mother!

Last night we went to see the movie, mother!. Mike went into it having read about it beforehand, and I went in blind, although I knew that there would be some kind of twist or double-meaning at least. 

I found the cinematography almost unwatchable. The jerky snorricam angles that never let up hurt my eyes after a while and I had to literally look away from the screen and watch in my peripheral. Part of this may have been due to the fact that we were in the 4th row and relatively close, but I would have probably had a similar reaction even if we were farther away. 

I'm amazed this movie had a wide release, considering how abstract and out there it would be for most people. I think the only reason it did were the big names in it. I found the theme to be very harsh, but then again it was meant to feel that way, so in that way I guess it was a success? I suppose it gets people to think, and even might teach them a lesson, but it was generally unpleasant and I wouldn't watch it again. There is literally no pleasant or positive part of the movie. I think there are other movies that make similar points, but they are more watchable.

Michael had different feelings about it, since he had known what to expect beforehand. He didn't feel as critical of it, and was more interested in analyzing the metaphor further. My feeling on that is: you shouldn't have to research a movie beforehand or afterward, it should be able to stand alone. If you have to do research to appreciate it, the director didn't do a good enough job. But, perhaps this director was going for this. He probably wanted to spark people reading about and discussing and thinking about it long it after. 

Anyway, I guess mother! is worth watching once if you can stomach it. If you want to watch it twice, I question your life choices.