Mother Mary

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 performing, pop star Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) is on the verge of making a comeback after an on-stage accident. However, the mesmerizing, immensely popular singer, whose works have a spiritual bent akin to some of Madonna’s biggest hits, is frazzled just days before her long-awaited appearance. She’s par…

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 scissor-wielding moments this is essentially a slightly cryptic analysis of their relationship and visually it reminded me of "In Fabric" (2018) at times. It's extremely dialogue heavy and for a good portion of it, it makes you think it could be far more effectively performed on a creatively lit theatrical stage. T…