Mother Mary (4 Stars)

I went to see this film in the cinema knowing nothing about it. I hadn't seen any trailers in the cinema prior to it being shown.

The film is about a pop singer returning to stage after a three year break caused by an accident on stage. In the film Anne Hathaway reminds me of Lady Gaga in her early years, but I've read that the director based Mother Mary primarily on Taylor Swift. Maybe; I hardly know Taylor Swift. Three days before the concert Mary arrives dishevelled and hardly recognisable at the house of her former costume designer and lover, Samantha, and asks her to design a dress for the concert. That's very short notice, but Samantha agrees.

The film is a talkie. For the first hour of the film the two women discuss their past, with flashbacks to concerts over the last 18 years. The film doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Then the women discover in their conversations that they've both been haunted by the same ghost. Yes, the film needs a whole hour to reach the supernatural part. This is strange, from the pacing, but the story is well told.

One small word of praise. All the songs in the film are sung by Anne Hathaway herself.