Film Review - Mother Mary
Images courtesy of VVS Films.
Mother Mary: Pop Star Anne Hathaway is Haunted by a Slow Narrative
David Lowery might just be the best modern-day example of Martin Scorsese's famous ‘one for them, one for me’ mantra. He’s been there for Disney to give ‘them’ live action adaptations based on older films: Pete’s Dragon and Peter Pan and Wendy. And when he is not doing that, Lowery runs to A24 to create films not based on classic animated movies: A Ghost Story, The Green Knight, and now Mother Mary.
The film follows Anne Hathaway in its titular role; she’s a global pop star, one that Lowery himself describes as what a ‘Taylor Swift’ like figure will be in ‘10 to 15 years.’ Mary is attempting to rejuvenate herself and her status after an on-stage incident, and to do this, she turns to her once-friend and fashion designer, Sam Anslem (Michaela Coel), to create a dress for her. We’re told early on, ‘it’s just all wrong,’ by Mary, referring to the dress her own team had concocted for her next performance. But of course, she means more than just the dress, because at its core, Mother Mary is a haunted story, literally.
Mary and Sam have a complicated history with one another, the former abandoning Sam and her work many years ago. This leads to a heavily dialogue-driven two-hander film, these discussions between the two leads dragging on for the first hour, most of it taking place in just two rooms of Sam’s dark and almost run-down design studio. The two women seem as different as can be, living opposite lives of a world-famous singer and a quiet-living designer; their struggles, however, are intertwined by a ghostlike force. This is hinted at throughout, but the revelation comes late to the film, and it completely changes its structure. No longer is it just about what’s being said; it's about the visual flashbacks that both women take us through to explain this eerie anomaly in their lives. It’s slow, tedious, and vague. The discussions between the two drag on for the first hour, and even when the dynamic changes, with Mary being more in control of the narrative as more horror-like elements come to the fore, the damage has been done, and the film continues as a slog.
Answers don’t seem to be something that Lowery is interested in, and Mother Mary gives the audience few. We’re left to ponder on the uncanny events depicted. Though the film's relationship between its two lead characters thankfully does get a lot more attention as the feature approaches its resolution.
As for the leads, Coel is the true standout of this film, outshining her A-List co-star Hathaway, who only really shows her talent during the vocal performances singing the catalogue of the few Mother Mary songs, with excellent stage presence. One could not discuss Mother Mary without mentioning these original songs. Written by the duo of Jack Antonoff (no stranger to the world of pop music, his many collaborators including: Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and Sabrina Carpenter), and Charli XCX (perhaps now most well known for her Brat album, but not unknown to the world of film with contributions to the Barbie soundtrack and her own A24 distributed film The Moment from earlier this year), with additional contributions by fellow artist, FKA Twigs, who also plays an important role during a single scene in the film. The songs are big electropop ballads that don’t feel far from a Lady Gaga single, something that the grand, halo-wearing Mother Mary character would belt out in stadiums and arenas around the world.
The film’s imagery is its strongest quality. Lowery and dual cinematographers Andrew Droz Palermo and Rina Yang craft fantastic visuals in this film. Whether it’s the grand performances of Mother Mary on stage, shot like a real concert film, or my personal favourite, the beautiful looking scene of the pop star, only as a silhouette, fatigued and falling over, being forced up the stairs to perform by her team. Mother Mary’s costuming, too, is a treat for the eyes. The beautiful pieces worn by Hathaway - not out of place in this modern era of pop star body suits that represent album eras and concert tours - dazzle and shine as she performs.
Mother Mary is arduous to get through. The intrigue is slowed from the very start, and when it starts to get exciting, you might find yourself already checked out. This is nothing on Lowery’s direction; his visually striking film does have a lot to say, but perhaps it should have found a faster way to get to the talking.
3 out of 5 stars.
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Mother Mary is screening in cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.