“Mother Mary” in the cinema: Anne Hathaway as a haunted pop star

That wasn’t the case for a long time, Anne Hathaway was considered embarrassing, too trying, a typical “theater kid”. In 2011 she hosted the Oscars together with James Franco, it was an epic disaster: Franco as an unmotivated stoner next to Hathaway’s almost manic energy.

Even when she won the Oscar in 2013 for her role in the musical “Les Misérables,” many were turned off by her acceptance speech: too fake, too pseudo-enthusiastic. Even the word “Hathahate” was invented to describe this phenomenon of internet hate. If you look back on it today, it all seems quite absurd – and has misogynistic connotations.

Today, “cringe” is considered cool anyway, a certain seriousness is more popular than ever, and Anne Hathaway is suddenly “Mother,” internet slang for an icon adopted from the queer subculture. Hathaway herself sees the positive memes with a certain skepticism: “I’m relieved that I don’t have to deal with the negative side for now,” she recently told the New York Times. “But I think both showed me that it’s probably best to keep some distance from all of this.”

In “Mother Mary,” Hathaway plays a pop star who is haunted by a ghost. It’s a smaller, strange film among all the blockbusters. Director David Lowery is known for his very own film language. In “A Ghost Story,” for example, he covered his star Casey Affleck with a white sheet for most of the film, used extremely long takes, and created a deeply peculiar, original work.

Close-ups of expressive faces

The ghost in “Mother Mary” is red and much more glamorous. Anne Hathaway plays the titular pop star, whose real name we never learn. She seems disturbed when she shows up at her former companion Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel). She once designed the costumes for Mother Mary and is now a successful fashion designer who has her studio in a gloomy country house near London – the film was shot in Germany.

This is where most of the film takes place, interspersed with scenes from Mother Mary’s last concert, during which a mysterious incident occurred that ended her career for the time being. She needs a dress for her comeback, and no one else can make that but her former partner. But the resentment that Sam has against her former muse is great. Right at the beginning she calls Mother Mary a “tumor” – and yet allows herself to be convinced to make a dress for her.

The Avengers of the pop world

The whole thing looks great, cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo works with extreme close-ups of the actresses’ expressive faces. Michaela Coel is great as the ousted partner, vacillating between contempt and hurt, and occasionally bringing much-needed humor to the role.

The main problem, however, is that what the two have to say to each other doesn’t necessarily make sense – Bowery’s script isn’t strong enough for a chamber piece, often veering into the theatrical, while the main conflict is never really resolved. When the ghost shows up, it doesn’t really add much to the story.

At least the concert scenes are impressive and Mother Mary’s songs sound like real pop songs. David Lowery has brought together the Avengers of the alternative pop scene for “Mother Mary”: producer Jack Antonoff, known for his collaborations with Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey, hyperpop queen Charli xcx and FKA Twigs, who also has a guest appearance in the film and donated one of her unreleased songs.

And Anne Hathaway? She cries, sings and dances her way through this film with increasing desperation. It’s great fun to watch her, even if you have to work a little hard to get the edgy pop star with tattooed hands off her face – her nerdy image is still too present. “Pop is effortless power, which isn’t really my thing,” she told The New York Times. “For me it’s always about effort.” Even if “Mother Mary” doesn’t work across the board, “Mother” is still Anne Hathaway.