David’s Download: Pop Star Showdown - Mother Mary and Michael
Friday, April 24 saw the wide release of two movies centered on pop stars - Mother Mary starring Anne Hathaway and Michael, the long-awaited Michael Jackson biopic. While the movies share the same release date and focus on pop stardom, they couldn’t be more different.
Mother Mary
Mother Mary sits at the intersection of several of my top interests - pop divas, celebrity culture, and psychological thrillers. Thus, I really wanted to like it.
Regrettably, director David Lowery’s latest is brimming with ideas about fame, friendship, and anxiety, but lacks the structural plot components for anything to land. The script is too heady and abstract.
The runtime mostly comprises of Hathaway and Michaela Coel (as Mother Mary’s costume designer) isolated in a barn, talking about overcoming one’s demons and what it means to be a pop star for nearly two hours. There are a couple spooky flashbacks and cutaways to Mother Mary’s concerts, but you’re better off checking out Smile 2 or M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap if you’re looking for pulpy, pop star-laden thrills and chills.
Aside from Hathaway’s layered, introspective performance - which she imbues with shades of Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande - like a cookie-cutter pop song, Mother Mary will fizzle quickly from your memory once the end credits roll.
(Shoutout to Charli XCX and FKA Twigs for the great songs though. I’ve had “Holy Spirit” and “Burial” on repeat.)
Michael
While Mother Mary is trying to exhume all kinds of deep ideas about pop stardom, Michael keeps proceedings fairly surface-level.
Chronicling the first three decades of Michael Jackson’s life, Michael is a by-the-books biopic that plays like a greatest hits album and draws the bulk of its dramatic tension from Michael’s fractured relationship with his father.
Seeing as the movie ends with a performance of “Bad” in 1989, it never covers the abuse allegations that came his way in the 90s.
Many will criticize Michael for this choice, which is fair, but as a fan of MJ’s body of work, I like how this biopic focused mainly on his music, videos and live performances. The film gives us just enough of a peek behind the curtain and makes it evident how MJ single-handedly shaped the blueprint for modern pop stardom.
Ending the film after his career peaks of Thriller and Bad brought to mind Wicked: Part 1 - fans will certainly leave on a high, even though we know a gloomier Act 2 exists. I’m sure Michael: Part 2 will tackle the not-so-glamorous denouement of the icon’s life in a couple years.
Regardless of where you stand on the filmmakers’ storytelling choices, Jaafar Jackson gives an Oscar-worthy performance as his real-life uncle, nailing every vocal inflection, dance move, and “hee hee.” A star is born!