things. However, her efforts are never enough. This can explain the moment where the main character extracts the heart of his wife and makes a talisman out of it.
In addition, the film has a creative side, where the owner of the house is presented as a creator. He produces creations into the world, but over time, the search for fame and recognition leads to the fact that he, for greedy purposes, produces a consumer product that destroys his inspiration. In a period where the desire for good things destroys his genius, the protagonist collects the remnants of his muse in an attempt to save it in order to produce something purer next time. However, the next attempts will be accompanied by a completely different inspiration. This explains the cyclicity and replacement of the main character for the crystal, which serves as a source of inspiration for the owner of the house.
Wars, famines, migrants, the institution of marriage and other allusions accompany the entire plot and can be comprehended at the same time. This confirms Aronofsky’s idea to make a frame out of the picture, from which everyone will build something of their own.
The meaning of the ending of the film Mother!
The beginning and end of the film is nothing more than an endless plot that is tied to a single thing. This is the crystal that the hero receives at the beginning and end of the film, then admiringly places it on the shelf. Religious, social, ecological theme is tied to this talisman and can combine all interpretations with its help. This sign signifies the heart and soul of the home, which everyone extracts for themselves in an attempt to keep love and hope in relation to themselves. These are the inspirations to start all over again with new strength, but what this attempt will be depends on the motives of the person. Hence the cyclic nature of the plot: the main character gains hope, but does not change his essence.
Aranofsky’s film deserves attention from those who like to disassemble and analyze art objects. The director simplified the desire to enter the art house of this picture with a stream of events that draws the viewer into the stream of events more and more as he watches. The author created a film that gave the audience the opportunity to be in the role of a director when trying to conduct their own parallel plot in the process of viewing.
Write in the comments your meaning of the movie Mother! We look forward to waiting!
