Mothers’ Instinct Review

Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway work as stars and producers in a remake of an award-winning Belgian psychological thriller.

Alice (Chastain) and Céline (Hathaway) are best friends and next-door neighbours who live in a wealthy American suburb in the early 1960s. Their sons, Theo (Eamon Patrick O’Connell) and Max (Baylan D. Bielitz) are also best friends. However, when Max dies in an accident the friendship between the mothers deteriorates with Céline’s behaviour becoming more erratic and Alice’s paranoia increasing.

Mothers’ Instinct serves as the directional debut for Benoît Delhomme, an award-winning cinematographer on the Australian western The Proposition, and working on films like The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Theory of Everything. He acted as his own cinematographer on this film. Considering Delhomme’s talents behind the camera he was able to make a picturesque film that looks at the dark underside of American suburbia. It gave Mothers’ Instinct the air of two of Sam Mendes’ films, American Beauty and Revolutionary Road. Revolutionary Road was particularly fitting since that film also had a period setting, the illusion of domestic bliss, and explores mental health issues.

The filmmakers were also aiming to make a Hitchcockian-style thriller. Rear Window was a particularly strong influence on Mothers’ Instinct due to the tight setting of two houses, and the voyeuristic nature of the film since the characters looked into each other’s homes. One scene where Alice infiltrates Céline’s home and needed to hide when the house owner unexpectedly comes home was strongly reminiscent of Rear Window.

There’s no denying Chastain and Hathaway’s talent and they gave strong performances, especially Chastain. They hooked their performances on their characters’ baggage. Alice was a smart woman who had a sense of resentment because she was a journalist who had to give up her career to be a housewife, whilst Céline was a devoted mother who couldn’t have any more children, so her world was destroyed due to her son’s death.

Mothers’ Instinct attempted to look at the issue of mental health and gender roles. The most obvious way was through Céline and her husband, Damien (Josh Charles) who were grieving over the loss of their son and weren’t coping well. Their reactions were symbolic of how men and women were viewed during this period since women were seen as hysterical and men were meant to be strong and bottle up their feelings. This theme also extended to Alice and her family since she was seen as being paranoid and hysterical when she believed Céline was targeting her and Theo was told he had to be strong despite what he suffered.

Whilst the film had lofty ambitions with its casting, themes, and influences, it fumbled with its story and direction. Considering the film took place in a wealthy suburb with such a high body count in a short space of time it was strange that more questions weren’t raised, especially by the authorities. The direction lacked subtlety, especially at the beginning of the film. Early scenes were incredibly hokey as they showed the wholesome family and friend dynamics so that they could be destroyed. When the tragedy did happen, the film fell into soapy theatrics and melodrama which made Mothers’ Instinct an overwrought experience.

Mothers’ Instinct was a film that was elevated by its two leads. They gave it their all for an average thriller.