---
title: "mother!: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/mother-2017/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/mother-2017"
critics_score: 70
critics_reviews: 35
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# mother! (2017): what the critics said

Critics' score 70 from 35 reviews: 20 positive, 12 mixed, 3 negative.

Most critics come out in favour, and their praise gathers around Jennifer Lawrence. Review after review calls her performance the thing that holds the film together, and several note that the camera scarcely leaves her face, which they count as Aronofsky’s best decision. The close handheld photography and the oppressive sound design are named repeatedly as the source of the dread. Michelle Pfeiffer’s cruel house guest gets a steady supply of admiring mentions, and most agree the controlled first half is the film at its best.

The reservations are about what comes after. A good number of the positive reviews concede that the second half tips into excess and that the allegory is too plainly signposted to reward decoding. The spread of opinion is wide. Variety finds the spectacle dazzling but empty, and Vulture objects that the film puts Lawrence through suffering that serves the director rather than the story. /Film goes further and thinks her miscast.

## Evening Standard — David Sexton

Rating 5/5. 15 November 2017. Festival review. 

Sexton finds the film scary and arty, with its oppressive style casting a spell. He especially praises Jennifer Lawrence’s emotional honesty and expressive face.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/venice-film-festival-2017-mother-review-jennifer-lawrences-honesty-casts-a-spell-on-this-scary-arty-story-a3682741.html)

## The i Paper — Matthew Turner

Rating ★★★★★. 14 September 2017. 

Turner calls the film an unmissable, nightmarish experience that is both shocking and intense. He especially praises the technical direction and Jennifer Lawrence’s captivating performance.

[Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/darren-aronofsky-mother-most-shocking-film-2017-review-90851)

## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf

Rating 5/5. 5 September 2017. 

The critic calls the film bold, barmy and brilliant, an instant landmark of boundary-pushing cinema. The review singles out its in-your-face psychological horror as far more than a haunted-house movie.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/mother-2)

## IndieWire — Ben Croll

Rating A-. 5 September 2017. 

Croll finds the film daring and effective, building from a slow burn into an audacious cinematic blaze. He especially praises the close, handheld camerawork that keeps viewers with Jennifer Lawrence as the house and its horrors spiral out of control.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/mother-review-darren-aronofsky-jennifer-lawrence-javier-bardem-1201872856/)

## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 2017. 

Chang finds the film feverishly inspired, experimentally ambitious, and beautifully coherent despite its escalating chaos. He especially praises Jennifer Lawrence’s extraordinary, expressive performance and the film’s commitment to her perspective.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-mother-review-20170914-story.html)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2017. 

Bradshaw finds the film an outrageous, exhilarating horror-comedy, though its chaos is deliberately excessive. He praises Jennifer Lawrence’s compelling central performance and Michelle Pfeiffer’s cruel supporting turn.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/sep/05/mother-review-jennifer-lawrence-horror-darren-aronofsky-javier-bardem)

## The AV Club — Ignatiy Vishnevetsky

Rating B+. 13 September 2017. 

Vishnevetsky finds the film a brilliantly deranged, skillfully made work that delivers horror despite its elaborate allegory. He especially praises Aronofsky’s claustrophobic focus on Jennifer Lawrence’s disoriented perspective.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/god-is-a-gaslighting-husband-in-darren-aronofsky-s-bril-1803126149)

## Total Film — James Mottram

Rating 4/5. 5 September 2017. 

Mottram finds the film audacious and wildly watchable, though its second half never matches the brilliance of its first. He praises the unsettling control of the early scenes and Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance as a provocative house guest.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/mother-review/)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 18 September 2017. 

Brody finds the film initially dull but ultimately thrilling, horrifying, and audacious. He praises Aronofsky’s cataclysmic imagination and the film’s forceful satire of fame, artistic vanity, and destructive fandom.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/mother-darren-aronofskys-thrilling-horrifying-nearly-unbelievable-satire-of-fame)

## Empire — Dan Jolin

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2017. 

Jolin finds the film difficult and disorienting but vivid, ambitious, and far from forgettable. He praises Jennifer Lawrence’s intense central performance and the film’s striking dreamlike imagery, while noting that its excesses and brutal climax may alienate viewers.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/mother-5-review/)

## Screen Daily — Fionnuala Halligan

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2017. Festival review. 

Halligan presents the film as an expressionistic ode to contemporary life, suggesting a positive verdict. The standfirst singles out its expressionistic approach, though the review’s further praise or criticisms are not visible.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/mother-venice-review/5121922.article)

## Radio Times — Radio Times staff

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 2017. 

The review describes the film as entertaining but muddled. It notes echoes of *Rosemary’s Baby* and *Get Out* but the available text gives no further detail about what it praises or criticizes.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/mother-review-a-modest-home-invasion-chiller/)

## Sight and Sound — Nick Pinkerton

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 2017. 

Pinkerton finds the film crass and overblown but ultimately impressed by its forceful filmmaking. He singles out the escalating claustrophobia and masterfully orchestrated final chaos.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/mother-review-darren-aronofskys-symphony-domestic-disquiet)

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review text is inaccessible, so its verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint from the critic is visible.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/mother-2017)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 13 September 2017. 

The page content is unavailable, so the critic’s verdict cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint can be verified from the accessible text.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/13/movies/mother-review-jennifer-lawrence-darren-aronofsky.html)

## Little White Lies — David Jenkins

Rating 4/3/3. 13 September 2017. 

Jenkins describes the film as an ordeal and leaves its enjoyability unresolved. He singles out its bewildering, visceral conceptual imagery, likening it to a Rorschach blot made of menstrual blood.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/mother-darren-aronofsky-jennifer-lawrence)

## Slant Magazine — Christopher Gray

Rating 2/4. 14 September 2017. 

