Jennifer Lawrence, one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, has never been shy about sharing her experiences-even when it comes to her own confusion about a film she starred in. In 2017’s Mother!, directed by Darren Aronofsky, Lawrence took on the lead role in a psychological horror that left both audiences and the actress herself puzzled. “I’m going to be honest. Well, I was sleeping with the director, so I had the CliffNotes. So, five. Or four?” Lawrence admitted on Watch What Happens Live when asked how much she understood the film.
The film, which featured an A-list cast including Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Ed Harris, drew polarized reactions, with a 68% Rotten Tomatoes score and a reputation for confusing storytelling. Aronofsky himself described his intention as wanting to “make a punk movie and come at you,” highlighting the film’s deliberately challenging nature.
Lawrence and Aronofsky’s relationship began during the production of mother! and ended just two months after its release. The actress has since spoken about the difficulties of dating a director while promoting his film. “Dating the director was different. We’d be on the [press] tour together, I’d come back to the hotel, and the last thing I want to talk about or think about is a movie. He comes back from the tour, and that’s all he wants to talk about and I get it. It’s his baby. He wrote it. He conceived it. He directed it,” Lawrence said in an interview with Adam Sandler. She added, “I was doing double duty trying to be a supportive partner, while also being like, ‘Can I please, for the love of God, not think about Mother! for one second?’”
The role itself was demanding, with Lawrence revealing she suffered injuries on set, including a dislocated rib from hyperventilating during intense scenes. Aronofsky commented that Lawrence “lost control” due to the emotional weight of the material, saying, “I wasn’t pushing Jennifer on that day. I was pulling her back to remember that we were just making a movie.”
While Mother! remains one of the most divisive films in recent memory, Lawrence’s openness about her experience-and her relationship with the director-continues to draw attention to the complex dynamics that can arise when personal and professional lives intersect in Hollywood.
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English (US) · 