Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel discuss Mother Mary, fame and when to hibernate

Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel anchor a tense, stylish new film that blurs the lines between spectacle and silence. In Mother Mary, a celebrated pop performer returns to the person who helped build her public identity, and what should be a reunion becomes a battleground of memory, ownership and the toll of constant exposure.

The A24 film mixes gothic atmosphere with pop-theater grandeur, driven by two powerhouse performances that keep pulling the viewer between stage lights and haunted quiet. Director David Lowery gives the story a theatrical intimacy, while the music and visual design push it toward something both modern and mythic.

Two actors at the center: power, vulnerability and collision

At the film’s heart is a duel: Hathaway plays a global pop star known as Mother Mary, and Coel is Sam, the costume designer who once forged that star’s iconic look. On screen, Hathaway’s Mary is dazzling during performances — a figure who commands arena-sized attention — but offstage she unravels. The role demands physical commitment and emotional fractures, and Hathaway leans into both, creating a pop icon who is magnetic and haunted at once.

Coel’s Sam offers a quieter but equally ferocious counterpoint. The character is a brilliant, guarded creator who has been sidelined by the fame machine she helped build. As Sam, Coel shifts between wry intelligence and simmering resentment, giving the film its moral center. Together, their scenes crackle with long, cumulative intensity — moments that feel like scenes from a play translated for the screen.

Music, collaborators and the film’s sonic identity

Mother Mary’s soundscape is built by notable contemporary artists, and the choices matter. Songs and production credits from Charli XCX, Jack Antonoff and FKA twigs shape the film’s sonic texture, blending pop maximalism with eerie, intimate moments. The score and production help the movie inhabit that in-between space: glittering performance and private collapse.

• Performers involved: Charli XCX, Jack Antonoff, FKA twigs (contributions to songs and production).
• Vibe: arena-ready pop onstage; minimal, atmospheric tones in the film’s quieter scenes.
• Influences cited: tour documentaries and cultural touchstones that show the labor behind spectacle.

Costume, image and the question of credit

Costuming is central to the story: Sam is the creative architect behind Mother Mary’s visual persona. The film foregrounds how much of a star’s public identity depends on collaborators who usually remain off camera. It asks who gets remembered and who is erased when fame takes hold.

That dilemma becomes a tense moral thread throughout the film. At times the narrative focuses on the quiet indignation of someone whose labor is invisibilized, and at other moments it shows a celebrity desperate to reclaim or repair her sense of self. Both characters are complicated and neither is reduced to a simple archetype; instead, the movie leans into the complicated human cost of cultural stardom.

Key themes explored

• Ownership of artistic ideas and public image
• The erosion of private identity under constant visibility
• Racial dynamics in creative recognition
• Performance versus reality — who performs for whom?

Race, visibility and the film’s social undercurrent

Underneath the glitz lies a pointed racial subtext. The story suggests a familiar pattern: a Black creative force shaping a white icon and receiving little of the public credit. Michaela Coel’s portrayal carries that weight without turning it into only a political statement; instead, she layers in history, sound and presence to make Sam’s relegation feel urgent and specific.

Sam’s workspace — a dim barn converted into a studio — becomes a visual metaphor for marginalization: brilliance that exists in the shadows. The film allows viewers to see how different audiences might take different meanings from the same scenes, depending on personal history and perspective. Director Lowery’s casting and script leave space for those interpretive variations, which strengthens rather than dilutes the film’s themes.

Behind the scenes: an environment shaped by women

On set, the movie’s world is largely female, which informed both production tone and performance dynamics. The principal cast and much of the creative team are women, and that presence translated into a collaborative, somewhat familial atmosphere during larger ensemble scenes. The effect on camera often reads as natural and unforced: a community of women occupying creative and managerial spaces without the usual male-dominated framing.

• Cast dynamics: the production cultivated closeness among performers — pre-shoot gatherings and shared studios helped build trust.
• Crew notes: costuming and choreography rehearsals emphasized authenticity over imitation, particularly for the elaborate performance sequences.

Finding Mother Mary without copying icons

Hathaway and the creative team were careful not to simply imitate famous pop stars. Instead, they studied tour documentaries and archival footage as a way into the world those artists occupy, then carved out distinct choices that fit the film’s own logic. The aim was to honor the fierce labor and transformative drive of real-life performers while letting Mother Mary become an original construct.

The film respects the sanctity of artistic ownership — even in its fiction, Mother Mary is written as someone for whom reputation is everything; the movie treats imitation as a cardinal sin in that world. That ethical stance informed costume choices, choreography and the staging of performance scenes.

Conversations between Coel and Hathaway: mutual admiration and craft

The actors’ off-screen rapport mirrors aspects of their on-screen relationship: mutual curiosity, respect and a shared seriousness about craft. In interviews, they exchanged praise and playful barbs, and both emphasized how much preparation and physical work went into their roles — from dance and choreography to studying the history and mechanics of high-concept stage production.

• Hathaway on preparation: she studied tour films and focused on occupying performance spaces authentically, looking for creative choices that hadn’t been taken.
• Coel on her role: she built Sam from a private place, using personal playlists and characters’ interior lives to inform the costume designer’s emotional rhythm.

Silence, disappearance and where art is born

One recurring idea around the film is the creative value of retreat. Coel has previously spoken about stepping away from visibility to regroup and create, and that philosophy colors how Sam—and to some extent Hathaway’s Mary—are portrayed. The narrative suggests that some of the most honest work happens away from audiences, in periods of disappearance and reflection.

Both actresses emphasized balance: the need to disappear in order to rehumanize, and the simultaneous pull of the public life that fuels their careers. For beings whose work depends on being seen, the film dramatizes what it costs to step back and what can be reclaimed in silence.

Why Mother Mary matters: who should see it

This is a film for anyone interested in fame’s architecture — how image is constructed and who gets credit for it. Fans of performance-driven cinema will be drawn to Hathaway’s show-stopping set pieces, while viewers who care about character work will find Coel’s quiet intensity rewarding. The movie operates on multiple levels: as a ghost story, a moral drama and a psychological portrait of celebrity.

• For viewers who love: music-centered films, feminist narratives, and character duels.
• What to expect: powerful central performances, stylized concert scenes, and a slow-burn exploration of artistic ownership.

You might also like:

• Mia Goth reveals hidden Frankenstein costume details in Guillermo del Toro film
• Summer I Turned Pretty movie: everything we know
• Princess Diaries 3: release date, cast and plot updates
• Devil Wears Prada 2 delivers: what it got right
• Is God Is lets Black women feel their rage and find catharsis

David Miller

David Miller is an entertainment expert with a passion for film, music, and series. With eight years in cultural criticism, he takes you behind the scenes of productions and studios. His energetic style guides you to the next big releases and trending sensations.