Anne Hathaway is trading the red carpet for the concert stage, transforming into a global pop icon for the A24 film “Mother Mary,” which is set to open in Korea this November, according to a report from MHN Sports.
The film, described as a “pop music thriller,” follows Mother Mary, a pop star admired around the world, as she prepares for a comeback performance that the whole world is watching. Ahead of that stage, she seeks out the one person who can complete it: Sam, a friend and designer she has not seen in more than ten years, in the hope of getting the single dress that will define her return.
Sam, played by Michaela Coel, was once Mother Mary’s creative partner, and the two built success together before their relationship ended in the most painful way. Since then, Sam has worked alone in her own atelier. When Mother Mary comes back into her life in need of that perfect dress, the wounds and emotions the two have buried for a decade come rushing to the surface all at once.
The story trailer released for the film captures that reunion in striking terms. In narration, Sam says she could tell Mother Mary was coming from far away even though they had not met in more than ten years. Mother Mary then pushes through the rain to reach her, telling Sam simply, “Sam, I need a dress.” The two trade sharp words before they begin making the dress together, but as time passes, past feelings and hidden events begin to reveal themselves.
What sets the film apart is how it blends a grounded story of a fractured friendship with surreal, unsettling imagery. Candlelit rituals, Mother Mary submerged in a bathtub, a bleeding hand, and a scream cut quickly across the trailer, mixing realistic relationship conflict with mystery. That collision of the real and the surreal is what gives the “pop music thriller” label its meaning.
On stage, Mother Mary is all commanding performance. Off stage, the film shows a very different figure: a star struggling with panic and burnout. That contrast between the dazzling public image and the anxious private self sits at the heart of Hathaway’s performance.
Hathaway performs the film’s music herself, a choice that anchors the pop-star illusion. Music from the film was unveiled at a listening party in Busan, where audiences heard Hathaway singing in character for the first time. A representative quoted in the MHN report said that after watching the film, he felt Hathaway sang and performed so naturally that she seemed like someone who had genuinely spent years as a real superstar.
The soundtrack brings together some of pop’s biggest names. Producer Jack Antonoff, known for his work with Taylor Swift and other global pop stars, contributed to the project, while Charli XCX and FKA twigs also lent their talents to the film’s original music. The ensemble around Hathaway and Coel includes Hunter Schafer, Atheena Frizzell, Kaia Gerber, Jessica Brown Findlay, Alba Baptista, and Sian Clifford, with FKA twigs also appearing in the film.
Behind the camera is director David Lowery, who built his reputation on distinctive, atmospheric work such as “A Ghost Story” and “The Green Knight.” “Mother Mary” marks his third collaboration with A24 after those two films, and he co-wrote the screenplay with Anne Berest and Gaelle Mace. The film’s trailer, which Hathaway shared on her own social media, frames the story as a pop star who walked away from her tour amid an existential crisis and returns to the designer who helped shape her public persona.
For Korean audiences, Hathaway is a familiar face with a formidable box-office record. She is known locally for “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Les Miserables,” and “Interstellar,” and her Korean track record is the reason the MHN report calls her a double ten-million actor: “Interstellar” drew ten million admissions in Korea in 2014, and Christopher Nolan’s “Odyssey,” released this year, put her name on another ten-million hit. Her Oscar-winning turn in “Les Miserables” already proved she could carry a musical, but “Mother Mary” asks her to go further, embodying a working pop star rather than a stage performer in a period piece.
Reports on the production suggest just how far that transformation went: Hathaway trained so intensely that her legs at one point would not move, and the film’s concert scenes used around 400 extras so her performances could play like a genuine live show.
With its November Korean release approaching, “Mother Mary” is one of the autumn calendar’s more unusual entries: a thriller built around pop music, fashion, and a friendship that broke apart at the height of fame. Its Korean opening will test whether a story about the price of pop stardom can find the same audience that made Hathaway a ten-million star twice over.
