Director David Lowery offers up a meditation on fame, friendship, fashion and trauma that really hits its marks in the first half, but boy, does it ever get away from itself in the latter parts. What a confused film. There’s vagueness and then there’s obtuseness, and we think the main issue with Mother Mary is that Lowery confused the two. It’s visually stunning — until it’s not — with some of the most stunning dialogue uncovering some of the most banal and mediocre observations about trauma and love. Michaela Coel is magnificent. Anne Hathaway does her wounded-bird bit to perfection. The settings and costume are dazzling and the filmmaking is hypnotic. Kind of a shame that it all doesn’t add up to much.

We outline most of our complaints with the film in the accompanying podcast, but what it gets down to is how much weight a script can bear before it collapses under it. And by weight, we mean the references, metaphors, allegories, and the relentless vagueness (Were they lovers? Does it matter? It kinda should!), all piled on top of each other over and over and over, until the film simply ends without much of interest to say. Creativity is hard and arises from pain. No one hurts you as much as the one you love. No offense, but these are fortune cookie sentiments. Dressed up in some gorgeous visuals and mildly engaging pop performances to be sure, but about as deep as a spilled glass of wine.

We have an entire film about the most important song in the history of music and a dress laden with so much meaning and emotion it almost seems impossible to execute — and we never hear the song and only see the dress worn for a second, in a vision. We literally cannot even tell if Mary wore the dress and what parts of the final sequence happened or didn’t happen. Given the emotional weight placed on these developments, it’s intensely frustrating to end the film without even so much as alluding to how they played out. Like we said there’s vagueness and withholding and lack of resolution — all of that is worthy to explore in a film — but when you have so much of it and can’t seem to settle on a reason for any of it the audience is left frustrated and underwhelmed by it.

Let’s look at the costumes, all but one of which was provided by costume designer Dina Baigeler. There are all of the obvious allusions to modern pop stars in Mary’s stage looks:

There are the obvious references to Taylor Swift, who loves herself a bejeweled body suit, and Beyonce, who loves herself a halo crown.

The flashes of Mary in couture, like the gold look above, tend to bring someone like Gaga to mind, who’s more of a Vogue presence than the other stars. We unpack some more of this in the podcast below, but we felt that the costumes and several references in the film left Mary as too much of a mish-mash of very different artists with very different fanbases. Of course all of these artists have varied fanbases and all sorts of people who love them, but it’s safe to say that Swift’s audience is represented by white straight women, Gaga’s is queer to the hilt, and Beyonce has a powerful Black fanbase. You kind of can’t just mash them all together without sacrificing anything interesting to say. It would have helped to know if Mary’s fanbase had a lot of queer people in it, believe it or not. The vagueness about who she is or who she represents didn’t help the story, we think.

You wouldn’t necessarily think so, but Sam’s costumes had a clearer throughline and message. With all of the importance placed on the color red, it’s worth noting that her signature color is blue:

We think the film misses the mark on modern pop iconography, but Sam’s clothes, house and atelier absolutely looked correct and on point to our eyes. That is exactly how a very successful British fashion designer would dress and live. We found it thrillingly well-observed, which is why the rest of the film disappointed us so much.

As we noted in the podcast, Hunter Schaeffer was every inch That Girl; a perfect representation of the assistants that make the fashion world run. Returning to the blue theme, it might surprise you that it’s at least, if not more pervasive than the red one.

When Sam goes to see Mary sing one last time and winds up cracking her wisdom tooth open in rage, the entire scene is drenched in blue light and Mary is in blue herself. This is a visual representation that Sam helped create Mary’s image and most of what’s up on that stage is her vision, hence the rage. When the film takes it’s turn toward the supernatural…

The blue theme, like all of the other themes and metaphors of the film, gets a lot less subtle. Visually, it’s the perfect color to counter red. Through the entirety of the film except for the flashbacks, Mary is in black. When it’s time for them to exorcize the red ghost from her body, what color do you think she wore. Go on.

