You have to love it when an ad campaign goes out of its way to directly disavow a director’s former work — see “This is Not a Ghost Story,” the tagline that A24 came up with for David Lowery’s Mother Mary. It’s certainly a better fit than “This is Not a Green Knight” or “This is Not a Dragon Owned by Pete” or “This Ain’t Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.” Throw a triple-X at the end of that last one, and you have a Hustler parody DVD suffused with faux-Terrence Malick imagery. Or take the H out of “Ghost” and add an A, and you have an excellent way to let parents know that they’re not buying a ticket for Steph Curry’s animated Goat movie.
Anyway, Lowery’s cooked up one of those pop-star horror-thriller-psychodramas that seems to hit theaters every few years, and it looks more Vox Lux than Smile 2. We’re hoping we’re wrong about that, because the dude makes some good motion pictures, but we can’t escape the sinking feeling that this will be deeply, deeply goofy — case in point: the trailer that A24 dropped for the picture on Tuesday morning. We’re hoping Anne Hathaway’s character gets some good background details, though. Like, maybe she monologues about the time she went to space, or details her dates with an ex-Canadian Prime Minister. Hear her roar, folks.
Peep it:
Here’s a synopsis for Mother Mary:
“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.”
Mother Mary will hit theaters in April, though a specific date hasn’t been locked down quite yet. Maybe it’ll be at Sundance? Also, what a genuinely goofy name for a fictional pop star. How’d she survive the come-up without all the A&R people singing “Let It Be” at her?