Warning: mother! spoilers ahead! Read on at your own risk!
Darren Aronofsky's mother! has become one of the most polarizing movies in recent memory. Garnering a dreaded F CinemaScore rating, the film has gone on to divide audiences, and it has spurred a massive discussion about what it actually means. Despite the amount of controversy and chatter about the Mother Earth allegory, it sounds like Jennifer Lawrence's brother will not be seeing it--or at least probably won't be able to sit through the whole thing. Lawrence explained:
My whole family is seeing it. I'm mostly worried about my brothers. I have one brother that I know is going to walk out. Twenty minutes. He can't even watch the trailer. He can't watch Willy Wonka. He's afraid of Oompa Loompas.
If someone has a problem with creepy movies, then mother! might not sit well with them. Although it is not a horror movie in the most traditional sense of the phrase (despite theories before the movie came out that it might be a secret remake of Rosemary's Baby), the film is unflinchingly brutal, and it definitely leans headfirst into its horror-esque atmosphere. Though, in fairness to Jennifer Lawrence's brother, the Oompa Loompas from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are pretty terrifying. Maybe mother! will not be quite as bad for him?
It doesn't sound like this is necessarily the case for the other people involved in the production of mother! Although Jennifer Lawrence revealed to Yahoo Movies that her brother probably won't enjoy the film, Javier Bardem and director Darren Aronofsky both admitted that their family members will likely enjoy it -- even if it makes them a bit uncomfortable along the way.
We cannot say that we blame Jennifer Lawrence's brother for not even sitting through the mother! trailer. Between its quick editing, screeching music, and terrifying imagery, the film's previews have easily become some of the creepiest trailers that we have seen all year -- and they do not even spoil the movie's absurdly dark and biblical ending. We live in an era of superheroes and Young Adult adaptations; allegorical movies about God, Mother Earth, and child murder don't necessarily bring mainstream audiences out in droves these days.
It's worth mentioning that this response to mother! has been relatively common. While many critics have liked the film, it has definitely struggled to achieve mainstream appeal; after all, this is Darren Aronofsky we are talking about. The film is currently "Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with a respectable 68%, but the audience score for the movie hasn't been quite as forgiving -- coming in at a far less impressive 48%. The film is clearly not for everybody, and Jennifer Lawrence seems to think that her brother is one of those people who won't make it through mother!'s full runtime.
mother! is now in theaters, so make sure to check it out -- if you can stomach it, that is. If you need more information on all of the major big-screen releases coming within the next year, then take a look at our 2017 movie premiere guide to see what the rest of this year has in store, as well as our 2018 movie premiere guide!
