‘Michael’ Wants to Start Something It Can’t Finish. Plus: ‘Mother Mary’ With David Lowery!

In this three-part episode of The Big Picture, Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins, joined by guest Yassi Salik, dive into two contrasting new cinematic releases: Antoine Fuqua’s biopic 'Michael,' a sanitized tribute to Michael Jackson starring Jafar Jackson, and David Lowery’s gothic fantasia 'Mother Mary,' a deeply personal exploration of creative partnership and artistic identity. While 'Michael' is praised for its musical performances and Jafar Jackson’s uncanny resemblance to the young Jackson, the hosts lament its failure to confront the darker, more complex aspects of Jackson’s life—allegations of abuse, plastic surgery, and the psychological toll of fame—due to legal constraints that led to the removal of a crucial third act. This omission transforms the film into a hagiographic prequel, avoiding the emotional and moral reckoning that true biopics should provoke. In stark contrast, 'Mother Mary' is celebrated as a visually lush, emotionally resonant two-hander, with standout performances from Anne Hathaway and Michaela Cole. David Lowery reveals the film’s origins as a deeply immersive, evolving process—where raw emotional truth on set and innovative wind-driven puppetry created a ghost not as a literal entity but as a manifestation of psychic energy, inspired by quantum entanglement and phenomenology. The episode closes with Lowery reflecting on the living nature of art, his upcoming pre-production on 'Mother Mary 2,' and his admiration for films like 'Melancholia' and 'The Testament of Anne Lee,' which he sees as kindred spirits in their emotional depth and thematic ambition.