66th London Film Festival: Jennifer Lawrence feels 'Mother!' was 'you don't tell me what to do' moment in her career

During Screen Talks, Lawrence opened up about the polarizing review of Darren Aronofsky's 'Mother!'

PUBLISHED OCT 9, 2022

Jennifer Lawrence attends the "Causeway" European premiere during the 66th BFI London Film Festival, at the BFI Southbank on October 08, 2022 in London, England.

Jennifer Lawrence is one of the finest actors of this generation and her credentials are a testament to her meteoric rise in the entertainment industry. She gave us a glimpse of her talent in 2010's drama film 'Winter's Bone' and went on to receive her maiden Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards. Since then, she has given several award-worthy performances and received a beautiful trophy for her devastating performance in 'Silver Linings Playbook'.

The release of that movie and the winning of an Oscar marked a new beginning for her and soon, she started getting bigger roles. From playing Mystique in the 'X-Men' franchise to a scientist in the 'Passengers', Lawrence quickly became a superstar and every filmmaker wanted to work with her. However, a decision taken in 2017 turned out to be very crucial for the actor and gave her the time to rethink her path a little. 2017 saw her starring in Darren Aronofsky's psychological horror movie 'Mother!'The film made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2017 and opened to polarizing reviews. Lawrence was praised for her performance, but people started questioning her choices. Although she has no regrets about making that movie, she certainly feels that it was one of those moments where she wanted to make choices on her own.

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Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem in a still from 'Mother!' (Paramount Pictures)

While talking to Francine Stock about her career as a part of the London Film Festival's 'Screen Talk' series, the 32-year-old superstar opened up about being a part of such a polarizing movie and receiving so many bad reviews. "I would definitely say 'Mother!' was my reaction to 'You can't tell me what to do'. And I mean,that was... no, okay anyway. I don't know who cares," Lawrence said.

During the movie premiere at the Venice Film Festival, 'Mother!' received pretty wild reactions. On one side, a section of people gave the movie a standing ovation while a lot of people were booed when the movie finished. The New York Observer called it "the worst movie of the century", while The Washington Post wrote that even Lawrence's "magnetic performance" couldn't keep the movie going off the rails.

The movie also underperformed at the box-office and went on to earn just $44.5 million over the production budget of $30 million.

Jennifer Lawrence and Francine Stock speak on stage during Screen Talk at the 66th BFI London Film Festival at the Picturehouse Central on October 08, 2022 in London, England.

Lawrence was present at the 66th London Film Festival to promote her new movie 'Causeway', which sees her playing a US war veteran who is forced to return home after suffering a serious brain injury in Afghanistan.

The movie is scheduled for a theatrical release on November 4, 2022, and will also be available for streaming on Apple TV+.