Jennifer Lawrence, Darren Aronofsky Discuss New Horror Film 'Mother!' | THR News - video Dailymotion

Jennifer Lawrence and Darren Aronofsky discuss their latest project -- thriller 'Mother!' -- at the Venice Film Festival.

Transcript

00:00This episode of The Hollywood Reporter News is brought to you by American Airlines,

00:11Hollywood's favorite airline. Darren Aronofsky premieres his new thriller Mother at the Venice

00:16Film Festival Tuesday, but the horror film has already divided critics at press screenings.

00:21The morning debut is met with loud boos and a smattering of applause, not unlike Aronofsky's

00:262006 launch of The Fountain. Mothers stars Jennifer Lawrence as an angelic housewife who puts aside

00:33her every need to renovate a home for her husband, a poet with a bad case of writer's block,

00:38played by Javier Bardem. When mysterious strangers portrayed by Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer

00:43stop by and make themselves at home, Lawrence's character is uneasy, but she relents to her

00:48husband, who thinks the intrusion may help with his writer's block. She becomes pregnant and

00:53continues to turn over any ounce of common sense to satisfy her husband until her entire world

00:58inevitably falls out right from under her. Aronofsky said that making Lawrence's character

01:03completely submissive was intentional and later revealed that the film is one of many in competition

01:09this year dealing with the topic of climate change and the future of the planet, a subject he has a

01:14lot of rage and anger about. On the state of the planet, Aronofsky said,

01:19I think it's being undone by humanity. I don't blame one gender over the other gender. I think it is

01:24about how people are insatiable, how theirs is endless consumption. America is schizophrenic. We go

01:30from backing the Paris climate accord to eight months later pulling out. It's tragic, but in many

01:35ways we've revealed who the enemy is and now we can go attack it. The director brought up Susan

01:40Griffin's 1978 book Women and Nature as a major influence on the film, suggesting that Lawrence's

01:46character represents Mother Earth and her destruction symbolizes how people treat the environment.

01:51For Lawrence, taking on the role of a submissive woman was something entirely new.

01:55It was also a completely different side of myself that I wasn't in touch with and I really didn't

02:00know yet, she said. We had a really rigorous rehearsal process of three months. It was a part of me that

02:06Darren really helped me get in touch with. Aronofsky also addressed the mixed reactions coming out of

02:11Venice. I think it's a very, very strong cocktail. Of course there are going to be people who are not

02:17going to want that type of experience and that's fine, said Aronofsky. I've been very clear that this

02:22is a roller coaster and only come on it if you're prepared to loop the loop a few times. The Hollywood

02:28reporter's Todd McCarthy has weighed in on the film, calling it a very Rosemary's Baby-like intimate

02:33horror tale that definitely grabs your attention and eventually soars well over the top to make the bold

02:39concluding statement that, for some creators, art is more important than life. The critic

02:44acknowledges the presence of several plot contrivances and concedes that reviews will be

02:49mixed, but offers that there is certainly no fault in the actors who, with the exception of the

02:54excellent and always audience-engaging Lawrence, all trigger a significant measure of creepiness.

03:00To read more of McCarthy's review, as well as Aronofsky's comments and general reception,

03:05head to THR.com and tell us if you're planning to see the film in the comments section.

03:09For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodrigues.