What are critics saying about Anne Hathaway's Mother Mary?

Anne Hathaway as a pop star in a psychological drama? Yes please.

Mother Mary, written and directed by David Lowery, tells the story of how "Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) on the eve of her comeback performance," according to the plot synopsis.

Anne Hathaway performing as Mother Mary A24

Alongside Hathaway and Coel, the film also stars Hunter Schafer, Atheena Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Alba Baptista, Isaura Barbé-Brown, with Sian Clifford and FKA twigs.

Plus, there are original songs from Jack Antonoff, Charli xcx and FKA twigs.

What are critics saying?

(L-R) Anne Hathaway as Mother Mary, and Michaela Coel as Sam AnselmA24

At the time of writing, Mother Mary has received mixed to favourable reviews from critics, with a 71 per cent critics' score on film and TV review aggregate website, Rotten Tomatoes, and an IMDb rating of 5.1 out of 10.

Rolling Stone's David Fear said, "'Weird' is such a dismissive adjective for things that people don’t readily understand or for complex work that wears its idiosyncrasies on its bell sleeve. But [David Lowery] has taken the most accessible subject imaginable and made something wonderfully, gloriously weird out of it."

"It’s all rather vague and uncertain, like the contours of a rotting old friendship; the movie’s surfaces are as simple as the lyrics of a pop song, and its depths as rich and boundless as the feelings that same pop song might summon," wrote Indie Wire's David Ehrlich, grading the film an A-.

The Atlantic's David Sims noted, "It’s the furthest thing from the kind of mainstream-pop fame Mary seems to represent, but that dissonance is what makes Lowery’s storytelling so unique."

"A defiantly avant-garde take on commercial chart-toppers. It’s not for everyone, but it deserves to be: a gorgeous fusion of film, fashion, faith, and certified bangers," said Empire's John Nugent, giving the film four out of five stars.

Some critics weren't as impressed with the film.

"If only Lowery’s po-faced film had any of the knowingness that could elevate its hodgepodge of ideas into a cult classic. It’s ironic, given that it is a film about a dress," said The Guardian's Owen Myers in his two-star review.

Variety's, Owen Gleiberman wrote, "This is the David Lowery-est David Lowery movie ever made. Which is to say that by the end of it, you may be scratching your head to the point of wanting your money back."

"Despite reams of dialogue that tends to be enigmatic if not downright opaque, the gothic melodrama is stretched too thin to have much grip," according to The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney.

When does the film come out?

Anne Hathaway as Mother MaryA24

Mother Mary was released in cinemas nationwide on April 24.

Elsewhere from Indy100, Critics slam Michael Jackson biopic as a 'soulless cash grab', and Sydney Sweeney cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2 is reportedly cut out.

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