First she was Ella in “Ella Enchanted” (2004), then she was Fantine in “Les Misérables” (2012), now Anne Hathaway is flexing her vocals once again for A24’s “Mother Mary,” the latest film from writer and director David Lowery.
Following a gruesome viral video, pop star Mother Mary (played by Hathaway) returns to England to enlist the help of former costume designer and estranged past lover, Sam Anselm (played by Michaela Coel), to design a new costume for a monumental, career-reviving performance. However, through conversation, their strained relationship is slowly unraveled to reveal the “ghost” that still haunts them both.
Other notable cast members include Kaia Gerber, Hunter Schafer, and FKA twigs.
Visually, the film is stunning, rich with Rembrandt-like shadows and evocative montages. Yet its script doesn’t quite live up to that beauty. At times, the conversations between Hathaway and Coel feel strained and overextended, reading less like natural dialogue and more like carefully constructed sonnets. The language often blurs the line between metaphor and reality to such a degree that even Hathaway’s character calls attention to it, echoing the audience’s own uncertainty.
In typical Lowery fashion, the film is unflinching in its gore, an element also explored in his 2021 film “The Green Knight.” Here, blood-soaked wounds serve as entry points for a ghost to possess the body, so in Sam’s attempt to exorcise the red ghost from inside Mother Mary, self-inflicted harm becomes part of the ritual. The film is not for the squeamish.
With a pop star at the center of the story, it makes sense that music itself sits at the film’s core. Instrumental pieces drive the narrative forward, while more accessible pop tracks help ground Mother Mary’s persona as a believable chart-topping star. It comes as no surprise that Lowery enlisted Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX for the modern pop-inflected soundtrack, especially given his stated inspiration from Taylor Swift, a frequent Antonoff collaborator, in conversation with “Empire.”
The marketing for the film leans further into this with a “Greatest Hits” record that was unveiled prior to the film’s theatrical release. The project already has nearly three million streams on Spotify, with “Burial,” arguably the films strongest song, leading.
Additionally, the decision to release the film in theaters ahead of “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” also starring Hathaway, seems like a deliberate decision, as both explore the world of fashion. The overlap is further emphasized by Mother Mary’s appearance on the cover of “Vogue,” a indirect callout to the magazine that inspired the “Devil Wear Prada.”
“Mother Mary” is undeniably thought-provoking, its symbolism coursing through every frame. However, like Hathaway’s character, it arrives with intention and ambition, but ultimately falls just short of something transcendent.
On April 24, the film will release in theaters nationwide.
Featured Photo: (L-R) Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel | Credit: Photo by Frederic Batier. Courtesy of A24.
Amelia Cordischi, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Juice Box Press, is an accomplished digital marketing professional with over a decade of experience in media and communications. Her work has been featured in notable publications, including The Boston Globe. A communications graduate of Simmons University in Boston, Amelia served as manager of Simmons College Radio (“The Shark”), where she also launched and co-hosted her radio show, The Find.
In addition to her editorial work, Amelia is an established freelance photographer, with bylines in Blended Magazine and CelebMix, capturing artists and cultural moments across the music and media landscape. Her career began at WCVB-TV’s Chronicle, the ABC affiliate in Boston, where she gained firsthand experience in broadcast journalism and storytelling.
When she’s not taking photos from the photo pit, interviewing emerging artists, or crafting the next Juice Box Press feature, Amelia can be found thrifting and exploring the world of sustainable fashion.