A young woman has her life (and her new home) turned upside down by the arrival of a stranger.

Well, the events in this film escalate quickly. I love that things can go from 0-60 in a breath. There’s also a gorgeous look to the film which looks like every individual frame has been hand painted courtesy of Matthew Libatique. The sound design is just as intricate.

Add to this perfect casting (particularly Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem and Michelle Pfeiffer) and great direction from Darren Aronofsky.

So, if mother! has so many great ingredients, why the middling score? The answer is the final act. Whilst things start to get freaky and out of control, it becomes too much and far-fetched. Too many layers of madness are happening at once and it feels forced and I felt overloaded. The overcrowded house was the last straw for me. This created a distance between myself and the film with me thinking that a wild film had just become silly.

A shame.

2.5 out of 5 stars