Michael Goi’s haunted boat movie is a soggy would-be supernatural thriller that sinks despite a game cast. After an opening caption describing the ancient practice of drowning witches at sea, Mary introduces Sarah Greer (Emily Mortimer), who is being questioned by a detective (Jennifer Esposito) about what happened on the titular 19th-century sailing ship that her husband David (Gary Oldman) recently purchased at auction and refurbished as an excursion attraction for Florida tourists. What emerges over the course of a long flashback—punctuated by occasional returns to the interrogation room—is that the carving of a stern woman on the bow apparently represented the vindictive spirit of a witch drowned at sea, who over the years had repeatedly attacked the ship’s successive crews, always leaving the boat mysteriously deserted. Sarah discovered the vessel’s horrifying history by searching old records after eerie events began to occur on board during the Greer family’s maiden voyage. A coda is meant to offer a surprising twist, but it comes across as both predictable and silly. Despite intense performances from both Oldman and Mortimer, Mary proves to be as rickety as the boat it is named after. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)
Mary
RLJE Films, 85 min., R, DVD: $27.99, Blu-ray: $28.99, Nov. 26
Mary
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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