Movie Review: ‘Mother Mary’ starring Anne Hathaway is full of itself, wastes talent with weak plot

The last time I heard Anne Hathaway sing was in 2012 when I saw her give the performance of a lifetime in “Les Misérables” as Fantine. I was eight years old.

Therefore, when I saw that Hathaway would be starring in a new musical drama — an A24 film, at that — with original music written by Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX and FKA Twigs, my 21-year-old self was intrigued.

In retrospect, I should have just re-watched “Les Mis.”

The film opens with mega-famous pop star Mother Mary, played by Hathaway, as she enters the stage of a packed stadium and performs to her adoring fans. Her wardrobe, sound, energy and overall aesthetic are reminiscent of Lady Gaga, and were, to me, obviously inspired by the well-known singer.

Viewers are then introduced to Sam Anselm — played by Michaela Coel — a clearly successful and respected British designer in her studio that also doubles as her home. Sam enters her bedroom from her studio and lies down. During the scene, viewers can hear Sam’s inner dialogue.

“I haven’t seen her in over 10 years, but I could tell she was coming from a thousand miles away,” Sam’s voice says as she falls in a fetal position on her bed.

Mother Mary, who is not referred to in any other way for the entirety of the film, then shows up to Sam’s studio as rain pours down in London, looking disgruntled, pale and generally unhappy — opposite of the Mother Mary we saw on stage a few scenes ago.

Mother Mary storms through Sam’s studio up to her bedroom as many of Sam’s assistants try to stop her, while also looking in shock as they realize they are in the presence of the iconic pop star.

After breaking through the assistants and storming into Sam’s room, the two have a conversation as Sam tries to get to the bottom of why Mother Mary is really there. In this scene, it is implied that Sam was once Mother Mary’s designer and the two shared a close bond, but that Mother Mary did something to destroy their relationship.

With tensions high in the room, Mother Mary reveals she needs a dress for a performance that is happening in three days. This isn’t just any performance, though — this is her first performance since “the incident.”

“The incident” is different from whatever occurred between Sam and Mother Mary. “The incident” happened after Sam and Mother Mary’s relationship ended, but Sam knows all about it, as it was all over social media. Whatever happened traumatized Mother Mary, and she has not performed since — until now.

After Mother Mary begs and pleads with Sam to make her a dress that “feels like her,” Sam begrudgingly agrees. Then the two get to work.

As Sam takes Mother Mary’s measurements, holds up different fabrics to the singer and tries to get a feel for what Mother Mary is looking for in a comeback dress, the layers start to peel back on what happened between the two of them, and what happened to Mother Mary in “the incident.” The film gives most of the context through flashbacks that appear in the design warehouse they are working in, in a very A24 fashion.

Through the two working together on the dress and also hashing out their issues from years past, it is finally revealed to viewers what happened between Sam and Mother Mary and also what happened to Mother Mary more recently in “the incident.”

The reasoning behind their relationship ending was anticlimactic, while the story of “the incident” was just ridiculous. When this information is revealed to viewers around three-quarters of the way through the film, it turns into a horror-style drama. As a fan of horror, this plot was just too silly to get on board with.

There was a lot of symbolism that felt on-the-nose, which was nice when you’re trying to catch on to deeper meanings, but the whole film felt very “fake deep” in that way. Similarly, Sam and Mother Mary pretty much only speak to each other in metaphors, which they even directly address at one point, but the dialog translates pretty cringe-worthy.

One thing to appreciate about the film was the tension between the two main characters. The feeling of betrayal from Sam left you wondering what happened between them — only to be unimpressed with the answer — and if their relationship went not only beyond designer and model, but also beyond friendship. It would have been interesting if the film explored their potentially romantic relationship in more depth.

The film also is very slow, creating boredom for the first part of the movie, and was still boring even when the plot picked up, because everything occurring was so confusing and unremarkable.

The film ends with an important breakthrough for Sam and Mother Mary, which honestly left me more perplexed than anything else. I wanted to be mind-blown by all of it, but it just came across as various creative swings and misses. The acting was so dramatic and exaggerated, which was impressive and enjoyable, but met with the lackluster plot, it made the film seem kind of full of itself.

On the note of acting, the acting was not an issue with the movie. Hathaway and Coel give great performances, and other notable actors including Hunter Schaefer and FKA Twigs give enjoyable performances as well. Paired with a better plot and better execution, this small cast would be unstoppable.

The original songs written for Mother Mary were also not half-bad, and fans of Antonoff, FKA Twigs and Charli XCX will likely enjoy the musical moments.

As someone who not only truly wanted to enjoy “Mother Mary,” but also someone who tends to love movies that leave me baffled, this one missed the mark.

Rating: 2/5