Writing
After 2014's Noah, Aronofsky began working on a children's film. During that process, he came up with a new idea. He ended up writing the screenplay for Mother! in five days, much faster than his usual pace.[5] The film uses a dream-logic narrative, of which Aronofsky has noted: "if you try to unscrew it, it kind of falls apart ... it's a psychological freak-out. You shouldn't over-explain it."[6]
Casting
Jennifer Lawrence was reportedly in talks to join the film by October 2015[7] and by January 2016, Javier Bardem was also in talks to star.[8] In March, it was announced Kristen Wiig had been cast in the film[9] and, by April, Domhnall Gleeson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris and Brian Gleeson were added to the cast.[10] Sebastian Stan auditioned for Domhnall Gleeson's part, but "hyperventilated" during the audition due to a panic attack.[11] Lawrence was paid $15 million, while Harris and Pfeiffer earned $3 million and $5 million, respectively.[2]
Filming
On a production budget of $30 million,[2] principal photography began in Montreal, Québec under the shooting title Day 6 from June to August 2016.[12] The cast first rehearsed for three months in a warehouse, during which time Aronofsky was able to "get a sense of movement and camera movement, and learn from that." Lawrence was reportedly quite relaxed through rehearsals; Aronofsky said that he "didn't get to know the character until we started shooting, and she showed up."[5]
Music
Mother! was the first of Aronofsky's films without the involvement of composer Clint Mansell.[13] It initially had a score composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, but after seeing the 90-minute score synced up with a rough cut of the film, Aronofsky and Jóhannsson agreed not to use it. They tried using the score at only a few moments, then a minimal version of the score with sound design by Craig Henighan, incorporating noises into the soundscape of the house. They ultimately decided the film worked best with no music.[14] Composer Ólafur Arnalds recounted the following story about this decision:
... he had spent a year writing the score for Darren Aronofsky's Mother! and at some point realised that the film was better with no music at all. He proceeded to convince Darren to delete everything. It takes a real, selfless artist to do that. To realise the piece is better without you. The most important part of creating art is the process, and Jóhann seemed to understand process. The score needed to be written first in order to realise that it was redundant. So in my view, Mother! still has a score by Jóhann. The score is just silence ... deafening, genius silence.[15]
Over the closing credits, the film features a cover of Skeeter Davis's "The End of the World" performed by Patti Smith.[16]