Guess. Granted, we think the meaning here is a bit muddled, as it tends to be throughout the film, although if you look at this scene as some pretty fucked-up behavior by two people stuck in a trauma cycle, it kind of makes sense. Blue definitely isn’t the color of healing. And it doesn’t serve as a counter to the red. The best we can come up with is that it’s the embodiment of Sam’s hurt and anger and she’s wrapping Mary in it. And finally, there’s the piece de resistance, literally:

The final dress – instantly recognizable as an Iris van Herpen creation (specifically for the film) – absolutely lives up to all the meaning and importance the film has layered onto it, and even manages to capture an eerie, supernatural quality to it. Not to be weird, but we’ve looked at more pictures of Anne Hathaway than pretty much anyone reading this (unless you’re Anne, on her team, or a magazine editor, in which case, hello!) and that dress form is within centimeters of her actual measurements. The shoulders and decolletage look exactly like her. That adds to the ghostly feel of the design, which seems to encompass elements of the body (organs and musculature), but looks like it’s blossoming from the petals of a flower. That combination of the physical and the ethereal sums up everything the film is trying to say about art and love (both spring forth from the body, both can cause inner pain when twisted or not expressed) much, much better than the actual script did.

Much more in today’s pod, in which we RANT:

Further Reading:
In Mother Mary, Iris van Herpen Lets Life Imitate Art (Elle)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Iris van Herpen Official (@irisvanherpen)

[Photo Credit: A24]

• A24
• Mother Mary
• Movie Reviews
• Reviews
• The Bitter Kitten Movie Club

The post The Bitter Kitten Movie Club: MOTHER MARY (2026) appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

After displaying some bizarre style choices for the London Screening, we are happy to report that stars Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison course-corrected for the Paris premiere.

He still seems to be figuring out his hair, unfortunately.

Mikey Madison

We don’t always love black-backed florals, but the colors are subtle and delicate and the scale of the flowers is just right. It’s a very pretty dress and she does better with dark and bold colors than she does with light or pale ones. The necklace is lovely.

Jeremy Allen White

The hair is a bit overstyled and we don’t love fabric-covered buttons on men’s suits, but these are very minor quibbles. He looks great. That shade of gray brings out his eyes and the green of the tie adds a lightness to the look. Personal best for him, we’re thinking.

ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Inspired by true events and the whistleblower who started the social media reckoning we’re seeing play out today, this Aaron Sorkin original screenplay is a companion piece to the hit film The Social Network and a true David and Goliath story. Frances Haugen (Madison), a young Facebook engineer, enlists the help of Jeff Horwitz (White), a Wall Street Journal reporter, to go on a dangerous journey that ends up blowing the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets.
Written and Directed by Aaron Sorkin​​
Cast:​ Mikey Madison, ​Jeremy Allen White, ​Wunmi Mosaku, ​Betty Gilpin, ​Billy Magnussen​ with Bill Burr​ and Jeremy Strong
THE SOCIAL RECKONING, a companion piece to THE SOCIAL NETWORK, is coming exclusively to theatres October 9.

[Photo Credit: Lionel Guericolas/Starface Photo/Cover Images – Video Credit: Sony Pictures Entertainment/YouTube]

• Jeremy Allen White
• Mikey Madison
• Movie Premiere
• Red Carpet
• Sony Pictures
• The Social Reckoning

The post Jeremy Allen White and Mikey Madison at THE SOCIAL RECKONING Paris Premiere appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

Carrie star Summer H. Howell got herself out of the dreary and expected blood dress and hit the next two stops on the promo tour in some slightly more modern, kinda cute looks. She’s a Carrie who loves herself a crop top!

AT THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

We won’t deny that these items seem almost randomly chosen and that the proportions aren’t entirely great, but the top and skirt do look cute together. We just think the latter should be shorter and the former shouldn’t look so much like birds were pecking at it. If the skirt were shorter, a pair of boots would look really cute with it. These slides are meh.

