I didn’t end up seeing Mother!, especially not after reading Dahlia Grossman-Heinze’s article “I Saw ‘Mother!’ So You Don’t Have To” because I’m so sick of men writing work in which the violence men enact on the bodies of women, nonbinary folks, and femmes is used as OMG AN ALLEGORY I BET Y’ALL DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING. (Looking at you, My Absolute Darling, glad exploiting the abuse of women put money in a man’s pocket.)
Article contains major spoilers; quote below does not.
Mother! is two hours of watching Jennifer Lawrence suffer. Look how she suffers so beautifully, so bravely. Look how she gives everything she has as she suffers so perfectly. That Lawrence is director Darren Aronofsky’s real-life muse (the two are a couple) complicates the dynamic between Mother and the much-older Him. Any extrapolation that can be taken from Mother!about Aronofsky’s perspective on the relationship between muse and artist, actor and director, or husband and wife is problematic and annoying as hell.
Read the article on Bitch Media.
Did you see this film? What did you think?
The Lobster Dance 
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