Today we're talking about arguably 2017's most controversial film, and one of the most controversial on this podcast: Darren Aronofsky's MOTHER! (technically, mother!) starring JLaw, JBard, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Plus, joining us to bring a skeptical point of view is Vulture's movies editor, Rachel Handler! In this episode: mother! as Biblical allegory and environmental parable; or, is the movie actually all about being a demanding artist?; the religious concept of eternal return vs. scientific concept of the oscillating universe; plus: what's that yellow substance, and how obvious is it he wrote it in five days?

mother! links:

• mother! on IMDb
• mother! on Wikipedia
• AO Scott review of mother!
• Richard Brody review of mother!
• Vulture on interpreting mother!
• Reddit on interpreting mother!
• NY Times profile with the principals
• Rachel's mother! quiz on Vulture
• Aronofsky interview at EW
• Aronofsky interview at Vulture
• Aronofsky interview at IndieWire
• W on mother!'s F CinemaScore
• Rachel Handler on Twitter

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