'mother!' Review: Jennifer Lawrence Horror Flick in All Its Glorious Insanity

Toronto International Film Festival

Darren Aronofsky’s “mother!” arrived at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday on a massive wave of hysteria from its Venice debut. There, the thriller had been acclaimed as the most extreme, deranged, over-the-top film of the director’s career, an act of provocation so deliciously excessive that it seemed all but guaranteed to also become the talk of TIFF.

Eager viewers lined up along Richmond Street an hour ahead of the film’s 9 a.m. start time for its first press and industry screening. And two hours later, they staggered out of the Scotiabank into the harsh light, blinking and wondering, “Why didn’t they warn us?”

They did warn us, of course. But nothing really prepares you to experience “mother!” Aronofsky, who has built his films to gloriously excessive finales in the past — think of the horrifying montage of abuse and degradation in “Requiem for a Dream” or the bloody balletic fever dream of “Black Swan” — plays a personal game of “can you top this?” with “mother!” And holy hell does he do it, in an extended sequence that reimagines “Stardust Memories” as “Night of the Living Dead.”

Also Read: 'mother!' Is Darren Aronofsky's 'Most Bombastic, Ludicrous' Film' - And 6 Other Wild Reviews

The setup is straightforward: Jennifer Lawrence plays a young woman married to a celebrated poet, who is played by Javier Bardem. He has a bad case of writer’s block, she’s fixing up their remote house in the country, and things seem fine until Ed Harris shows up at the door, followed by Michelle Pfeiffer, followed by lots of other people.

The opening stretch of the movie reinforces a lot of the time-honored horror-movie axioms: “Don’t go in the basement,” “Don’t bother trying to scrub away that bloodstain” and one new one, “If a sketchy guy shows up at your door, don’t invite him to spend the night — and if you do invite him to stay, and then his wife shows up and then his kids show up and there’s a big fight and somebody dies and then he wants to invite a few more friends and family over, for God’s sake say no!”

The first half of the film is creepy and disturbing, but the second half cranks the whole crazy thing into overdrive, conjuring up a blood-and-fire drenched hallucination set in motion by the instant success of the poet’s new book. (It seems the craziness of the first half jarred him out of his writer’s block.)

Also Read: Jessica Chastain Brings Poker Princess Molly Bloom Into Sharp Focus at Toronto

Part of the message is that fame turns people into beasts and the need for approval can be a deadly disease, but Aronofsky also designed the film as an allegory of how we destroy our own Mother Earth. But you won’t be absorbing the metaphors as much as you’ll be astounded by the film’s wholehearted commitment to a world in which an impromptu book-signing can escalate into a scene from Hieronymus Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights.”

But this is really Aronofsky’s singular vision, executed with spine-tingling commitment by Jennifer Lawrence, who is the center of almost every shot.

“mother!” is not necessarily the stuff for awards, with more than a few Academy voters likely recoiling from the extremity of Aronofsky’s work. Still, you don’t make a movie about the dangers of adulation because you want to win shiny trophies. For its combination of ambition and audacity, this is a glorious piece of cinematic insanity.

117 Amazing Portraits From TheWrap's Toronto Studio, From Angelina Jolie to Jim Carrey (Photos)

Actors Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney and director Craig Gillespie, "I, Tonya"

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Actress-producer Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"

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Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"

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Actress Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

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Sebastian Stan, "I, Tonya"

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Helen Mirren, "The Leisure Seeker"

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Helen Mirren, "The Leisure Seeker"

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"Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond" Jim Carrey

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Jim Carrey, "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond"

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Director Chris Smith, "Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond"

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Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Current War"

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Michael Shannon, "The Current War"

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Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon with actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult, "The Current War"

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Director Angelina Jolie, "First They Killed My Father"

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Director Angelina Jolie with producer Rithy Panh, stars Kimhak Mun, Sareum Srey Moch and co-writer Luong Ung, "First They Killed My Father"

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Writer-director Greta Gerwig, "Lady Bird"

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Greta Gerwig, "Lady Bird"

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Actress Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"

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Actor Tracy Letts, "Lady Bird"

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Brie Larson, "Unicorn Store"

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Actor Sam Rockwell, "Woman Walks Ahead"

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Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci, "The Children Act"

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Writer Ian McEwan, actor Stanley Tucci, director Richard Eyre and actors Emma Thompson and Duncan Kenworthy, "The Children Act"

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Stanley Tucci, "The Children Act"

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"Outside In" director Lynn Shelton with her cast Jay Duplass, Kaitlyn Dever and Edie Falco

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Jay Duplass, "Outside In"

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Edie Falco, "Outside In"

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Kaitlyn Dever, "Outside In"

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Director Lynn Shelton, "Outside In"

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Jake Gyllenhaal, "Stronger"

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Tatiana Maslany, "Stronger"

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Miranda Richardson, "Stronger"

