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Darren Aronofsky Says People Can’t Look at Him After They See ‘Mother!’

"I want audiences to be prepared...that it's a very intense ride,” the director said in an interview with Vulture.

Darren Aronofsky

Darren Aronofsky

Okauchi/REX/Shutterstock

Darren Aronofsky wants audiences to remember that he made “Black Swan” and “Requiem for a Dream” before they go see “Mother!,” his latest film. “The threshold is as high, if not higher, than that,” the filmmaker told Vulture of his most secretive film to date. “Most people, after they see the film, they don’t even wanna look at me.”

So far, this is the only description: “A couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.” The gorgeous illustrated poster revealed little more, though that didn’t stop some from scouring the art for clues.

Though remaining tight-lipped about the details of the film, Aronofsky urged audiences to be prepared for some uncomfortable moments, as has become his trademark. “It’s definitely different than anything else out there right now. For anyone who has an appetite for that, we’ll try do to our best to serve up a delicious meal.” Might cryptic food metaphors portend the mysterious film’s subject matter?

“It’s a cruise missile shooting into a wall, this film,” he said. “I want audiences to be prepared for that and prepped that it’s a very intense ride.”

He also revealed his thinking behind that exclamation point in the title: “It reflects the spirit of the film… The film kind of has an exclamation point at the end of it.” Aronofksy was honest about how making the film on a shoestring budget enabled him to take the kind of risks that are likely to have people squirming in their seats. It also helped that he had a big name like Lawrence, who also happens to be his girlfriend, attached from the beginning. For those two reasons, the director said, the film “wasn’t such a hard thing to convince people to do.”

The interview contains the most revealing details Aronofksy has shared about “Mother!” so far, including this pensive musing: “I just wanted the movie to howl at the moon.” Read it on Vulture.

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