'Mother!' REVIEW: An original, disturbing and thought-provoking psychological horror film el

'Mother!' is directed by Darren Aronofsky. A great director who I've admired for quite a while because he has directed great films such as Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Wrestler (2008), Black Swan (2010) and Noah (2014). Even though I barely can catch these movies in theaters when they're released, I'm always excited to watch them at home anyway as they are all different in their own specific way while having a singular vision behind them. When watching the trailers for Mother! I had no idea what to think. From just watching the trailers It did remind me a lot of my personal favorite Darren Aronofksy film Black Swan (Heck, even their posters seem familiar to each other). Trust me when I say that this is a truly the most unique psychological horror film I've seen in a while.

While I do like to give you a short summary on what the film is about, I want to avoid potentially spoiling what isn't present in the trailer. On the surface, it's about a women played by Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games) who is the wife of a esteemed poet played by Jarvier Bardem (Spectre). One day while they are just living happily in their home that's far and secluded, they are visited by uninvited guests. That's all I'm going to say about the synopsis of the film because I do want people to check it out for themselves.

One of the major praises I can instantly give after leaving the theater is by far the performance from Jennifer Lawrence. I mean, who doesn't love Jennifer Lawrence? I'm just glad that shes been given the opportunity to be in a film like this other than a big-budget franchise film. She really gives it her all, especially in a sequence where she just walks around her home feeling devastated. Jarvier Bardem is also gives a great performance as usual. I'd say he's equally as good as Jennifer Lawrence. The film has great direction as per usual from Darren Aronofsky. The film also has great lighting and cinematography for a psychological horror film. I noticed a lot a close-ups to keep the viewers uneasy throughout the whole film. If you look closely enough, you'll find that there are plenty of religious themes throughout the film. The film certainly doesn't let you in on what's happening as it expects you to engaged in the moment. It overall remains unpredictable until the last frame of the film.

While I think that this is a great film, I don't think it's Aronofsky's best. I found that the first half of the film I found to be slow-paced and hard to be truly invested. I found myself dosing off every now and then until the second half of the film, which picks up well until the end. I'd say the film doesn't have the most developed characters as they barely exchange names throughout. The characters certainly are meant to be representations of something and does provoke thoughts in the long run. Depending on who you are, if you don't condone extreme violent imagery then you'll have a real problem with this film. It certainly isn't for everybody.

Overall, Darren Aronofsky has presented us with what I can say is by far his most controversial film. The film does boast an original thought-provoking concept and executes it splendidly. It is slow at first, but picks up well into the second half. For those who are sensitive to intensely violent imagery, I'd say be cautious when going to see this movie. But if you're examining this as a substantial film, then you'll find a lot to love.

'Mother!' gets an A-