Weeping Bleeding Hearts with David Lowery & Anne Hathaway

David Lowery and Anne Hathaway reflect on the profound emotional and creative intimacy that defined their collaboration on the film *Mother Mary*, a story centered on silence, vulnerability, and the unspoken. Lowery reveals how the character’s emotional inarticulateness became a narrative engine, forcing him to trust nonverbal communication—especially dance—as the true language of grief. Hathaway shares how playing a woman stripped of voice and agency transformed her understanding of performance, empathy, and the courage it takes to be emotionally raw on screen. They recount the film’s evolution from a 19-hour silent version set in the Faroe Islands to its final form, emphasizing how every creative detour—like the improvised ring-and-undergarment rig or the choreographed dance sequence—was driven by a shared commitment to honoring the moment’s truth over convenience. At the heart of it all: a radical belief that audiences don’t need answers handed to them—they need space to feel, wonder, and be moved by what’s left unsaid. The film, they argue, isn’t about gamesmanship or banter, but about the terrifying beauty of a weeping, bleeding heart. The conversation becomes a meditation on artistic integrity, with Lowery admitting he once feared audiences wouldn’t tolerate a character who was emotionally annihilated for 45 minutes. Yet he trusted Hathaway’s performance and the script’s emotional architecture to earn that journey.