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"Stronger" star Jake Gyllenhaal with Jeff Bauman, the Boston Marathon bombing survivor he plays in the fiilm

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Writer Jeff Bauman, "Stronger"

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Actor Cedric the Entertainer, "First Reformed"

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Cedric the Entertainer, "First Reformed"

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Cedric the Entertainer and director Paul Schrader "First Reformed"

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Director Paul Schrader, "First Reformed"

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Actors Aaron Pederson, Abbey Lee, Matt Nable, Simone Kessell, Josh McConville and Ryan Corr, "1%"
Abbey Lee, "1%"

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Actress Simone Kessel, "1%"

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Actor Ed Harris, "Kodachrome"

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Actor Ed Harris and director Mark Raso, "Kodachrome"

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Mark Raso, "Kodachrome"

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Writer-producer Jeremy Chilnick, writer-director-producer Morgan Spurlock and producer Matthew Galkin, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Producer Matthew Galkin, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Writer-producer Jeremy Chilnick, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Writer-director-producer-star Morgan Spurlock, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Morgan Spurlock, "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken"

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Director Joseph Kahn, "Bodied"

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Actress Rory Uphold, "Bodied"

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Actor Calum Worthy, "Bodied"

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Director Armando Iannucci, "The Death of Stalin"

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Director Darren Aronofsky, "mother!"

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Director Darren Aronofsky, "mother!"

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Willem Dafoe, Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince and Sean Baker, "The Florida Project"

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Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project"

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Director-star James Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

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Director-star James Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

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Actor Dave Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

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Actor Dave Franco, "The Disaster Artist"

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Screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, "The Disaster Artist"

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Alison Brie, "The Disaster Artist"

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Alison Brie, "The Disaster Artist"

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Ari Graynor, "The Disaster Artist"

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Actress Jessica Chastain, "Molly's Game" and "Woman Walks Ahead"

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Actress Jessica Chastain, director Susanna White and Michael Greyeyes, "Woman Walks Ahead"

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Actress Julianne Nicholson, "Who We Are Now"

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Zachary Quinto, "Who We Are Now"

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Actor Josh Lucas, "Mark Felt"

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Selma Blair, "Mom and Dad"

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Selma Blair and Nicolas Cage, "Mom and Dad"

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Co-directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, "One of Us"

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Director Kyle Rideout, "Public Schooled"

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Judy Greer "Public Schooled"

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Actor Eddie Izzard, "Victoria & Abdul"

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Actor Ali Fazal, "Victoria & Abdul"

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Actress Elisabeth Moss, "The Square"

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Actor Terry Notary, "The Square"

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Director Ruben Ostland, "The Square"

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Actor Claes Bang, "The Square"

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Screenwriter Anthony McCarten, "Darkest Hour"

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Writer Anthony McCarten, stars Ben Mendelsohn, Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas with director Joe Wright, "Darkest Hour"

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Actor Ben Mendelsohn, "Darkest Hour"

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Actor Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

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Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

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Actress Kristin Scott Thomas, "Darkest Hour"

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Director Joe Wright, "Darkest Hour"

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Actor Nahuel Peres Biscayar, "BPM (Beats Per Minute)"

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Actor Arnaud Valois, "BPM (Beats Per Minute)"

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Director John Curran with actors Jim Gaffigan, Ed Helms and Kate Mara, writers Andrew Logan and Taylor Allen, "Chappaquiddick"

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"Chappaquiddick" director John Curran

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Kate Mara, "Chappaquiddick"

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Kate Mara, "Chappaquiddick"

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Jim Gaffigan, "Chappaquiddick"

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Ed Helms, "Chappaquiddick"

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Director Dan Gilroy, "Roman J. Israel, Esq."

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Actress Diane Kruger, "In the Fade"

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Actress Diane Kruger, "In the Fade"

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Director Alexander Payne, "Downsizing"

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Actors Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau and director Alexander Payne, "Downsizing"

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Actor Christoph Waltz, "Downsizing"

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Actress Hong Chau, "Downsizing"

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Actors Wes Studi, Rosamund Pike, direcor Scott Cooper, Christian Bale and Jonathan Majors, "Hostiles"

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Actor Simon Baker, "Breath"

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Simon Baker, "Breath"

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Director Neil Burger, "The Upside"

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Writer-director Martin McDonagh, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

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Director and co-writer Dee Rees, "Mudbound"

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Actor Jason Mitchell, "Mudbound"

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Rob Morgan, "Mudbound"

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Jason Mitchell and Rob Morgan, "Mudbound"

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Actors Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, director Dee Rees, actors Rob Morgan and Carey Mulligan, "Mudbound"

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Garrett Hedlund, "Mudbound"

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Writer-director Robin Campillo, "BPM (Beats Per Minute)"

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Directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, "Battle of the Sexes"

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Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, "Battle of the Sexes"

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Brady Jandreau, "The Rider"

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