Misanthropy: a generalized dislike, distrust, disgust, contempt, or hatred of the human species, human nature, or society.

By: Keaton Marcus

INTRODUCTION:

Pretentious, sexist and masturbatory, or ambitious and challenging masterpiece? Darren Aronofsky's Mother! (my personal favorite of his filmography) is a haunting, disturbing, and exceedingly well-crafted madhouse of a movie. Deeply rooted in biblical references and focused on creating horrifying anxiety within audiences, I believe this is a bold and beautiful artistic vision executed to the fullest. Completely unafraid of harsh critique and tomato-throwing moviegoers, this is ballsy and unfiltered filmmaking. Here, and forgive me if I'm not entirely correct, I will attempt to dissect this allegorical achievement and seek out every allusion I found while watching and researching the film.

THE CHARACTERS:

What's so fascinating about the movie is that every single character and plotline in it is a direct allusion to the Bible in some sense. For starters, I'd like to introduce readers to each of them. Javier Bardem's character, named Him, is very clearly a representation of the biblical God. Jennifer Lawrence plays Mother, supposed to represent the concept of Mother Nature as we humans invented. Respectively, Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris' characters allude to Adam and Eve, and their children (played by the Gleeson brothers) are representative of Cain and Abel. Criticisms of the movie usually attack the lack of subtlety. In essence, the obviousness of its allusions. Although this argument is utterly valid, I would counter the fact this is essentially a crash course in the Bible. Revisionist as it may be, what else were you expecting Aronofsky to do to make it more mysterious?

JAVIER BARDEM - HIM:

That neatly leads me back to Him, Bardem's character. So why does this man represent God? What makes me think my interpretation is solid enough? Well, disregarding his evident supernatural strength, I found that the biblical God is fascinated with being worshipped by people. Much like this, Bardem is constantly prioritizing being loved over caring for his wife, Mother Nature. He's a selfish, egotistical, power-hungry child in desperate need of perpetual adoration. His wife, and everyone around them, give him incredible amounts of affection, but nothing satisfies. He must always have more. The Biblical God created Earth, but for what other purpose besides housing his very worshippers? Essentially, as the Bible describes, his creation of this planet is a feeding tube for selfishness. Everyone that eventually begins to invade Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence's house doesn't bother him at all. And this lack of distaste for the intrusion on their privacy is rooted in his need to be celebrated. Any hints of his kindness are only given to those who worship him, and he lets everyone stay in their home because of this. In the infamous and uncompromisingly cruel third act, their baby is pulled from Lawrence's hand into a massive mob of his worshippers. His own child's neck snaps because of the pressure, and he does nothing to stop it. The intoxication and entitlement are disgusting to watch and entirely intentional on Aronofsky's part.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE - MOTHER NATURE

On a kinder note, let me discuss Jennifer Lawrence's character. As mentioned, she is an on-screen representation of Mother Nature. Her house, which has a life of its own, also represents Mother Nature or Mother Earth. As shown throughout the film, Lawrence and her house are connected. Their hearts beat synchronously, and as more and more intruders disrespect the both of them, she snaps. Surrounded by little love from her husband and followers, this is a story of the abusive relationship we humans have had with our planet. The constant conflict and unrest between Mother Nature and God are only inevitable. The former is content with being lonely, uninterrupted, and overall, living a life of tranquility. To love and be with Bardem's God forever in a serene fashion. However, God has other plans. He is so obsessed with others surrounding him that the two have entirely contrasting values. It's chaos for her and absolute Heaven for him. One could describe the relationship here as a pyramid of abusiveness. God needs people, people need Mother Nature, and Mother Nature needs God. It's cyclical, a form of never-ending pain and dissatisfaction. However, the pyramid does not give back to Lawrence's character. She provides for everyone and gets nothing in return. God is worshipped; she is stripped of her humanity. Overall, this is illustrative of our abuse of the Earth, resulting in issues such as climate change. We have been provided with a beautiful planet, and it's slowly being destroyed by humankind.

MICHELLE PFEIFFER AND ED HARRIS - ADAM AND EVE:

Now, Pfeiffer and Harris play a husband and wife who are the first uninvited visitors to God and Mother Nature's home. To connect them to the biblical Adam and Eve, they are essentially the first people other than God and Mother Nature to walk upon Earth or their house. Yes, it's pretentious and out there, but also intriguing. God invites them in unconditionally but tells them multiple times not to go into his private study, which hides his sacred stone. Much to his distaste, they don't follow orders and are consistently tempted to intrude. Eventually, the two break in there and destroy the stone, which is Bardem's very livelihood. Aronofsky intended this to be an allusion to the Adam and Eve story where God repeatedly tells them not to eat from the sacred tree, despite the two doing just that later on. Their two sons, played by the talented Gleeson brothers, are Cain and Abel. Domnhall Gleeson, who's supposed to play Cain, is poisoned by jealousy because Ed Harris' character didn't get as much in the will left. He viciously attacks Abel, or what's supposed to be Abel, and their story is just them fighting. As in the Bible, Cain murders his brother, thus a direct allegory.

FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE THIRD ACT:

The first two acts generally consist of the intruder after intruder continuously bustling into God and Mother Nature's house. As the chaotic night proceeds, God becomes exceedingly pleased with the increased amount of worship he receives. Mother Nature feels tormented and disrespected, and justifiably so. Mentioned briefly before, the third act is extremely triggering. Violent and consisting of absolutely zero glimmers of hope while depicting graphic abuse of Jennifer Lawrence's character and her newborn child. I am entirely in the understanding of one's unbridled hate for the movie. I've seen superbly written reviews trashing it. It's a sick piece of art, but there is much to admire from my perspective. Thematically, the final 30 minutes is a giant, no-holds-barred, visual commentary on our Mother Nature abuse how we as a species have been so evil and unkind to something so giving and resourceful. It is devastatingly tragic to witness and made me sob in a genuine, raw fashion. Bardem's character (who's a poet, FYI) suddenly gains immense fame overnight because of "inspiration," as he describes it himself. This "inspiration" is a product of exploiting his wife by getting her pregnant, inspiring him in a sense to create humanity.

THE WORSHIPPING OF HIM DESPITE HER:

At the point of Lawrence's pregnancy, humanity has zero respect for her. She is continuously trodden over and intruded upon while her husband gets unrealistic amounts of appreciation. She is beaten up, sexually harassed, and nearly raped, followed by the brutal sacrifice of her son. The lines of what should be shown on-screen are crossed occasionally. Still, I legitimately think this is Aronofsky's genius introspection on what humanity has done to Earth, meant with more passion than exploitation. As divided as we are, society does love religion in general. Whatever God one believes (if they choose to consider one), we are obsessed with divinity. Our relationship with Mother Nature, however, is one-sided and vile. We give so much to God that we forget and take the maternal force that houses us for granted. The hatred for humanity that the film so clearly carries is horrifying but readily justifiable. Gluttonous and giving to the conceptualization of God rather than the actuality of our planet, we're monsters in this sense. Every single one of us is guilty, and this movie screams in your face that judgment day is the only silver lining.