AT THE CARRIE NEW YORK SPECIAL EVENT

We don’t know. It sure looks itchy. There’s tweed and then there’s basket weaving and this looks way too much like the latter. The proportions are cute and she looks good in brown, but we don’t think the textile works with the sassy design. The slides work better here.

ABOUT THE SERIES:
Carrie stars Summer H. Howell as Carrie White, cast in the legendary titular role following an extensive search that saw nearly 1,500 actors read. The ensemble’s series regulars include  Samantha Sloyan (The Pitt) as Margaret White, Siena Agudong (Resident Evil) as Sue Snell, Alison Thornton (Fire Country) as Chris Hargensen, Joel Oulette (My Life with the Walter Boys) as Tommy Ross, Josie Totah (The Buccaneers) as Tina, Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) as Billy, Thalia Dudek (The Running Man) as Emaline, Amber Midthunder (Prey) as Miss Desjardin, and Matthew Lillard (Man of Tomorrow) as Principal Grayle.

Carrie’s decorated ensemble also brings together longtime Flanagan collaborators and newcomers to his creative circle, with recurring guest stars including Michael Trucco (Fire Country), Crystal Balint (The Fall of the House of Usher), Kate Siegel (The Haunting of Hill House), Rahul Kohli (We Were Liars), Tim Bagley (The Comeback), and Heather Graham (The White Lotus).

[Photo Credit: mpi099/MediaPunch/INSTARimages, Dave Allocca/Starpix/INSTARimages – Video Credit: Prime Video/YouTube]

• Amazon MGM Studios
• Amazon Studios
• Carrie
• MGM
• Prime Video
• Red Carpet
• Style Double Shot
• Style File
• TV Series Premiere

The post Style File: Summer H. Howell Promotes CARRIE in New York appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

The ballet is for everyone! And we know that because the widest, most random lineup of celebrities came out for the New York Ballet’s Fall Gala. We just love a good gala, don’t you? So much to judge!

Amy Sedaris in Simone Rocha

The fit’s not what we’d call great and the print looks like drawer liner paper, but there’s a scaled-back chicness to it that’s nice to see from her. At a certain point, the quirky styles start looking clowny, so she’s smart to look toward classic styles. She just needs better versions of it.

Julia Fox in Archival Saint Laurent

Can’t get mad at that. This is probably the most conventionally chic she’s ever been on a red carpet and we’re happy to see she knows how to read a room. This would not be the time or place for her form of red carpet performance art. The makeup doesn’t coordinate all that well with it, however.

Sarah Jessica Parker (in Simone Rocha) and Matthew Broderick

He’s fine. She’s fussy. Very, very fussy. It’s a shame about the ribbon corseting, which is taking this to Disney park character performer territory. The dress is a pretty decent take on the sheer trend (it helps that she wore half slip) and all of those silly ribbons ruin it. Her hair is pretty, though, if also a little Disney.

Nicole Ari Parker

Ew. The hairy tiers. No, ma’am. Get your hairy tiers away from us.

Stevie Nicks

In truth, we’d much rather see her in a witchier, Rhiannon sort of mode, but if she wants to embrace fairy princess mode in her later years, who are we to tell her she can’t? This is costumey, of course, but so is practically everything else she’s worn in public for the last half-century.

[Photo Credit: mpi099/MediaPunch/INSTARimages, M10s/TheNews2/Cover Images, Jason Shore/Future Image/Cover Images]

• Amy Sedaris
• Julia Fox
• Matthew Broderick
• New York City Ballet
• New York City Ballet Gala
• Nicole Ari Parker
• Red Carpet
• Red Carpet Rundown
• Saint Laurent
• Sarah Jessica Parker
• Simone Rocha
• Stevie Nicks
• YSL
• Yves Saint Laurent

The post Red Carpet Rundown: 2026 New York City Ballet Fall Gala appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