Gray finds the film ambitious but overburdened by references, with its escalating drama often feeling inert. He singles out its oppressive sound design as an effective source of atmosphere.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/mother-2017/)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2017. Festival review. 

McCarthy finds the film gripping but ultimately excessive, with plot contrivances that weaken its dramatic impact. He praises Jennifer Lawrence’s performance and the unsettling cinematography and production design.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/mother-review-1033545/)

## Film Comment — Michael Sragow

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 

Sragow’s verdict is negative, saying Aronofsky’s mystical thriller flounders. He singles out the film’s unsuccessful attempt to work as a mystical thriller.

[Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/deep-focus-mother/)

## Variety — Owen Gleiberman

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2017. Festival review. 

Gleiberman finds the film dazzling and entertaining as horror spectacle, but ultimately empty and lacking meaningful resonance. He particularly criticizes its thin characterization and escalating torments, which he says offer little beyond shock and showmanship.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/mother-review-jennifer-lawrence-venice-film-festival-1202545924/)

## Vulture — David Edelstein

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 15 September 2017. 

Edelstein finds the film grandiose and self-aggrandizing, despite calling it a tour de force on its own terms. He complains that it puts Jennifer Lawrence through needless suffering, reducing her to a director’s object of torment.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/mother-is-a-second-rate-self-aggrandizing-tour-de-force.html)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 September 2017. Festival review. 

The critic calls the film a glorious piece of cinematic insanity, praising its ambition and audacity. They single out Jennifer Lawrence’s committed performance at the center of Aronofsky’s singular vision.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/mother-toronto-review-jennifer-lawrence-darren-aronofsky-glorious-insanity/)

## Den of Geek — Kayti Burt

Rating 4/5. 13 September 2017. 

Burt finds the film an effectively disturbing, challenging experience despite flaws in its exploration of womanhood and race. She praises Lawrence’s grounding performance and Aronofsky’s modern reworking of biblical material.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mother-review/)

## Digital Spy — Jamie Graham

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 September 2017. 

The critic calls it an unusually wild and effective horror film, though its symbolism and treatment of its protagonist may put some viewers off. He praises the claustrophobic technical craft, especially the close camera work and unnerving sound design.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a837174/mother-review-jennifer-lawrence-darren-aronofsky/)

## The Skinny — Joseph Walsh

Rating ★★★★. 8 September 2017. 

Walsh calls the film a shocking delight whose strangeness rewards repeated interpretation. He praises its layered mystery, horror, and sharp critiques of art and celebrity culture.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/mother-jennifer-lawrence-darren-aronofsky)

## Consequence — Dominick Suzanne-Mayer

Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 2017. 

The critic finds the film a potent, harrowing provocation, though its blunt metaphors and excesses can verge on indulgence. Jennifer Lawrence’s performance is singled out as a towering achievement and the story’s essential human anchor.

[Read the review](https://consequence.net/2017/09/film-review-mother/)

## Collider — Brian Formo

Rating B. 13 September 2017. Festival review. 

Formo finds the film audacious and thrilling, though its metaphors are obvious and its chaotic second half goes too far. He singles out Aronofsky’s camerawork and sound design as revelatory.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/mother-review-jennifer-lawrence/)

## NME

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 

The critic finds the film wildly ambitious and potentially divisive, but ultimately worth celebrating. They single out Aronofsky’s precise control of its escalating chaos, even when its meaning remains unclear.

[Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/mother-film-review-2135113)

## Polygon — Ben Kuchera

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2017. 

Kuchera finds the film to be Aronofsky’s best work, while acknowledging its meaning remains uncertain. He praises its lush visuals and Jennifer Lawrence’s deeply committed performance.

[Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/20/16339354/mother-is-a-mirror-not-a-lesson/)

## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 2017. 

The critic finds the film audacious and unsettling, despite its increasingly wild ending. He singles out Jennifer Lawrence’s performance and Aronofsky’s trust in her for creating a genuine sense of unease.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/mother-2017-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)

## Deadline — Pete Hammond

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 16 September 2017. Festival review. 

Hammond finds the film intensely polarizing but compelling, saying it lingers in the mind. He praises Jennifer Lawrence as its emotional center and the camera’s unwavering focus on her.

[Read the review](https://deadline.com/2017/09/mother-review-jennifer-lawrence-darren-aronofsky-javier-bardem-1202170798/)

## The Playlist

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 5 September 2017. Festival review. 

The accessible page contains only an anti-crawler notice, so the critic's verdict is unavailable. No praise or complaint can be verified from the supplied text.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/mother-venice-review-20170905/)

## The Ringer — K. Austin Collins

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 14 September 2017. 

Collins finds the film messy and frustrating, but ultimately enjoys its ambitious, chaotic mix of themes. He especially praises Jennifer Lawrence’s strange, exhausting performance and Michelle Pfeiffer’s gleeful meanness.

[Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2017/09/14/movies/mother-film-review-darren-aronofsky-jennifer-lawrence)

## /Film — Chris Evangelista

Rating 7 out of 10. 11 September 2017. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film committed to its wild, unsettling vision, though its allegory feels heavy-handed and Jennifer Lawrence is miscast. The anarchic final stretch is singled out for its shocking, fast-escalating imagery.

[Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/553235/mother-review/)

## Paste — Will Leitch

Rating 5.1. 13 September 2017. 

Leitch finds the film overwhelming but ultimately frustrating, with its chaos failing to deliver a satisfying payoff. He praises its images of creeping dread, while criticizing its blunt, overlong approach and Lawrence’s passive role.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/darren-aronofsky/mother)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/mother-2017.md