The music biopic Michael, a partial biography of Michael Jackson, is sure to be one of the biggest movies of the year. Thanks to Mother Mary, though, it’s only the second-best story about a troubled pop star coming out this weekend.

The Reviews are in for the Movie Michael! And They’re Okay!

How do you get to the reality of a figure as exceptional — and unusual — as Michael Jackson? Despite the efforts of a hundred thousand tabloids, there are as many interpretations of (and opinions on) the late King of Pop as there are copies of Thriller.

Okay, maybe not quite that many; it’s the best-selling album of all time.

The task before director Antoine Fuqua is to find not only the humanity and vulnerability behind the 20th Century’s most well-known entertainer, but to do so in a biography that only tells the story up to a certain point. Michael, the lavish biopic released this weekend with the involvement of Jackson’s estate, caps its narrative around 1989. It’s a decision that both sets up a possible sequel and sidesteps, for now, the later years of Jackson’s life, when the scale of his myth and persona collapsed under the weight of rumor and scandal.

But, Michael Still Has Us Happy to Look at the Man in the Mirror

So, then, this is the story of a child prodigy (played in youth by Juliano Krue Valdi) turned entertainment phenom (played as an adult by Jaafar Jackson, nephew of Michael and son of Jackson 5 bandmate Jermaine), who reached heights never touched before or since — despite a tortured, childlike personality that left him awkward, shy and tremendously idiosyncratic. We meet the singer as a child abused into constant rehearsal and onstage perfectionism by an opportunistic, vengeful father (Colman Domingo); the action of Michael sets his pop stardom against his fight to escape his father’s scheming and violence.

Is this the complete story? No. Is it true? Partially (as far as we can tell). But the music-biopic genre is always half document, half enshrinement of myth — and, primarily, an opportunity to get great music onto cinema screens.
In that regard, Michael is an unqualified success; its performance scenes rival any in a big-budget biopic. Narratively, the film is a mixed bag; it’s in an awful hurry, and much of it feels incidental. (A CGI recreation of Bubbles, Jackson’s beloved pet chimp, gets far too much screen time.) But convincing facsimiles of Michael Jackson’s most iconic performances are more than worth the price of a movie ticket. He wasn’t the King of Pop for nothing, no matter what the real story was.

Other Pop Star Movie Mother Mary Reigns Supreme

In a quirk of scheduling, there’s another story about a troubled pop star in theaters this weekend — and this one, while fictional, has just as much (if not more) to say about fame and interpersonal relationships.

It’s also an arresting, transportive work by a rising auteur. If you watched both back-to-back, you’d likely be humming Billie Jean on the way home — but you’d have dreams about Mother Mary when you went to bed.

Or, perhaps, nightmares. Anne Hathaway stars as Mary, a Gaga-esque idol succumbing to the rigors of stardom. She returns to the home and studio of her estranged friend and former designer, Sam (Michaela Coel), requesting a dress for a comeback show — and, it seems, to unburden herself of the fears and doubts that are haunting her. (Perhaps literally.)

A Real Pop Star on Deck

The music in Mother Mary, by Daniel Hart with contributions from Charli xcx and Jack Antonoff, more than sells the notion that the title character is a sensation. And the production design — from the eye-catching costumes to the almost accusatory beams of light in Sam’s studio — is excellent.

The performances, though, make Mother Mary exceptional. Essentially a two-hander, Hathaway and Coel spar, collaborate, recriminate and conspire, careening theatrically (and yet groundedly) through a feature-length discussion. By turns metaphorical and real (and that distinction, too, is explicitly discussed), David Lowery’s script is as clever as it is beguiling — and these actresses seem to breathe the words out of their souls. To say more would be to rob the viewer of discovering what Mother Mary is and isn’t in real time — one of the film’s dark delights.

So yes, Michael has the superstar moments. But Mother Mary transcends.

Story by Sean Collier
Featured Photo Courtesy of Bruce Talamon / Lionsgate

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.