It’s time for Lorenzo put his talents to use on the boys, wouldn’t you say? His SHOPPING TALENTS, you perverts. With the arrival of Fall, our thoughts turn to all the cocooning and cozying we’re going to do in the coming months, so we figured some of you guys wouldn’t mind a selection of cozy pieces for the shorter days ahead. Lorenzo tended toward the casual and loungey with a lot of these choices, but there are some stylish pieces in the mix as well. But we’ll tell you what: you could do a whole lot worse than this entire selection as a wardrobe for the months ahead. As always, with any of our style choices, there’s no reason any non-boy can’t partake of these pieces as well, and for the ladies, if you’ve got holiday shopping coming up, guess what? Your men are handled. we use affiliate links to help us keep the lights on and to keep the advertising at a manageable level, so we thank you very much for any support you want to throw our way. Oh, and don’t miss Lorenzo’s Picks for:

THE BEST PULLOVER SWEATERS FOR FALL
THE BEST WOMEN’S LOAFERS FOR FALL
A SPOOKY-FABULOUS HALLOWEEN!

Now, let’s go shopping, boys and mascs!

Eddie Bauer Men’s Vintage Soft Full-Zip Sweatshirt

Intimissimi Superior Cotton Short Pajamas

Banana Republic Quilted Puffer Vest

Ralph Lauren Chamois Ball Cap

Lucky Southwest Shawl Collar Cardigan

Eddie Bauer Classic Fit Flannel

Paul Smith Seasonal Stripe Beanie

Ralph Lauren Cable Knit Quarter Zip

Jack Archer Jet Setter Boxer Brief

Kiel James Patrick The Fox and the Foliage Socks

Brooks Brothers Cotton Broadcloth Striped Short Pajamas

Abercrombie Straight Open Hem Sweatpants

Bombas Sunday Slipper

Jack Archer Range Jogger

LL Bean Mountain Classic Puffer Vest

Ralph Lauren Crew Sock 3-pack

• Lorenzo’s Picks
• Menswear
• Trends

The post Lorenzo’s Picks for THE BEST FALL FITS FOR COZY BOYS appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

[Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rodarte]

• Rodarte
• Runway
• Spring 2027 Collections

The post Rodarte Spring 2027 Collection appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

A trio of stylish celebrity ladies alighted to Paris to attend the Chloé show and the city was kind enough to provide perfect fall weather for them to show off their outfits.

CYNTHIA ERIVO

Love this for her. It’s boho, it’s witchy, and it’s somehow cozy, all at the same time. We hate the cords hanging down but we always hate that sort of thing. The jacket is seriously cute. We don’t think anyone else could make this combination of pieces work.

CLAIRE DANES

Very chic, elegant and sophisticated. No notes. She seems to have stepped up her game recently. Love the sandals and the jewelry.

NATASHA LYONNE

This is a hundred percent in her wheelhouse and there are some truly great pieces here, but that leather jumper is ugly and terribly shaped. Love the blouse (which surprises us) and the bag, though. The shoes and tights don’t really go.

[Photo Credit: Lucia Sabatelli/INSTARimages]

• Chloé
• Claire Danes
• Cynthia Erivo
• Front Row
• Natasha Lyonne
• Paris Fashion Week
• Paris Front Row
• PFW
• PFW Spring 2027
• Red Carpet
• Red Carpet Rundown

The post Paris Fashon Week Front Row: Cynthia Erivo, Claire Danes and Natasha Lyonne at the Chloé Spring 2027 Fashion Show appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

The stars of the upcoming Apple TV epic Tenzing had all sorts of crazy ideas about how to dress for the London premiere.

Caitriona Balfe in Prabal Gurung

Looks great from the front, less so from the side (although this shot of her is admittedly not a great one). The bandeau looks oddly sloppy and the back hangs down too far. Gorgeous shade of red, though. We get that the look has a minimalist quality but she still could’ve used some bolder jewelry.

Genden Phuntsok

It’s a shame the satin is pulling so much (his stance isn’t helping), because that’s a gorgeous and elegant way to re-interpret men’s suiting. The colors look great on him.

Hayley Atwell

Girl, whut? The top half of the look is kind of fun, if wildly over-accessorized. There’s no way it calls the that much jewelry. The bottom half doesn’t look like it goes at all and those shoes are hideous. Did she really need to haul around that sack? It looks tremendously unwieldy.

