2017
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
I should probably have saved this one for an October watch, since I usually like to stick to a Halloween theme. But this film is barely a horror movie, unless your definition of horror is to be absolutely disgusted. Which I guess is the definition for the weirdos who like movies like Saw....or Mother!
We are going for maximum pretentiousness here, therefore none of the characters have names, so I will refer to them by the actors' names. Jennifer Lawrence is really trying to make her house nice, but Javier Bardem, her temperamental writer husband, keeps allowing strange house guests to invade. Basically, it's a pretty heavy handed allegory for the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and then suddenly Jesus Christ.
As an English nerd, I am a huge fan of allegories. I really enjoyed parts of the interpretation, like the emphasis on God's vanity being a catalyst of destruction. But in order for an allegory to be truly enjoyable, the surface story needs to be grabbing in its own right. And frankly, I was very bored following Lawrence around and watching her ask rude people not to touch things. And what was Kristen Wiig doing in this movie?
Like I said, the movie is really disgusting at the end but hey, so is religious fanaticism. Everyone who says this film is a narcissistic, self indulgent mess would be correct. Still, a few nuggets of brilliance can be mined from this. And Javier Bardem is dreamy.
RATING: **---
Interesting Facts:
Received both boos and a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.
Jennifer Lawrence and Darren Aronofsky started dating during production of this film. For someone who is seemingly determined to avoid cliches, he's guilty of a pretty big one here.
Jennifer Lawrence had her own tent during filming, complete with scented candles and a tv that played Keeping Up With the Kardashians on a loop. We have very different definitions of happy places.
