WTF to STFUI cannot recall the last time a film made me as angry as Darren Aronofsky’s mother! Maybe never. (Yes, the title is most emphatically with a lowercase “m” and an exclamation point. And yes, that’s emblematic of what’s making me so angry.) As mother! I found myself actually clenching my jaw with ever- increasing fury as Aronofsky’s head wended its way further and further up his own cinematic ass only to declare just how delicious his farts smell.

This is a filmmaker for whom mysticism and trippiness have been essential components of his work since the beginning, since his feature debut with 1. Pi… and I’ve often been a big fan of that. I loved his last film, 2. Biblical fantasy Noah.) But never before like this. Never before has an uncomfortable ugliness he was exploring landed with such repulsive pointlessness, such transparent predictability. Aronofsky is intent on presenting to us in faux metaphysical trappings a “truth” he seems to believe is secret and cryptic yet that is, in fact, utterly banal and inarguable.

And that's just one fertility story out of Hollywood, where a booming baby business has sprung out of gay-friendly parental rights and existing new technology (Pick. Darren Aronofsky’s self-pitying cinematic rending of garments is repulsive, transparent, and pointless. A grotesquely wrapped gift box of utter banality. The Hollywood Reporter is your source for breaking news about Hollywood and entertainment, including movies, TV, reviews and industry blogs. Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon, commonly known as Shannyn Sossamon (born October 3, 1978), is an American actress and musician. She has appeared in the films A.

He has given us a grotesquely wrapped gift box that contains nothing but shredded newsprint sprinkled with a bit of horseshit.“Mother” tries to imagine what color looks like, but her puny ladybrain is not capable of this. I’m sure Aronofsky — who wrote the script as well as directed — would say it is. Allegory and metaphor are what you find hidden underneath a top layer of story that stands on its own. Nothing here makes a damn lick of sense — not even in a nightmarish, fever- dream sort of way — except as the literal sequence of events that plods across the screen, and the “characters” are nothing more than cardboard stand- ups representing themselves. No one has a name here, but the press notes and the credits refer to Jennifer Lawrence’s (Passengers, X- Men: Apocalypse) character as “Mother,” even though she does not become a mother until halfway through the film, and even though it actually does not seem likely during that first half that she will ever become a mother.

Motherhood is simply her inevitable fate, I guess. Mother has no existence outside the huge, rambling mansion in the middle of nowhere where she lives with her husband (Javier Bardem: Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, The Gunman). He does have an external existence: he is not “Father” but “Him.” He is able to leave the house and venture far beyond their middle- of- nowhere — she never does — and he is a writer, a poet, someone with adoring fans eagerly awaiting his next book, someone with work that bears no connection to her, beyond how, of course, she serves as his muse, his “inspiration.” She literally does nothing but serve him: she is renovating the house, which burned down before they met.

She wants to “make a paradise” for him. She has no other desire. She has no personality or purpose beyond that. We cannot even call her self- abnegating: she doesn’t appear to have had any self to begin with. She might actually be a manifestation of the house, which has a bloody heart and a bleeding vulva — yes, the house has these things. The house is as alive as she is. Or she is as dead as a house.

Anyway, paradise is invaded: one of Him’s stalkerish fans, Man (Ed Harris: Run All Night, Gravity), stops by for a visit, and won’t leave. Later, Man’s wife, Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer: Dark Shadows, New Year’s Eve), arrives and makes herself obnoxiously at home. Woman is also pretty much defined solely as a mother, to adult sons Oldest Son and Younger Brother (played by real- life brothers Domhnall [The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens] and Brian Gleeson [Logan Lucky, Snow White and the Huntsman]).

If Mother’s “paradise” comment was a tip- off, the Cain- and- Abel dynamic between the adult sons cements it: Aronofsky is going to wallow in a tortured literalism not only about literary creation but capital- C Creation, but only from a narrow and abhorrently misogynistic perspective: men create, and Create, and women suffer for men’s art, and for men’s religion, and that’s just the way it is, now and forever. Dude, we know. This is not something you discovered. Or did you honestly only just learn this?) In Aronofsky’s eye here, women do not create — beyond giving birth to sons for their fathers to do with as they please — and there is no vision or imagination that comes from the mind of a woman: Mother dresses in drab neutrals, and she’s painting Him’s house in the same noncolors.

The creativity of men, however: Wow! It is chaotic and violent, apocalyptic, even. It thrives on chaos and violence.

