David Lowery's Mother Mary stars Anne Hathaway as a former pop A-lister seeking a comeback after a mysterious hiatus. The film follows her arrival at the gothic mansion of fashion designer Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), with whom she shares a fraught history. Coel's Sam initially loathes Mary, calling her a 'carcinogen', but feels a supernatural pull to craft her a stage costume, setting off a series of preposterous yet visually striking events.
Hathaway delivers an earnest performance, at times bordering on theatrical, while Coel provides a subtler, more humorous foil. The script is dour and often incomprehensible, weighed down by philosophical musings. A standout line sees Mary declare she wants to 'have a point' after Sam asks if she wants to 'look like a knife'. The supporting cast includes FKA twigs in a bizarre Ouija board flashback, Sian Clifford as a harried manager, and underused appearances from Hunter Schafer and Kaia Gerber.
The film's arena concert scenes are a visual highlight, with slick choreography and blue-lit routines, but they feel disconnected from the claustrophobic barn conversations that dominate the runtime. Lowery's style experiment boasts Dalí-esque surrealism and high-tech gloss, yet lacks the self-awareness needed for a modern pop star story. The soundtrack, featuring contributions from Charli xcx, FKA twigs, and Jack Antonoff, cannot salvage the film's ludicrous plot.
