So I caught the late screening last night and wanted to quickly vent because I left feeling thoroughly dissatisfied. Today I'm going to try articulate why.
I'll start by addressing my expectations because I don't think anyone can ignore them for this type of movie. The most I can say is that I expected something unconventional. I saw what I believe was the first trailer when it released and it looked intriguing enough. It clearly had something more going on than your average thriller and the hint at psychological elements caught my interest. I like it when a movie keeps you on your toes by playing with subjectivity too. With a solid cast and knowing Aronofsky is held in high regard, I assumed there'd be something here for me. Even if I didn't enjoy watching the film, I expected something interesting to chew on or reflect over. At the very least, it could be technically well-crafted and/or a visceral experience that would stay with me. I don't think these are unfair expectations to have and I certainly wasn't going to sit in the cinema waiting for it to play out a certain way or else. So whether it was going to be a mindfuck or a series of redherrings, I looked forward to mother!
Yet as I sat through the film, from relatively quiet beginnings to cataclysmic ending, it never 'clicked' with me. It'd be inaccurate to describe the film as 'boring' when the film was on overdrive to engage the audience with tension and release using eerie soundscapes and jumpscares at the start before moving to the spectacle of the second half. Nevertheless, I just never managed to care about the titular character Jennifer Lawrence played. This is the crux of why despite having a lot to give, the film was completely uncompelling for me. Protagonists can be a lot of things in a story. They can change and grow or remain the same. They can serve merely as a lens or a vehicle for themes, and so on. Whatever their purpose is, we're meant to have some degree of investment - it doesn't matter how relateable or sympathetic they are because theirs is the perspective in which the story is told. We may not necessarily want to see them 'win', but we want to see what happens next. In a film so reliant on this character, not being able to care left me apathetic.
This largely has to do with how the story was presented. This is a film of symbolism and even if it's entirely metaphorical, Aronofsky still chose to express these ideas in a certain shape and form. My indifference for the story lies in how the themes manifested itself rather than the themes themselves. Anchoring the film is a domestic setting with a recognisable husband and wife relationship. This is used to communicate all of its meaning. Underneath the layers they're still meant to behave like a married couple but I couldn't buy into this. I know that in the film they're not actually a pair of human beings that share a history but we're meant to implicitly accept this dynamic, it's how they're portrayed from the opening scene to the birthing scene. Ultimately I was left with a set of characters that felt like they existed only as vessels for ideas, none of whom I cared for. It became pretty insufferable given we're meant to feel what the mother feels going along. Shocked when someone suddenly appears behind or next to her, frustrated when guests don't listen, etc. It was tiring seeing everything unravel through her eyes. How many damn times did we need to see her call out "hey!" to someone going where they shouldn't?
On this note, the second half left no impact on me. It sucks because usually I'd enjoy the cacophony and dramatic imagery. I'm not sure if jumping the shark is the right term, but as soon as people started to dismantle the house the film completely lost me. I flinched when the baby's neck snapped but that was about it. I'm reminded of a line of dialogue at the end of Snowpiercer which is meant to be dramatic but many found funny. I sort of share that sentiment here. Nothing had its intended effect except maybe the shot of her being beaten up and trampled on. That shit was gratuitous and I rarely feel that way.
For what it's worth, I think multiple interpretations fit perfectly fine and there doesn't need to be one 'true' version. A film can have multiple meanings and all the evidence is there. This is why I wouldn't consider the film pretentious either, not that I ever use that critique, because it does what it sets out to do. I'd just disagree it's done well, but character investment is pretty subjective anyhow.