Why Jennifer Lawrence won’t let her mum watch her new movie

THERE are psychological thrillers and then there is this movie. Even its star won’t let her mum see it.

IF YOU’RE a fan of Jennifer Lawrence (or Javier Bardem or Darren Aronofsky, for that matter) you’re likely to have read a lot about how their new film mother! is not for the faint-hearted.

I’m here to tell you - LISTEN to the critics, damn it. Even if psychological thrillers are your thing, or you’ve seen every other taboo-breaking piece of cinematic insanity by Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream), mother! is still going to be a downright stomach-churning watch that leaves you with one question — why?

I won’t go into detail about the 122 minutes I spent in the cinema battling to sit through this film, of which at least a third was spent peeking from between my shaking fingers.

I’ll simply summarise by saying it’s a dark, grotesque, mentally exhausting assault on the senses. Right from the opening scene with Lawrence’s angelic face, burning in flames, to the moment the credits finally roll — if you make it to the end, that is. I was touch and go during several scenes.

Even now, two days after my terrifying two-hour ordeal, flashbacks to some of the thriller’s more gruesome moments continue to pop into my head. Allegories and metaphors for climate change, mother Earth, modern society and destruction (yes, it is all of these things) aside, mother! is a complete and utter headf*ck. And I challenge you to find someone who disagrees with me.

Jennifer Lawrence knows this. In an interview with whimn the 27-year-old Oscar winner admits it is the most challenging role she’s ever taken on and says it even scared the hell out of her.

“The second time I watched it, I was like, ‘We went too far, we can’t do this. We have to take back this movie, this is too much’,” she says, adding that she was “consumed with feelings” after walking out of the cinema.

Watch if you dare. Javier Bardem and Lawrence in a scene from "mother!" Picture: Paramount Pictures and Protozoa Pictures

In fact, Lawrence didn’t even want her own mother - or the rest of her family - to see the film.

“I’m nervous, When I saw it in Venice [at the Film Festival] I called my family and said, ‘You guys shouldn’t come to New York [to see the film], you’re not going to like it.’

“It’s this movie that when it’s finished, it’s like you’ve been assaulted,” she adds.

It’s certainly a role quite unlike we’ve ever seen Lawrence take on — a far cry from the fearless Katniss Everdeen or playing a self-made millionaire in Joy, which earned her a Golden Globe Best Actress award.

“The themes of the movie are what drew me to it, also I’ve always wants to work with Darren,” she says of the writer and director, whom she also happens to be dating.

“But yes, her [the character] being so completely different to me ended up being really terrifying. I just didn’t know if I would be able to do that, if I would just look like I was miscast, if it was just going to be awkward and then I was insecure during the whole shoot of just like, ‘What is this looking like? Is this working?’”

Does this mean we can expect more intense films from JLaw in the near future?

“This is the most that’s ever been demanded from me and also the most I’ve ever taken out of myself,” she says.

“And I ended up growing and learning so much from that and I love that, I love if I can find something that really just scares the hell out of me.”

All I can say is, thank God one of her next films is something she’s been working on with comedian Amy Schumer. Sweet relief.

mother! is currently in Australian cinemas.

This article first appeared on whimn and is republished with permission.