We make deals in life. Compromises. I made a few going into “Mother Mary” (2026). Michaela Coel had to be fabulous. Anne Hathaway had to be fabulous. It had to look beautiful. Then the story did not have to be good. Two estranged friends, a famous fashion designer (Coel) and a pop star icon of almost Biblical levels (Hathaway), reunite when the latter drops in unannounced demanding that her former friend make a dress for her comeback. They finally hash out their differences and reveal to each other what happened after they split up. Will Mother Mary “MM” (Hathaway) get the dress that she needs to be herself again? Writer and director David Lowery makes a psychological horror film, which he does not bill as such, about a friendship/professional collaborative break up that immediately devastated Sam Anselm (Coel), who found a way to get over it, and delayed wrecking MM. Sorry y’all. If it is queer, it is subtext, and the story is going to piss off so many people that they may be tempted to skip “The Devil Wears Prada 2” (2026).
Watching “Mother Mary” and the far more conventional, but superior “The Christophers” (2026), it is apparent that Coel could read the phone book and make it sound riveting. It is a good skill to have because “Mother Mary” is a lot of telling and showing almost as if it was adapted from a play. It is not. Fortunately, it is cinematic in the way that Lowery depicts the conversation though location manager Ruggery de Virgiliis does a lot of heavy lifting with the fashion house in the front and the barn workshop in the back, which is like a rehearsal stage. Costume designer Bina Daigeler’s hard work makes Coel as a fashion designer believable because those looks were fierce. Coel apparently helped with the writing, and now I’m reconsidering whether I should watch “I May Destroy You” (2020). The movie may not be unreasonably long in terms of minutes, but it is long in spirit. While Coel will always be compelling regardless of the material, at some point, you may feel inspired to yell at her character, “We get it. She hurt you.” Also let’s talk about that name. Sounds like Sam Adams and evokes Ansel Adams.
Hathaway does not quite measure up when it comes to delivering her reams of dialogue, but also her character is crumbling so MM should wilt a tad under Sam’s gaze. Hathaway is credible as an international superstar who can fill stadiums and as the person behind the persona who is crumbling and runs to the only person who knew her before. She wears the costumes; the costumes do not wear her. Production designer Francesca Di Mottola and set decorator Lotty Sanna worked well together to create MM’s world onstage and off. A big complaint about movies with music icons is how quickly the house of cards falls apart when it is time to perform, but everyone holds up their end of the bargain. While not all the songs are bangers, many are actually quite good, and Hathaway does all her own singing. Jack Antonoff, Charli XCX and FKA twigs took turns writing the songs in varying combinations, and congratulations to them for proving that their music careers were not accidents. They can write on cue. Filmed at another time, Rose McGowan would absolutely kill in this role. Hathaway more physically resembles Taylor Swift but feels more like a psychological nod to Lady Gaga, especially with Sam remarking that MM wore honey on the red carpet as a dress. Seeing the behind-the-scenes of the concert feels authentic and occasionally staged as if it is an elaborate stage production.
The flashback scenes are staged as if the two characters in the present are walking on to the set of their past to watch their memories kind of like “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey”. (2025) and “Eternity” (2025) except more seamless. It creates an eerie doppelganger feeling, especially when Sam’s reflection is from the past and her present self is standing in front of the mirror. Combined with the huge shears, it feels like a reference to “Us” (2019). “Mother Mary” borrows a lot of elements from other movies: “Black Swan” (2010), “Suspiria” (2019), “Talk to Me” (2022), “Smile 2” (2024). You may tolerate the horror elements because they are well done even if they are little convenient and coy. Basically, a special red fabric with female pronouns possessed MM, and she needs Sam’s help to get it out. That fabric is the symbol of all of Sam’s pain over their split, but also the bond that once existed between them. It is witchy without the witchcraft, demonic without the demon, gothic without the house, and violent without the intent. It is part of a larger trend of movies that have jettisoned traditional mythology for vibes and seems to create something vaguely, but not thoroughly supernatural: “The Serpent’s Skin” (2025), “The Bride” (2026), and “Forbidden Fruits” (2026). Here it would be mealy mouthed and a bunch of pulled punches without a terrific hotel scene involving a Ouija board and an Irish chant. Quick, who wants to sign a petition for subtitles for that scene of the Irish words alone so we can look up what is being said?
“Mother Mary” does make a valuable contribution to society. Finally, a movie knows what to do with FKA twigs. She is perfect here with her accent evoking mysterious women who are more dangerous than they appear. If Tim Burton was still in his heyday and was not so committed to the pale goth girl, she would be perfect in one of his movies as a mysterious lead woman. In other movies, she comes across as frail and spacey, but here, she started grounded and normal before going to weird then she committed to the bit with some impressive physicality that almost seemed like special effects. The rest of the cast is underutilized, particularly Hunter Schafer, who plays Hilda, Sam’s assistant. Also, it may have improved the movie to get a sense of MM’s entourage and what their routine was on a good day so when things go south, it makes the scene land harder because the individual reactions would be more satisfying.
As much as I wanted to love “Mother Mary,” I did not connect with the film on an emotional level, only on an aesthetic level. For all of Sam’s posing, she kind of did not learn the lesson that she started ten years ago. She prioritized MM over her own work for her show. While she reignited her creative juices with healing their rift, the dynamic has not really changed. She had no choice in getting retraumatized and vulnerable to save MM. I would be willing to watch it a second time to see if I would appreciate it more.
