Martin Scorsese defends Darren Aronofsky's 'mother!'
The legendary director also talked about the ratings put on Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore.
Veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese has come out in support of Darren Aronofsky's mother!, which was panned by critics and audiences alike, calling it a "tactile, so beautifully staged and acted" film.
In a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter, the 74- year-old director defended the Jennifer Lawrence-starrer, saying the movie was subjected to harsh criticism as it does not fit into any definite genre.
"After I had a chance to see mother! I was even more disturbed by this rush to judgement, and that's why I wanted to share my thoughts. People seemed to be out for blood, simply because the film couldn't be easily defined or interpreted or reduced to a two-word description," Scorsese said.
The filmmaker, who is known to direct cult movies such as The Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, questioned the need to explain a film.
"Is it a picture that has to be explained? What about the experience of watching mother!? ... The subjective camera and the POV reverse angles, always in motion... The sound design, which comes at the viewer from around corners and leads you deeper and deeper into the nightmare... The unfolding of the story, which very gradually becomes more and more upsetting as the film goes forward.
"The horror, the dark comedy, the biblical elements, the cautionary fable they're all there, but they're elements in the total experience, which engulfs the characters and the viewers along with them. Only a true, passionate filmmaker could have made this picture, which I'm still experiencing weeks after I saw it," the director wrote.
Earlier, Aronofsky defended his film calling it a punk movie that was bound to divide opinions.
The film became one of only 11 movies to receive F rating from CinemaScore but the director said he was unfazed with the reaction.