Mother Mary

What’s it about?

An American musical drama-thriller. A famous singer reunites with her estranged designer friend, hoping she will create the perfect dress for her upcoming return to the stage.

The facts

• Directed by David Lowery
• English language
• Runtime: 112 minutes
• Starring Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada) and Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)

Why did it get this rating?

This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about the classification process and ratings here.

Horror

The film includes psychological and body horror, with characters who see and are haunted by ghosts. Some scenes show self-harm in a frightening and disturbing way. Emotional distress is shown through strange, dreamlike scenes.

In one scene, a character moves unnaturally, cracking her bones and speaking in a deep, rough voice. Other scenes show fingers touching cut skin and a ghost-like figure moving through wounds.

Violence

A character suddenly cuts deep into another’s palm. The injury is shown in close-up, with wet noises and screams of pain.

Self-harm

A character on stage falls from a height and is left hanging briefly by a safety rope around their chest. Other characters wonder whether they jumped on purpose or was asking for help. The scene is shown again with more context: they step backwards after seeing a ghost, fall, and the harness catches them. Other scenes include:

• A character pulls out their own tooth, clearly shown.
• A character keeps working to exhaustion.
• During an exorcism, a character takes shears and makes a deep cut into their chest. They are later shown with stitches.

Youth Advisory Panel

Two members of our Youth Advisory Panel attended the examination screening. They commented on the confusing narrative style and remarked that the film was not as horror- or thrill-focused as the trailer made it out to be. Scenes that left an impression include the character falling and shown hanging at the film’s outset, the character cutting herself with shears, the character’s hand being stabbed and a finger rooting into the wound, and fabric entering/leaving body cavities. They considered the film appropriate for those aged 16+, commenting on the film’s ‘eerie’, ‘heavy’ and ‘depressing’ tone, the self-harm themes, disturbing imagery, including a dance sequence that ‘felt like the character was hurting herself through dance’. They were not impacted by the offensive language but expected to be warned for self-harm and disturbing content.

Helplines:

The self-harm themes could be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?