Mother Mary

The eponymous rock star (Anne Hathaway - or perhaps Margot Robbie or Natalie Portman?) has had some sort of an incident with her erstwhile friend and fashion designer "Sam" (Michaela Coel) and so when she turns up unannounced at her home in the middle of a thunderstorm, she can't be too surprised that the reception she gets is just as wet. She needs a frock. A frock to end all frocks. She needs "Sam" to design it for her, as only she really understands her; knows her; yada yada... Barring a few interventions from her assistant "Hilda" (Hunter Schafer) and some briefly menacing…

A time-honored adage astutely maintains that, in many cases, “less is more” – unless, of course, there’s little to hold someone’s interest in the first place, in which case “more” needs to be supplemented to create something more worthy of appreciation. At the same time, though, whatever is added to the mix needs to be inherently worthwhile to make its inclusion beneficial, because, if it’s not, it doesn’t matter what’s incorporated for improvement. And, sadly, that’s the core issue plaguing this latest dramatic release from writer-director David Lowery. After a protracted absence from…

I'm always drawn to stories that show the darker side of fame. I went into *Mother Mary* expecting an authentic takedown of the modern pop industry, something that questions idol worship and the price of overexposure. Instead, I found a movie of extreme contrasts. The flawless visuals constantly battle a dense and exhausting script. It’s a visually stunning project, but it trips over its own emotional detachment. The camera work and production design carry a lot of weight here. They capture the brutal intensity of the music and fashion worlds through gorgeous but intentionally suffocating…