Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer, Sam Anselm, on the eve of her comeback performance.

‘Mother Mary’ follows a hugely successful pop star (the titular Mary, played by Anne Hathaway) who, after something goes wrong in her life, turns to her former costume designer (Sam, played by Michaela Coel) to help create a new look for a major upcoming performance. The nature of what has happened to her is held back for much of the film, and that mystery becomes a central component throughout the film and shapes the interactions between these two former friends (and probably lovers).

The film is largely carried by its two central performances, with Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel working well together in what is essentially a two-hander. Hathaway captures the fragility beneath the polished surface of a global star, while Coel is a good foil, although they can’t fully prevent it from feeling a little stagey at times. Their dynamic gives the film its strongest moments, particularly when the focus is on the tension and challenges involved in creating art, whether it be music or fashion. Beyond that, the film struggles to find a clear direction. It’s about fame, art and identity in a broad sense, but it never really settles on what it wants to say, instead drifting between ideas without fully committing to any of them. The direction is stylish and there are moments that look impressive, but it leans too heavily on that style without backing it up with a story that holds together.

The music, despite being written by FKA Twigs, Charli XCX and Jack Antonoff, is surprisingly unmemorable, which I thought was a bit disappointing though perhaps the intention was to create music that sounds like it came from a generic famous popstar (if so, well done!). It’s always a difficult balance to strike, but compared to recent music based films like ‘Vox Lux’ or ‘Lurker’, which had at least a couple of memorable moments, nothing here really sticks. There are good elements in ‘Mother Mary’, particularly the performances, but overall it was a bit muddled and underwhelming for me.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: David Lowery

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, FKA Twigs, Atheena Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Isaura Barbé-Brown, Sian Clifford and Alba Baptista

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt27200708/