Mother Mary (15)

Mother Mary is a pop culture phenomenon on a par with Madonna, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. Following a terrifying incident during a live concert, captured in real time on thousands of mobile phones, Mary steels herself for an eye-catching comeback performance. The physically scarred diva wants her resurrection to be perfect so she abandons her ego-puffing inner circle and flies to the English countryside where former best friend and costumer designer Sam Anselm has a tumbledown studio.

LondonNet Film Review

Mother Mary (15) Film Review from LondonNet

Figurative and literal ghosts haunt the impeccably designed frames of Mother Mary, a bewildering yet undeniably hypnotic psychological drama about the tug of war between a pop star and her former costume designer, who jointly imagined the stage persona that inspires fervent fandom around the world, though the latter was never properly credited for her input. A dialogue-heavy opening hour rubs fresh salt into deep wounds before writer-director David Lowery’s script shapeshifts into something slippery and supernatural that never clearly articulates its narrative intentions…

Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) is a pop culture phenomenon on a par with Madonna, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga, who commands a rabid and adoring fanbase. Her Joan of Arc aesthetic, replete with elaborate halo headdress, was the brainchild of her former best friend Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) but Mary took credit for the religious iconography in interviews, driving a wedge between the women. They have been estranged for years. Following a terrifying incident during a live concert, captured in real time on thousands of mobile phones, Mary steels herself for an eye-catching comeback performance supported by singer-songwriter Miel Contrera (Alba Baptista). The physically scarred diva wants her resurrection to be perfect but her costume doesn’t feel quite right.

In a moment of madness, Mary abandons her ego-puffing inner circle including Jade (Sian Clifford) and Nikki (Kaia Gerber) and flies to the English countryside where Sam, now a celebrated fashion designer, has a tumbledown studio. The singer begs Sam to make her an outfit that captures the essence of her being. Mary attempts to apologise for never publicly acknowledging their collaboration but Sam isn’t interested in carefully rehearsed speeches. “Catch me by surprise with your sincerity,” she coolly advises, flanked by her personal assistant Hilda (Hunter Schafer).

Mother Mary revisits the phantasmagoria of writer-director Lowery’s 2017 film A Ghost Story through the lens of celebrity, punctuated by slickly choreographed concert sequences replete with an infectious soundtrack of original songs written by Jack Antonoff, Charlie XCX and FKA Twigs. The latter appears on screen in the film’s most unsettling sequence, portraying an interloper to Mary’s coterie who leads a seance and seemingly summons a spirit into her body.

The opening hour is largely a two-hander between Hathaway and Coel and the script polishes dialogue beyond the point of naturalism. Verbal exchanges don’t have the spontaneity or flow of everyday conversation but Coel’s performance continually elevates as her fashion designer reflects on “how closely love and hate are bound”, and Mary deserves neither. Hathaway commands attention when her demanding diva is on stage but she is less engaging trying to make sense of the melancholy that has invaded her singer’s body like a parasite. If Lowery’s film is the surgery to purge her of that otherworldly misery, it’s beautifully botched.

– Kim Hu