A Sacred Bond: Mother Mary Blurs the Line Between Creator and Muse

David Lowery's latest rewards those who dive into the details

It’s hard to imagine that we are only five years removed from director David Lowery’s last feature, The Green Knight. He’s traded in the Arthurian epics of the past for something far more modern– the plight of the pop star and their creator. But make no mistake, Lowery has extended his journey into religious ideology filling the frame of his latest feature, Mother Mary, with Christian imagery, golden halos, the correlation between fame and religion. It’s deliberately a slow affair and for a movie originally billed as, “Anne Hathaway is a pop star in turmoil with music from Charli XCX and FKA Twigs,” it unfolds much differently than that log line would make you believe. Nevertheless, I was captivated by the rapport between Hathaway and co-star Michaela Coel, as well as the symbolism between a creator and her muse. 

Mother Mary (Hathaway) is tired of the persona she’s carried during her early pop stardom. She needs inspiration and the only way she believes she’ll find it is to go off the grid and reconnect with Sam Anselm (Cole). Sam is a moderately successful costume designer who rose to prominence designing immaculate costumes for Mary. Despite their shared history, there’s clearly animosity there. Interspersed with their conversation is concert footage of Mother Mary, showing her glowing on stage. The secrets and resentments between the two women unfold piecemeal throughout the movie, until Mary shares a story that brings even more significance to their relationship.

It’s a difficult movie to talk about because much of the biggest, or in turn most riveting, moments come when things are finally pieced together. Sam knows which knives to unleash on Mary, revealing that she’s never listened to any of Mary’s music despite their previous relationship. While the nature of their relationship is never disclosed, it's hard to imagine that they weren’t somehow intimately entwined. Lowery lets the audience come to many conclusions, even why the women ultimately go their separate ways. For my part, I believe it's as simple as Mary pursuing a music career, leaving the costume creator that created her image behind. 

Lowrey has stated that Madonna has the biggest influence on Hathaway’s character. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Madonna used Catholic iconography frequently, most heavily on her hit song “Like a Prayer.” Lowery told Indiewire, “My parents were very anti-Madonna, and they were very explicit that she was being sacrilegious, not only in the way in which she used that iconography, but in her very name.” And like most children, when Lowery was told he shouldn’t listen to Madonna, he only became more interested. 

The imagery that Lowery has used in his creation of Mother Mary couldn’t be more explicit. Mary (along with Sam) have created a persona that not only craves devotion, but her songs like “Holy Spirit” and “Burial” only strengthen that bond. Madonna wasn’t the only influence on Mother Mary, as even the fervent devotion that fans have with Taylor Swift colored how Lowery views the connection between pop music and religion. 

If you were worried that Mother Mary wasn’t going to employ something otherworldly like Lowery’s previous work, fear not. That story I mentioned earlier concerns a vengeful spirit. It’s the reason that Mary has sought out Sam, and through their shared trauma they can heal again. It’s an aside that takes most of the second half, and proves that it would take something miraculous to bring these two together. 

To be completely honest I was surprised that the audience I watched Mother Mary stayed for the whole thing. It can be frustratingly obtuse, asking viewers to connect the dots on many important plot developments. For those same reasons, Mother Mary fascinated me as I watched how these two women found some sense of absolution. It won’t be for everyone, but I found myself entranced by Mother Mary. [B]

Mother Mary is currently playing in select theaters.

Here are the movies I caught up with in April:

As always, if you’d like to follow along on Letterboxd, my account can be found here.