Him craves that excitement, and encourages it, and too bad if Mother will become a victim of it.“Mother” tries to imagine what life beyond the house is like, but her uncreative ladybrain fails her. Mother exists for no purpose in this tale except so that abuse may be heaped upon her in the service of Him, and so that she may be venerated by Him for it. But that is also the purpose of Mother to mother! The most generous interpretation of Aronofsky’s intent here is that he is somehow condemning the reduction of women to dehumanized objects and brutalized symbols in both the overarching mythology of our culture and in the prosaic daily operations of Big Entertainment, such as — ahem — the making of movies and the resulting stories that end up on the screen. Aronofsky may even think he is sympathetic to Mother: the entire film is seen through her eyes, and intimate handheld cameras give us her dizzied, sickened perspective on events that are horrifying and menacing her. But it’s the same hatred for women masquerading as feminism that a slasher flick engages in when it sexualizes a final girl’s terror for the titillation of the audience. You don’t counter the awful crap that gets piled on women by our culture, High or Low, by piling on more of the same awful crap.

See also: Ex Machina and Under the Skin for two other recent contemptible attempts by male filmmakers to have their feminist cake and their misogyny too.) If mother! Mother” wonders why her husband loves his fans more than her, but her sad ladybrain finds no answers. But the worst, the absolutely most infuriating thing about mother! Woe is the male- creator- god, so afflicted by his talent, so tormented by his doubt, so wracked by artist’s block! Look at the damage the love of his fans, and his love for his fans, causes! Look what his genius made him do to his inspiration, his muse! It hurts him more than it hurts her, don’cha know.

This is how abusers talk. Not that there is any awareness of this on the part of the film.) And any supposed feminist wokeness on Aronofsky’s part that might redeem this cinematic rending of garments, this creative self- flagellation, is instantly negated by screaming reality.

The filmmaker might think he has scorned his poet- god’s need for validation and “inspiration” in a trite much- younger woman — there are 2. Bardem and Lawrence — when he has Man scoff, “I thought she was your daughter,” not wife.

But this is true: Aronofsky, who is precisely the same age as Bardem, is now dating Lawrence. So is Bardem’s poet- god worthy of scoff and scorn, or worth emulating? What of Aronofsky? Sometimes it’s easy and fine to separate the art from the artist, and sometimes he makes that laughably impossible.

Shannyn Sossamon - Wikipedia. Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon, commonly known as Shannyn Sossamon (born October 3, 1. American actress and musician. She has appeared in the films A Knight's Tale (2. Days and 4. 0 Nights, The Rules of Attraction (both 2. The Order (2. 00.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2. The Holiday (2. 00.

She appeared in Wristcutters: A Love Story (2. CBS supernatural drama Moonlight, which ran for one season from 2. She subsequently headlined the horror remake One Missed Call (2. Watch Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Online Fandango. Teen Choice Award nomination. She has appeared in a number of independent films, including Life Is Hot in Cracktown (2. Road to Nowhere (2.

The Day (2. 01. 1) and The End of Love (2. She has made several television appearances, in the first season of ABC's drama Mistresses (2. M. Night Shyamalan's Wayward Pines (2. She played the character of Pandora in season three of FOX's Sleepy Hollow. As a musician, she provided vocals and drums to Warpaint from 2.

Sossamon's sole recording with the band is the 2. EP, Exquisite Corpse. Sossamon has directed and produced short and musical videos, released through Maudegone Theater, an online- video project she created in 2. Early life[edit]Shannon Marie Kahololani Sossamon was born on October 3, 1. Honolulu, Hawaii, and was raised in Reno, Nevada.[1] She is the daughter of Sherry Sossamon, a nurse, and Todd Lindberg. She has a younger sister, singer Jenny Lee Lindberg, who was born in 1.

Her parents divorced when she was five, and Sossamon and her sister were then raised by her mother,[2] who married Randy Goldman, a salesman and manager of an auto dealership.[3][4] Her maternal grandmother is of Hawaiian and Filipino descent, while the rest of her ancestry is English, German, Dutch,[5]French, and Irish.[6] Sossamon attended Galena High School in Reno, graduating in 1. The day after her high school graduation, she relocated in Los Angeles with two friends, to study dance.[6][8] "Nothing compares to that feeling when you first leave home and arrive somewhere new," she once recalled. When we woke up in the morning, just making coffee felt amazing.

It felt like being so free – just to wake up and make coffee and look at our couch. Nothing beats that".[6] The y in her first name was an adolescent alteration in 1. Early work and breakthrough[edit]After moving to Los Angeles in 1. DJ, booking gigs in local clubs and performance venues.[6] While Sossamon was pursuing a career in dance, she actually never planned to become a professional dancer, recalling: "It was more like I just love to do this. It wasn't clear what I wanted, but I was fine with that. I had never needed a plan. I'm really good at feeling safe in the unknown in the aspect of planning your life".[1.

