6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Ed HarrisHorror | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 74% |
Mystery | 60% |
Drama | 56% |
Surreal | 49% |
Imaginary | 16% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English DD=narrative descriptive
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Darren Aronofsky's mother! has already inspired more controversy than most films, starting with
its title: big "M"? small "m"? include the exclamation point or not? But the orthographic debate
is trivial compared to the polarized reactions to the film itself. Some have pronounced it a
masterpiece, while others have decried it as pretentious trash. Viewers have been known to stand
up in theaters and yell at the screen as the credits roll. You have to give the writer/director his
props on at least one account: He's created something for which indifference doesn't appear to be
an option.
Regardless of where you stand on mother!—and I'm not ashamed to confess that I still don't
know—you have to marvel at the fact that any major studio backed it, because Aronofsky's latest
creation plays more like something from the back waters of the European art house. (Think
Gaspar Noé, but with less sex.) Maybe Paramount was desperate enough to try something
outlandish, given their lack of any foothold in the comic book superhero realm where Warner,
Disney, Fox and Sony are all comfortably ensconced. The studio was reportedly persuaded to put
up the film's $30 million production cost by the presence of Jennifer Lawrence, whose movie
star visage dominates the advertising and who appears in virtually every scene. But Lawrence is
doing something in this movie so unlike any of her roles to date that you quickly forget that it's
her. There's little in her performance to appeal to a movie star's fan base. The same goes for the
rest of the cast, all of whom are operating just as far out of their comfort zone as the movie
pushes the viewer.
Paramount is releasing Aronofsky's creation on both Blu-ray and UHD. I have no idea how well
it will sell, and it's not a movie that I can whole-heartedly recommend for purchase. While the
damn thing does get under your skin, I can't imagine why anyone would want to repeat the experience.
mother! was shot by Aronofsky's frequent collaborator Matthew Libatique on 16mm film, which
has become the director's preferred medium not only for its texture but also for the freedom
allowed by the smaller camera rigs and less frequent reloads. Effects work was done in 35mm,
and post-production was completed on a 2K digital intermediate. The 1080p master derived from
that DI and presented on this AVC-encoded Blu-ray reflects the director's stylized vision, in
which most of the color has been leached from the image and a haze has been cast over much of
the proceedings, usually greenish but sometimes yellow or brown. Even blood, when it appears,
is just red enough to identify it as blood and not some other liquid. One of the strongest colors is
the bright yellow of the powder that Jennifer Lawrence's character consumes with water at times
of great stress. (Its nature and medicinal properties are among mother!'s many mysteries.) Blacks
are solid, and the image is free of noise, aliasing or other interference.
Despite being acquired on 16mm film, the image is impressively sharp and detailed, which is no
doubt a reflection of the superiority of contemporary optics and film stocks. Nevertheless, there
is a noticeable softness, even as the film's grain remains finely resolved. In the extras, Libatique
speaks of his and the director's desire to maintain "that little patina that stands between reality
and cinema", and the Blu-ray aptly reproduces the effect. Paramount has mastered mother! at an
average bitrate of 28.97 Mbps, with a capable encode.
mother!'s Dolby Atmos soundtrack reflects the film's point-of-view photography, with voices and other sounds directed off-camera throughout the listening space in relation to Her's position. The subjective sound mix complements the perspective of events being seen through Her eyes, and it effectively contributes to the sense of disorienting uncertainty as the proceedings spiral out of control. The sound team has borrowed from horror cinema in its use of odd sounds unnaturally amplified for scare effects (and also to reflect how they stand out to Her—a technique Aronofsky used to frightful effect in Requiem for a Dream). Dynamic range is excellent, and bass extension is deep where it's needed. The film has no musical score, but Patti Smith does provide a cover of "End of the World" over the closing credits.
I can't recommend mother!, but I'm not going to dismiss it either. Though stylistically very
different, it reminded me of what David Lynch achieved with his recent Twin Peaks sequel:
maddening, disturbing, oddly compelling, stubbornly resistant to being rationally explained
away. Not many filmmakers can achieve that effect, and if nothing else, Aronofsky deserves
credit for trying and (mostly) succeeding at something so wildly "out there". Just don't boot up
the disc expecting to have fun. As Clive Barker once said, "When I go to the movies, I want to
feel something. And I don't mind if it's disgust."
2018
1968
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Ich seh, Ich seh
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Extended Director's Cut
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