After a relatively quiet period in the arts, Anne Hathaway made a strong comeback in 2026 with five projects released consecutively. Two weeks after greeting Vietnamese audiences with the comedy The Devil Wears Prada 2 , the actress reunited with viewers through Mother Mary - a project that blends thriller, psychological drama, and musical.
Mother Mary centers around Mary (Anne Hathaway), a pop singer at the height of her fame. After a stage accident plunges Mary into crisis, she decides to make a comeback, much to the anticipation of her fans. However, just days before her performance, realizing her outfit is unsuitable, she travels a long distance to meet Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), a talented designer who was once close to Mary but with whom she had lost contact for a long time. The reunion of the two friends after a decade ignites many terrifying mysteries.
Anne Hathaway makes a breakthrough in a new genre.
Compared to her role in The Devil Wears Prada 2 , the character of Mary in Mother Mary demands more acting skill from Anne Hathaway. Director David Lowery based Mary on the archetype of today's leading pop stars, while adding many complex psychological nuances.
Throughout the 112 minutes, the actress delivered an explosive performance, radiating star power while simultaneously revealing the raw inner turmoil of her character through long, complex dialogues and masterful physical movements. In a scene featuring a dance without music, Anne astonished viewers with her confident, powerful movements, effectively portraying the immense trauma and mental exhaustion her character was experiencing.
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Anne Hathaway in Mother Mary. |
Through its narrative interweaving contemporary dialogues and stage performances, Mother Mary clearly illustrates the contrasting sides of Mary: a desperate girl on the verge of mental breakdown in real life, and a powerful, mysterious, and captivating cultural icon on stage.
Following Les Misérables, which earned Anne Hathaway her first Oscar, Mother Mary offered the actress, born in 1982, a role that explored many new facets of her acting, creating a performance brimming with passion hidden beneath a calm exterior.
Alongside Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel also made an impression on viewers with her portrayal of the mysterious designer Sam Anselm. In contrast to Mary's fragility, Sam always carries a sharp and fiery gaze.
Michaela seamlessly transitions the character's emotions, from a warm smile to a confident gaze. Her dialogue delivery is calm and deliberate, yet her emphasis is powerful, mesmerizing both her co-stars and the audience, drawing them into Sam's inner world .
Compared to Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel stands out more, partly because the script explores Sam's story more clearly, giving the actress more room to showcase her acting abilities. However, their interaction remains harmonious, highlighting two instinctive and edgy individuals. It can be said that the performances of Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel are the brightest points of Mother Mary .
Through the characters' simple dialogue, viewers can sense their backstory and how past traumas have impacted them in the present.
As an A-list star, Mary faces immense pressure from fame and the desire to maintain her status. She is forced to mask her physical and mental exhaustion with high-energy, intense music and spectacular performances. Through this, the film depicts the growing psychological burden of a star's increasing fame within the harsh realities of Hollywood.
Furthermore, through the character of Sam, Mother Mary reveals the dark side of idol culture, where blind adoration always exists. Starting as a fan of Mary, Sam invests a lot of effort in following her, even worshipping Mary as an icon. But then, when she realizes Mary is not what she expected, Sam cuts off all contact with the woman she idolizes and carries the wound in her heart for many years.
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The film was a flop, earning only 240 million VND after its first week of release in the Vietnamese market. |
Experientialism is distant from the masses.
Mother Mary conveys its meaning not only through dialogue but also through a series of symbols and hidden meanings in each line. However, this method of embedding these elements makes the film seem distant from the general audience, forcing viewers to concentrate, listen, remember, and analyze the details unfolding on screen.
After a somewhat slow-paced opening half, the film falters, with the second half gradually leaning towards experimental elements, where dialogue gives way to eerie, dreamlike visuals and somewhat eccentric imagery.
The way the film conveys a dense amount of dialogue, metaphorical language, and an excessive number of symbols creates an overall feeling of crammed, confusing, and lacking depth, even somewhat boring. Towards the end, Mother Mary delves deeper into the tragic and sorrowful story, making the film even more drawn-out.
The fact that the relationship between Mary and Sam isn't clearly defined from the beginning creates ambiguity for the audience as they follow the story. The way the film constantly repeats long dialogues also causes viewers to lose focus.
Through the characters' narratives, the situations are presented and arranged in a disjointed manner, lacking focus. In the latter half of the film, the display of numerous symbols feels ostentatious, empty, and somewhat superfluous. If director David Lowery had handled the work more concisely, the film would have resonated more with the audience.
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Mother Mary incorporates many complex experimental elements. |
Mother Mary marked a fresh start for Anne Hathaway as the actress ventured into a highly experimental project after a series of romantic comedies. However, the film's convoluted and slow-paced development made it seem distant from a mainstream audience.
And from then on, fans of the actress had to wait for the rest of the year's works to see Anne Hathaway return to her former glory.
Source: https://znews.vn/tiec-cho-my-nhan-dep-nhat-nam-2026-post1653140.html
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