Benoît Delhomme’s directorial debut Mothers’ Instinct (2024), a remake of Olivier Masset-Depasse’s French-language thriller of the same name (2018), feels like it was born out of a cinephile’s (or actor-phile’s) dreamboard. Oscar-winners Jessica Chastain (It: Chapter Two) and Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries) play two 1960s housewives separated by tragedy and are at dramatic odds in a slow-burn psychological thriller. Love it or hate it, these are the roles Chastain and Hathaway were born for. If only the film’s lean, forgettable plot was matched to the great, nuanced performances presented here. Mothers’ Instinct is the story of housewives Alice (Chastain) and Céline (Hathaway), neighbors whose idyllic lifestyles are shattered due to a tragic accident — what comes after is a torrid cocktail of guilt, suspicion, and paranoia that breaks the once sisterly bond shared between the two.
L-R: Jessica Chastain as Alice and Anne Hathaway as Celine in MOTHERS’ INSTINCT. Photo courtesy of NEON.
The plot of Mothers’ Instinct is no doubt a character-driven one, coasting off the prowess of Chastain and Hathaway’s performances. There is a perfect dynamic between Chastain and Hathaway as the film leaves room for both actors to shine, whether by themselves, in scenes with their husbands (played by Anders Danielsen Lie and Josh Charles, respectively) or, more importantly, with each other. Scene chewing and intense facial expressions aside, there’s a palpable nuance brought to each character. Chastain’s Alice is a character that is always looking over her shoulder, always keeping a picture-perfect smile in front of her husband and kid but just “knows” (mother’s “instinct” — get it?) something is just not right with her buddy next door. She brings a great level of anxiety and paranoia to the role. On the literal other side of the fence, Hathaway’s Céline is depressed, hopeless, and, beneath the surface, furious. Where Chastain’s performance is more showy (and not any less enjoyable), Hathaway’s is more complex, but both are executed with their own levels of nuance. Danielson Lie (The Worst Person in the World) and Charles (Four Brothers) as the husbands deliver solid understated work, never taking the spotlight from the powerhouse stars but showing up when needed in certain dramatic scenes. The film does what it can in its slim 94-minute runtime (when’s the last time you’ve heard of a mainstream release in 2024 — a thriller, no less — being that short?), playing on the theme of “is she/isn’t she” as most of the film is told through Alice’s POV, wondering if her friend has something sinister planned or not. As the film builds to its tense finale and melancholy epilogue, you can’t help but feel like you just want more as the credits begin to roll.
L-R: Anne Hathaway as Celine and Jessica Chastain as Alice in MOTHERS’ INSTINCT. Photo courtesy of NEON.
Thin, forgettable plot aside, Mothers’ Instinct is a gorgeous film to look at. Benoît Delhomme (taking double duty as director and cinematographer) presents a beautiful recreation of 1960s suburbia. The cinematography, highlighting the vibrant colors of dresses, flowers, and 1960s architecture, is nothing short of beautiful. The production design is on point, recapturing the era and time to a detailed T. The film wears its influences on its sleeve, delivering clear nods to Hitchcock (Rear Window) in certain sequences. An early sequence to note (one that is repeated to a more suspenseful degree later) is when a character sneaks into another character’s house, constantly peeking through the blinds to make sure to the other is none the wiser. Anne Nikitin’s (American Animals) mischievous score paired with Delhomme’s direction presents a sequence that Hitchcock heads would smile and nod to. But regardless of the cinematography and respectful homages, Mothers’ Instinct, unfortunately, is just an actors showcase in which the audience shows up for the acting but leaves indifferent for the lacking plot. The film may work as a collector’s item for Chastain and Hathaway fans, but for fans of slow-burn psychological thrillers, this film just doesn’t reinvent the wheel or add anything substantial to the genre.
The Blu-ray release of Mothers’ Instinct is, unfortunately, bare bones. There’s the 1080 p presentation of this film paired with the subtitle options of English and Spanish. Unless you are a physical media collector, you’re not getting much more out of this than you would a digital copy.
Available on digital August 13th, 2024.
Available on Blu-ray and DVD September 17th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official NEON Mothers’ Instinct webpage.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
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