A One Mann’s Movies review of “Mother Mary”. (2026, 3.5*, 15).
Writer/director David Lowery is most famous for his surreal version of “The Green Knight” from 2021. So when you take that fact, and also that this is an A24 film, then you can assume – correctly – that the fantasy/drama “Mother Mary” is going to be a bit ‘out there’. For me, it was a mixed bag, with elements that felt very ‘stagey’ and false but mixed with wildly inventive and surreal flash-backs.
It’s certainly a very interesting film.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
‘Mother Mary’ is an iconic pop act of the Taylor Swift variety. Adored by fans around the world she packs out stadiums. But after an ‘incident’ she has been off the scene for a while and is preparing for a return concert. But she freaks out about not having a dress that resonates with her. So hysterical and sopping wet, she forces her way into the English country studios of her first fashion designer and seeks out a designer Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) – someone with whom she has ‘history’.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC website: “Strong violence, injury detail, language”.)
Talent:
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, Sian Clifford, Atheena Frizzell, FKA twigs, Jessica Brown Findlay, Kaia Gerber, Alba Baptista.
Directed by: David Lowery.
Written by: David Lowery.
Running Time: 1h 52m.
Review:
Positives:
- David Lowery is the master of creating truly striking cinematic images and this film is no exception. There are scenes in here that stick in the mind as truly memorable: not least of which is a striking final shot with which the film ends.
- Anne Hathaway, ahead of getting all light and frothy again with “The Devil Wears Prada 2” later this week, turns in a superbly emotional performance as the star haunted by… well, haunted by ‘something red’. Hathaway also really convinces that she could be a pop idol, performing on the stage like a megastar and singing most of the (FKA twigs-written) songs herself. She also proves that she can really dance….
- …an interpretive dance, without the aid of accompanying music, is quite extraordinary: energetic, violent and visceral, she literal dances like a thing possessed.
- British artist FKA twigs also impresses in her short cameo as the Ouija-dabbling Stella: her biggest role prior to this was as the love interest in the dodgy reboot of “The Crow” a couple of years ago. But she feels like a name that will go on to be a fine actress.
- As an additional observation, it’s actually quite impressive that the cast is *entirely* comprised of women…. so much so that you wonder whether Lowery was the right choice for director! But few of the supporting cast get much airtime…. this is very much a ‘Hathaway and Coel’ show. “Cuckoo” star Hunter Schafer at least gets one standout scene, late in the film, where she acts almost directly to camera; but the very talented Sian Clifford is little more than a walk-on.
- The first act (as below) is slow, but the film really starts going to surprising places in the second reel, following a séance. This is where it earns its ’15’ certificate for some uncomfortably bloody scenes, which are repeated – and more – in a messy finale. The film has toyed with us throughout about these two women being ‘linked’ in some way more than just animosity and this plays out in an interesting physical manner that is surprising.
- There are some really crisp and zesty lines in the script. A couple of my favourites:
- Mary: “I want to be sharp.” Sam (sarcastically): “You want me to turn you into a knife?”. Mary: “I want to have a point!”
- Sam, bitchily about supporting artist Miel Contrera (Alba Baptista): “Her tits are spilling out all over Soho for Givenchy”.
- The costume design is extraordinary: I am no expert to know whether it is any good. But it wouldn’t surprise me if this got an Oscar nomination for Costume come year end.
Negatives:
- The first reel of the film is really slow and incredibly ‘stagey’. It is basically Mary (Hathaway) and her former designer partner (and lover?) Sam (Michaela Coel) verbally sparring in a barn studio with us, as the audience, trying to work out what happened between the couple to cause such a vitriolic division. (Sam absolutely hates Mary, at times bullying her: when Mary complains about feeling unsure about the upcoming concert, Sam snaps “Well quit… or do a good job” without a shred of sympathy; and when Mary offers to play her her new song she retorts “I don’t want to break my streak… of not listening to your music”. Ouch. Zinger.)
- Whereas Anne Hathaway convinced in the role, I’m afraid I can’t say the same for Michaela Coel where sometimes I wasn’t convinced she was really meaning the insults she was speaking.
- Sam, a Brit, gives the distance between London and Dublin in kilometres. Like, what? If Mary had been European, that might have made some sense. But to an American??!
Monkeys?
Early in the end credits there is a monkey of Mother Mary (Hathaway) performing another concert song.
Summary Thoughts:
I can see this film being a divisive one. Genuine Marmite. Some may love it; many will hate it. As my pizza-loving film buddy Chris Kent put it in his review, “Turned out it was less ‘Let It Be’ and more ‘W.T.F?'”.
I am more on the ‘loving it’ side. It’s not without faults. But as I just heard Mark Jenkin (“Rose of Nevada“) say in conversation with Mark Kermode at the BFI, we want to see more different stuff at the cinema. And – like “Rose of Nevada” – this is a long way from ‘same old same old’.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATGaqU6Srcc.
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