Around that time, Sossamon established her early career by modeling for various companies including Sassy Magazine, Unionbay Clothing, American Eagle Outfitters, and Planned Parenthood. She appeared in two television commercials for Gap and in music videos for artists such as Daft Punk, The Goo Goo Dolls, Cher, and the rock group 9xdead. In 1. 99. 7, Sossamon guest- starred as several characters in three episodes of Mr. Show with Bob and David,[1.

Francine Maisler, while assisting a fellow DJ at Gwyneth Paltrow's brother's birthday party.[1. Sossamon beat Kate Hudson for the lead female role in Brian Helgeland's medieval adventure dramedy A Knight's Tale, opposite Heath Ledger.[1. She was cast as Lady Jocelyn, the love interest of a peasant (Ledger) pretending to be a knight in the world of Middle Age jousting. The film premiered on May 1. Robin Clifford for Reeling Reviews concluded that Sossamon was "pretty but little more than an object of affection"[1. Rob Blackwelder, of SPLICEDwire, called her role "the movie's weakest link", noting that although Sossamon was a "wonderfully wicked flirt", her character "isn't terribly well established and she's the most jarringly modern sight in this ancient tale".[1.

A Knight's Tale garnered US$1. Sossamon into mainstream audiences. It earned the actress two Teen Choice Awards nominations as well as three MTV Movie Awards nominations, including one for "Best Breakthrough Performance".[2. In 2. 00. 2, Sossamon starred in Miramax Films' romantic comedy 4. Days and 4. 0 Nights, as Erica Sutton, the love interest of Josh Hartnett's character, Matt Sullivan.

The movie depicts Sullivan as he meets Sutton during a period of his abstinence from any sexual contact for the duration of Lent. It received mixed reviews from critics, but was a major box office success, earning a worldwide total of US$9. US$1. 7 million.[2. Sossamon's part gained critical acclaim in general; About. With starring roles opposite two of Hollywood's hottest young actors (Hartnett and Heath Ledger) under her belt, Shannyn's star is rising fast. Her exotic looks separate her from the pack, and her performances have, thus far, been exceptional".[2. Praising Sossamon and co- star Harnett, Elvis Mitchell wrote for The New York Times: "Mr.

Hartnett matches up with Ms. Sossamon, and not only because their eyebrows signal that they are both Vulcans. She is a more direct performer; what she does is not acting – yet – but she can look as if she's listening. Her approach contrasts hilariously with his gentility".[2. Afterwards, both actors received a Teen Choice Award nomination for "Choice Film Chemistry".[2. Sossamon subsequently played Lauren Hynde in Roger Avary's dark satirical ensemble The Rules of Attraction, an adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellisbook of the same name.

The picture, about promiscuous college student, included scenes of suicide, heavy drug use, and sexual contents. It received extremely mixed reviews from critics; most either loving it or hating it.[2. Critical response for Sossamon was more favorable, with website Joblo. David Noh, of Film Journal International found her performance "heartbreaking" and described it as "an uncanny blend of fragile- fey and urchin- tough, marked by a feverish wit which often proves her undoing as much as her salvation".[3. Also showing approval of her portrayal, director Avary remarked during an interview the actress was "like a wild animal you can't really control.

What she does and what she brings is complete and honest truth to the scene. Something real", and author Ellis, stated that she "hasn't had much of a chance to shine before, but she's a star. She seems freer in this movie than she was before and is totally empathetic, which is a quality that doesn't come easily to most actors".[3. Rules of Attraction is considered a cult hit; [3. US$1. 1,8. 19,2. 44 worldwide, almost tripling its budget (US$4 million).[3. Hiatus[edit]Sossamon and Heath Ledger starred together again in Brian Helgeland's supernatural thriller The Order. The film revolved around the investigation of the suspicious death of an excommunicated priest and the discovery of a Sin Eater headquartered in Rome.

It was released in late 2. Critical reception for Sossamon was average with 7.

M Pictures finding the movie "well acted" by the leads but e. Film. Critic. com remarking that she, "so charming in both "A Knight's Tale and 4. Days and 4. 0 Nights, is given very little to do besides utilize her 'tortured soul with dark eye makeup' schtick".[3. The movie also made little interest at the box office, opening at number six at the charts; it finished its theatrical run with US$1. US$3. 5 million.[3.