Following the production wrap of A24’s Mother Mary, the film’s director revealed Anne Hathaway had broken down while on set.
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During a recent interview with Vogue, Mother Mary director David Lowery discussed how the film’s intensity had affected Anne Hathaway and her co-star, Michaela Coel.
“It felt like shooting Apocalypse Now,” Lowery explained. “At one point, Annie broke down and said, ‘I have to apologize, because I think what’s going to come out of me will hurt you.’ And Michaela took her hand and said, ‘I love you, I trust you.”
Coel further explained that Lowery’s writing was “so vivid” that she and Hathaway were forced “into an intensity.”
Hathaway also pointed out that, despite having decades of acting experience, the film made her feel as though she was starting her career.
“What struck me right away, reading the script, is that you can’t ‘perform’ Mother Mary,” she explained. “If I got the part, I would have to become material David could craft with. I had to submit to being a beginner.”
She then stated, “The humility of that – showing up every day knowing you’re going to suck. And it has to be okay. You’re not ‘bad.’ You’re just a beginner. Getting to that mindset – I had to shed some things that were hard to shed. It was welcome. But it was hard, the way transformational experiences can be hard.”
Anne Hathaway’s Mother Mary Co-Star Recalls One “Very Brave” Scene
Meanwhile, Michaela Coel recalled one Mother Mary scene that Anne Hathaway did that was “very brave,” which was the barn dancing scene.
“It’s very brave work that she’s done,” Coel said about Hathaway. “Look at that dance in the barn – it’s scary. The physicality she had to learn in preparation for this job – and it’s not just us in the barn, it’s the crew, it’s the producers, and so, of course, this day was terrifying.”
Coel further pointed out, “A little monster on her shoulder, but no one realized until after the first take. And then to keep doing it – take after take. That required a lot of strength. Gallons and tons.”
According to IMDb, Mother Mary follows the relationship between a fictional musician and a famous fashion designer. Others starring in the film are Jessica Brown Findlay, Hunter Schafer, Alba Baptista, Sian Clifford and Julia Stolba.
The film’s release date has not been revealed.