Johnny Flynn

Sorry to have taken you away from your yardwork, Johnny.

Tom Hiddleston

Suede shoes with a velvet suit is probably too much texture for one look, but what a gorgeous suit. The shoes should be darker – and leather.

Willem Dafoe

Moisturized, thriving, hearing confessions on Saturdays.

ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Based on true events, “Tenzing” chronicles the little-known story of Tenzing Norgay (Phuntsok), a gifted Himalayan climber who, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Hiddleston), became the first to summit Mount Everest. Encouraged by his wife, Dawa (Lhamo), Tenzing finds an ally in expedition secretary Jill Henderson (Balfe). Together, they persuade Colonel John Hunt (Dafoe) that Tenzing belongs on the British climbing team, rather than merely serving it. Where Western climbers see “Everest” as something to be conquered, Tenzing reveres “Chomolungma” as the sacred mother goddess. What follows is an ascent defined as much by the tensions between backgrounds, classes and competing ambitions as by the perils of the mountain itself. But high above the world, empire, rank and aspiration fall away, leaving two outsiders bound by mutual respect and trust — and for Tenzing, the fulfillment of both a lifelong dream and a spiritual calling. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Peedom, “Tenzing” is a story of greatness that refuses to be diminished — and the love that makes it possible.

[Photo Credit: Julie Edwards/Future Image/Cover Images – Video Credit: Apple TV/YouTube]

• Apple TV
• Caitriona Balfe
• Genden Phuntsok
• Hayley Atwell
• Johnny Flynn
• Movie Premiere
• Prabal Gurung
• Red Carpet
• Red Carpet Rundown
• Tenzing
• Tom Hiddleston
• Willem Dafoe

The post Red Carpet Rundown: TENZING London Premiere appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

Sense and Sensibility stars Esmé Creed-Miles and Daisy Edgar-Jones continue to serve up butch/femme romance on the promotional tour as they hit the red carpet for the Sydney premiere. Esmé could use some help in keeping the details impeccable and Daisy’s tastes for the quirky tend to run counter to ours, so we haven’t loved every single outfit they’ve worn on this tour, but from an overall perspective…

The vibe is impeccable.

Esmé Creed-Miles

That’s hot. We don’t have any notes, but we don’t share her love for the messy hair. This outfit in particular probably calls for something a little sleeker.

Daisy Edgar-Jones in Miu Miu

It’s making our eyes hurt. There’s entirely too much going on with this wildly overwrought design and we honestly can’t point to a single element and say “That’s the pretty part.” As a design, it’s a mess.

But they do look pretty great standing together, we’ll give them that. Such is style. This is why it’s better to let stars be free in their style choices rather than adhering to some theme.

ABOUT THE MOVIE:
From Focus Features and Working Title comes an irresistible new take on Jane Austen’s iconic SENSE AND SENSIBILITY: a charming, witty, and deeply relatable story of love and sisterhood starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles.
Directed by Georgia Oakley
Screenplay by Diana Reid
Based on the Novel by Jane Austen
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, India Flint, Jo Wallett
Executive Producers: Thea Paulett, Angela Moneke
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane with George MacKay and Fiona Shaw
Focus Features will release Sense and Sensibility in Theaters on October 16th.

[Photo Credit: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for Universal Pictures – Video Credit: Focus Features/YouTube]

• Daisy Edgar-Jones
• Esmé Creed-Miles
• Focus Features
• Miu Miu
• Movie Premiere
• Red Carpet
• Sense and Sensibility
• Universal Pictures

The post Esmé Creed-Miles and Daisy Edgar-Jones at the SENSE AND SENSIBILITY Sydney Premiere appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.

[Photo Credit: Courtesy of Schiaparelli]

• Paris Fashion Week
• PFW
• PFW Spring 2027
• Runway
• Schiaparelli
• Spring 2027 Collections

The post Paris Fashion Week: Schiaparelli Spring 2027 Collection appeared first on Tom + Lorenzo.