Mother Mary Movie Review

David Lowery, who wrote and directed this film, has a handful of movies that I can’t say enough good things about. His 2017 feature, “A Ghost Story,” a supernatural romance starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara is a personal favorite.​
I’ve seen it a few times and plan on seeing it more, usually with someone who has yet to experience the picture. “Mother Mary” won’t be in the “must-see” category, but there’s something about it that was captivating, even in its eccentricity.

It’s beautifully shot, colorful, and it’s revelatory, but the peculiarity may be too much, even for lovers of the unusual. However, an audience can be brought around due to the incredible performance of Michaela Coel, who plays Sam. When she’s on screen, you won’t be able to look away. Her voice pulls you in, grabs you, and holds you tight, which is good because this movie is dialogue-heavy. If you like a movie with a lot of action, this could be a turn-off, but with Michaela delivering many of the lines, consider it at least a streaming-service watch.  

Anne Hathaway plays Mother Mary, a famous pop star (think Madonna) who was once deeply in love with her costume stylist, Sam, who became a chic, high-fashion couturier. She isn’t very interested but decides to make a dress for her. Mary wants to sing Sam her new song, but Sam doesn’t want the song to influence her. The dress is for her, not the song. She does what she does, and it comes from Mary talking, revealing things that fit what she will wear.

When Mary’s career took off, she left Sam behind, completely cutting her out. She tells her that she needed a change, making the decision without Sam even being a thought in her head. Sam reminds her of these things, as you hear the cold snip-snip of Sams scissors. She is, at least, cutting the fabric for the dress. Mary has gotten that far.

There’s a lot of room for interpretation in the film, but it’s obvious that they are both still in pain from the break-up. Mary could be there to get back together with Sam. Can Sam or has Sam already moved on? They are both doing well, professionally but not emotionally. You can tell that much right away. They’re both a mess.

A good way into the film, Sam tells Mary about a ghost she saw. The ghost is shown at the foot of the bed. It looks to be a bloody mass. It left a streak of blood on the sheets as it fell to the floor. Then you see the ghost as light as the material Sam likes to work with. It’s thin and wispy, haunting and beautiful. Mary tells her she saw the same ghost, but it was more frightening.

The heartbreak between the two is thinly disguised as the delicate material the ghost is made of. Lowery allows you to see their sorrow as a tangible object. Mary performs a dance for Sam to put her feelings and the missing lyrics of the song into motion. You see a similar dance come from a young girl at a different point in the film. Was the mass or was someone seen once something they loved and lost? A child, perhaps? That’s for you to decipher. What happened between these two? The movie is deep, I won’t lie, and it’s not for everybody. The artsy audience will appreciate what this is, but Lowery needed to taper it even for them.