Plot: What’s it about?
Having been a movie-lover for, well, as long as I can remember I’ve seen a lot of films. There’s a bell-shaped curve to these, naturally, but there are a few that stand out. I play no favorites. I’ll laugh at Caddyshack and I’ll laugh at most any Woody Allen film. I watch to be entertained and it’s perpetually perplexing how many films can do that for me. Looking at the cinema of Darren Aronofsky, that too is a mixed bag. His debut in the late 90’s with Pi left my jaw succinctly on the floor, though some of his efforts have been a bit mundane by comparison (The Fountain, Black Swan and Noah) – all great from a technical standpoint. Oh, there’s the last ten minutes of Requiem for a Dream. We’re now presented with mother! (I have no idea if the “m” is supposed to be capitalized or not, I’ll stick with lower case as it seems to fit the bill). What’s it supposed to be? You might be asking yourself that same question after the credits roll, too.
There’s a linear plot in there…somewhere, but if you’re going to try and follow it – don’t. We meet mother (Jennifer Lawrence), a young woman who’s painstakingly remodeling a massive house in the country. It’s been destroyed in a fire and as opposed to rebuilding it, she’s taking this approach. Her husband only credited as “him” (Javier Bardiem) is an author who’s struggling with a case of writer’s block. Their lives are interrupted by a man who claims to be a doctor (Ed Harris) and is later joined by his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer). They’re credited as “man” and “woman” respectively. They’re shrewd (he smokes, she drinks) and their manners aren’t up to par. They’re soon joined by their sons and that’s when things get a little weird. And it only gets worse.
I know. I know. That’s not much of a plot. Revealing too much would be unfair and I don’t want to ruin what could be the best (or worst) experience of your life. Suffice it to say that Darren Aronofsky has crafted something that will be talked about and it has been. Is it genius or is it crap? That’s for you to decide. While I generally gravitate towards things that make me think, I seem to shy away from things that are weird for the sake of being weird. And nearly a day after my initial viewing, I’m still unsure as to which camp I fall into. Recently I watched a movie called Upstream Color, a movie that pandered so much that I turned it off. I’ve since watched it three times since. Give these odd films a chance. You might not like it, but you’ll be glad you invested the time.
Video: How’s it look?
A few minutes into the film, I caught my eye wandering over to the right front speaker. I have a little metal marquee that’s just the right size for a DVD, Blu-ray or 4K box and I said “Oh, wow, I forgot this is a 4K disc.” That was bad. You see, mother! didn’t really strike me as something that my television would eat up. There’s a visible layer of grain present, colors are strong in some cases (there’s a beautiful shot of the house from the exterior early on), but by and large seem to be a bit muddled. HDR, though present, seems like a wasted effort here. Take all that into consideration before you go for this 4K version. Yes, the 2.40:1 HEVC does look good, but the Blu-ray looks nearly as good itself.
Audio: How’s it sound?
If you’re dead set on the 4K version, the main draw will be the included Dolby Atmos soundtrack which doesn’t pull any punches. Vocals are rich and crisp and even though I’ve always found it difficult to understand Javier Bardiem, his thick voice resonates here. There are some atmospheric surround sounds that really make for some tense moments and aside from those, it’s basically a strong-sounding track from beginning to end. Granted, it doesn’t rewrite the book on dynamic audio, but that was never the intention.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- The Making of mother! – A typical EPK that features some interviews with the cast and crew as well as some behind the scenes footage. It’s nice, but a bit “been there, done that”.
- The Makeup FX of mother! – A little more interesting is this look at some of the visual and practical effects of the movie. Aronofsky’s films always seem to have a “little something” in them and this explores that aspect.
The Bottom Line
mother! will polarize audiences after it smacks them in the face with whatever it is they just watched. I’m a fan of anything that’s different and that swims upstream. And this certainly fits the bill. Multiple viewings will most likely be a requirement and if you give it a chance, I’m sure that it’ll grow on you. And if not, well you at least tried, right? Technical merits are…good, but not on par with what some of Paramount’s other 4K offerings are. That, coupled with the rather mundane supplemental package make the 4K one to stay away from, but give the Blu-ray a shot.
