David Lowery, the audacious filmmaker behind The Green Knight and A Ghost Story, has delivered his most unconventional work yet with Mother Mary. The film blends pop concert movie, relationship drama, supernatural fantasy, and body horror, starring Anne Hathaway as a visionary musician preparing a major comeback. She seeks a dress from her former collaborator and ex-friend Sam, played by Michaela Coel. The narrative oscillates between Hathaway performing stadium anthems written by Charli XCX, Jack Antonoff, and FKA twigs, and tense two-hander scenes with Coel in a creepy barn haunted by memories and other entities.
Divided Reactions to Mother Mary
The film has sparked polarized responses. Some critics have called it a 'head-scratcher' and a 'disaster,' while others praise it as 'bewitching,' 'weirdly mesmerising,' and 'flat-out marvellous.' Lowery admits he cares about audience reception but remains committed to his vision.
Lowery's Response to Critics
'I definitely want everyone to love my movies; I'm a people pleaser,' Lowery told Metro. 'But at the same time, I want to make movies that push and provoke – and I know that those aren't going to be for everyone. So when I make a movie like this, it's really important for me to just put the blinders up and focus on what it is that I'm trying to express and know that there will be at least one other person out there that feels the same way I do. Hopefully more than just one! And respect the fact that it's not for everyone; that's okay.'
He added: 'I think about all the movies that I go to see that I don't love, but I appreciate them having been made. So I hope, at the very least, if someone goes to see this and it's not for them, they appreciate the intent with which it was made.'
The Balancing Act of Artistic Vision
Lowery acknowledges the internal pressure to either rein in his ideas for broader appeal or double down on originality. 'I always want to push the boundaries, and then I get worried that I've pushed them too far, and I need to retreat to something a little safer. I feel both of those things can be true.' He points to his Disney remakes – Pete's Dragon (2016) and Peter Pan & Wendy (2023) – as examples of commercial work that still allowed for creative fulfillment. 'I really feel that there's a place for that and great work can be done in that mode because sometimes, that's just what you need to get the movie made. I get it. But I also would be so sad if that's all that was made.'
A24 and the Evolving Audience
Mother Mary is Lowery's third collaboration with A24, a studio known for championing bold films. 'There certainly is an audience that is ready for this movie in a way that there wasn't 10 years ago when I first collaborated with them on A Ghost Story. They've really nurtured that audience,' Lowery said.
Anne Hathaway's Performance
Lowery praised Hathaway's portrayal, calling it 'one of the greatest performances of her career.' He noted that she 'took 10 years of hard work and crammed it into 4 months' to convincingly portray a pop superstar. 'Watching in a close-up the decisions going on, second by second, in her performance was truly a masterclass.' The body horror elements, from a tooth being yanked out to a knife slicing open a chest, emerged from Lowery's own experiences with the physical toll of creation. 'Body horror became a part of it because that is just part of what it means to commit to the act of self-expression, not wholeheartedly but whole bodily.'
Connection to The Devil Wears Prada 2
Lowery is amused by the coincidence that Mother Mary and the upcoming The Devil Wears Prada 2 both involve fashion and the color red. 'I love that these movies exist in the same universe and are sort of bound by the colour red that probably needs to be transformed into a dress.' He describes Mother Mary simply as 'a movie about a pop star who needs a dress.'
Mother Mary is now showing in UK cinemas.
