Much Ado About Mother!
[Warning, this article contains spoilers]
Director Darren Aronofsky's recent film Mother! released September 14th of this year, has garnished a wealth of confusion, negativity, walkouts, and panic attacks from audiences worldwide. Some warn potential moviegoers to proceed with caution if you are prone to acute levels of anxiety. But why are people reacting this way to the psychological thriller? Let's take a closer look at audience reactions. Please see the Mother! Film Review article for an in-depth analysis of the plot.
After last weeks release, many of the film's viewers were baffled about the meaning of the film. So much so, that director Aronofsky himself had to explain it in an interview with the Indie Wire. The film is a depiction of climate change parallel through scenes of pure mayhem that left a portion of audiences in disgust.
We sat down with Chris, (whose name has been changed) a junior at AUP who had a negative mental and physical reaction to the film. Chris stayed in the theater for its entirety but only to get his money's worth. But he soon regretted his decision.
"Later in the movie, I started to experience early signs of a panic attack. There was a tightness in my chest and it was hard to breathe. As soon as the baby started being passed around I stopped watching."
After some time to recover from his experience, Chris researched the intended allegory. Once learning the film was about climate change, he was undoubtedly upset.
"I was pissed and I felt foolish for reacting the way I did. Any intelligent human being accepts the truth of climate change, and Aronofsky was really trying to drive that home, albeit in what I felt was a disgusting way."
Twitter was ablaze with reports of unease and panic attacks induced by the films graphic nature.
PSA if you have anxiety or panic attacks I would advise you not to see the movie Mother
— britαin (@Britain_Noelle) September 18, 2017
I need some time to really let #MotherMovie set in. I feel like I just had a 2 hour panic attack.
— CLEAVE ZaraGHOSTa👻 (@stevezaragoza) September 13, 2017
I just watched mother! Never ever has a film induced a panic attack until now. Its what my nightmares look like. #mothermovie
— Elly Jones (@Elllllllllllly) September 18, 2017
Mother! has been deemed a commercial flop according to audiences it earned $7.5 Million opening weekend compared to its $30 million dollar budget and was given a CinemaScore "F" by viewers.
If you suffer from anxiety, depression or panic attacks, be wary. But if you are ready and willing to succumb to the thought-provoking feature that Mother! undoubtedly is, we hope you are prepared.
