Mother!

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson

Rated: R

Runtime: 121 minutes

The Bible (Without the Important Parts)

I’m going to level with you right from the beginning here. “Mother!” is a film unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I know that after only one viewing of such a deeply symbolic and strange film, there’s a lot, and I mean a lot, that I probably missed. That being said, take this as more of a first impressions post than a traditional review.

In general, I try to keep away from spoilers, but there’s no way to talk about “Mother!” without spoiling something. If you just want to know whether or not I think you should see it, skip to the last paragraph.

“Mother!” tells the story of a husband and wife living out in a quaint house in the countryside. The husband, named Him, is a poet with a bad case of writer’s block. The wife, named Mother, is supportive, passive and generally ignored. One day, unannounced guests show up, testing Mother’s patience. To Mother’s horror, more and more people show up and no one, not even Him, seems to listen to her. Absolute insanity ensues.

Although it’s the story that it tells, “Mother!” is not a film about domestic tension and hospitality gone too far. Believe it or not, “Mother!” is a film about God and our relationship with Him (get it?). “Mother!” is primarily two things: a horror film and a Biblical allegory.

Yes, a Biblical allegory. Not just an allegory for a specific story in the Bible, mind you. I mean the entire Bible. Almost every major plot point of the Biblical narrative is represented – Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, the plagues, Jesus and yes, even Revelation. So, in short, it’s an adaptation. Of the whole Bible. In a single location. In two hours. Because Aronofsky.

In theory, this sounds cool. It’s certainly ambitious. However, there’s a fundamental flaw in trying to tell the story of the entire Bible in allegorical form in two hours. Namely, you can’t. It’s impossible. The final product is doomed to be categorically insufficient because it isn’t the way the story was meant to be told in it’s entirety.

And yet, I don’t think “insufficient” has to mean “wrong.” In fact, many films take pieces from the Bible and explain and explore them with surprising deftness. For example, take Terrance Malick’s “The Tree of Life”. Even if it doesn’t give every detail that the Bible does about pain and suffering, it’s a great creative supplement and thorough look at the concept. Unfortunately, some films take Biblical concepts and interpret them incorrectly.

In this case, I don’t want to immediately condemn “Mother!”, though condemn it I will. It does get a few things close to right. For example, the film’s view on the depravity of humanity post-Genesis 3 is almost spot-on. It represents humanity as selfish, thieving, hateful idolaters who only use God for his stuff while destroying each other and the world in the process. Unfortunately, the areas where “Mother!” misses prevent it from getting much of anything right theologically.

You cannot tell an effective Biblical allegory without getting Jesus right. “Mother!” gets Jesus horribly, unforgivably and dangerously wrong. He is portrayed as a baby outside the plan of God with no divinity whatsoever. The guests of the house accidentally kill him in a moment of chaotic celebration. He never performs miracles, loves others, has a ministry or reveals to man the plan of God or the path to salvation. Most importantly, he never resurrects.

In 1 Corinthians 15:14, Paul explains that if the resurrection never occurred, then our faith is in vain. In other words, no resurrection means no Christianity. It is the thing that our faith hinges upon. For example, you cannot have an accurate view on the depravity of man without understanding God’s plan for redemption or seeing the many ways throughout Scripture that God uses our disobedience for His glory and our good despite us. How could you possibly tell a Biblical allegory and leave out the most important part?

By extension, leaving out the resurrection means the portrayal of God’s character is all wrong as well. Without His sovereign plan for redemption, or His sovereignty at all, for that matter, you’ve totally missed it.

However, to play devil’s advocate on myself, IF the goal was to make the scariest horror movie possible, Aronofsky has absolutely succeeded. I can think of nothing scarier than living in a world where God is simply an egomaniac winging it and hoping things work out in the process of gaining surface level fans with no plan of redemption for sin.

To be honest, I don’t really know what to make of “Mother!” after one viewing. However, I do know three things. First, it has a weight to it that no other film I’ve ever seen has. Second, it’s a theological mine field that no one could possibly exit having a better understanding of God or their place in His story. Lastly, it’s an excellent film that I just can’t recommend.

Needless to say, I’m ready for “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” next.

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