31 days of horror: day 17

day 17: mother!
dir darron aronofsky
9/10

available free on seriesonline.io

(this is like the only time ill put a spoiler warning bc i thik its best 2 go into this movie blind. TWs at the end)

This film is intense. It drags you to the depts of human sickness and its shows you a glimpse, a moment of glittering, shining perfection. Then it rips you back to the sh*t and the filth of the world. I have only cried at a few films in my life- this one came the easiest. Usually I have to think, really think about the pain on screen. I didn’t even have to digest the pictureque layer- I was crying because I was sad. I was crying because my house was in ruins and I lost my child. You are not an outsider (even though humanity is an intruder). You are Mother Mary. And you are pulled through the f***ing ringer. And I mean it. War, famine, pestilence, death. They invade you. You think it can never end, and it doesn’t. And then everyone is dead. And everything is quiet. And then you are at peace.

mother, although she cannot control any of the things happening to her (excluding the end) is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, female voice in horror. as the film is able to drown us in the complexities of human cruelty, mother is able to display the complexities of human emotion. We are never impartial to her state of mind.

This film is possibly only interesting to those with a background in or knowledge of christianity, islam, or Judaism, though it mainly follows the Christian New Testament, especially in the second half of the film. The latter two of the three are not as acuralty portrayed in the story, but when the poets followers are divided in their beliefs, it does present an interesting view of how all three religious first divulged. I can see why some don’t like it- if you have little to no interest in religion, even from an atheist perspective like me (I believe god/s and spirituality is useful for reflection, empathy, and community, rather than what it has become in modern practiced organized religion) religions use as a means of violence, or if you feel no interest in human psychology and society, this may not be the film for you. If you aren’t taken by mother as a character, if you don’t see the film from her perspective, you will likely be very disappointed in it.

And also it has sexy domnall Gleeson in it
 

TW for: rioting, excessive police force, childbirth, the bible, and images of: sex trafficking, murder, execution, human sacrifice, nudity, sexual assault (but not r4p3), baby murder, baby cannibalism, vomiting, missing ribs, sluttyness, burning bodies, and piss.