Mothers’ Instinct is a tense and incredibly well-made psychological thriller following two mothers, Celine (Anne Hathaway) and Alice (Jessica Chastain), in the 1960s. They appear to be living the perfect suburban American life until Celine’s son, Max (Baylen D. Bielitz), dies after falling off of a roof. This spawns a web of paranoia, deceit, and murder that ends with Celine murdering her own husband, Damian (Josh Charles), and Alice and her husband, Simon (Anders Danielsen Lie), then adopting their son, Theo (Eamon Patrick O’Connell).

Benoît Delhomme’s directorial debut makes the absolute most of the tools at a director’s disposal, using the costumes and cinematography to breathe life into the narrative, especially considering the 24-day window Delhomme had to shoot the film. Not only are Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain fantastic in Mothers’ Instinct, but their performances and nuanced writing create a fascinating commentary on the sexism of the past and how, in many ways, it still exists in the present.

Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway Have Tremendous Chemistry in ‘Mothers’ Instinct’
Image Via Neon

It may feel obvious to say, considering it’s almost a slam dunk that these two actresses would give stellar performances, but Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway truly are the stars of the show in Mothers’ Instinct. The actresses spoke to Glamour Magazine, with Chastain saying they felt “safe” with each other, even with their characters going through their own Cold War. The final fight scene between Chastain and Hathaway has a raw madness to it, as both mothers battle for the right to be Theo’s mother, and it’s this trust the actresses had with each other aided in this scene, with Hathaway feeling “safe enough to be violent towards someone,” calling it “really something.”

The way the actresses are able to portray their core differences yet also show why they would be friends is a testament to their talents in Mothers’ Instinct. The scene in the beginning where Chastain’s Alice and Hathaway’s Celine speak about what each other wants from life sets the two apart. Neither says exactly what they are thinking, but it is clear that Alice wants more than just a homemaker’s life, while Celine is content.

It perfectly sets up the conflict these women are going through, with Celine desperate to be a mother while potentially being jealous of Alice’s desire for more. Alice could also be jealous of Celine’s natural motherly nature since she was too scared to hold her baby after Theo’s birth. The dichotomy of these two attracting opposites keeps you on the edge of your seat in every scene they’re in together, with so many layers to each other’s performances to keep the audience guessing.

Fantastic Filmmaking Makes ‘Mothers’ Instinct’ a Beautiful Film To Watch

All practical aspects of filmmaking come together to make Benoît Dolhomme’s Mothers’ Instinct a beautifully visual movie, complementing the actresses’ performances greatly. Mothers’ Instinct is a period piece set in the 1960s, and it truly looks the part, with fantastic costumes created by costume designer Mitchell Travis. Travis told Revamp Magazine that there was a real focus on having the two leading characters’ wardrobes, who contrast each other by having traditional clothes for Celine that were more “quite still and reserved,” whereas Alice wore more “independent” and expressive clothes that showed her “energy and movement.” It makes a film where all the tension bubbles under the surface a lot more engaging when there is something obvious to track how the character’s relationship is doing, and Mothers’ Instinct nails this using the costuming.

The cherry on top of the wonderfully dressed characters is the great cinematography that frames it all beautifully. Via opening shots like the ambulance in the grass, we immediately understand something is amiss. As a toy being forgotten about by a child, the use of an ambulance almost invokes a sense of the children’s safety also being forgotten about. This is shown not only in Max’s death but in how we see Alice and Celine push Theo to the brink as their paranoia blinds them.

On top of this, Celine’s eerie coddling of Max’s body is just a quiet moment in Mothers’ Instinct that really heightens the brutality and horror of what has just happened. The shocked look on Celine’s face as blood runs down her fingers, reminding us of Jackie Kennedy cradling John F. Kennedy’s head after being shot since Celine was compared to her earlier, is a distinctly disturbing moment that is portrayed brilliantly solely through the use of the visual medium. As Dolhomme described in an interview with A Rabbit’s Foot, this was his favorite part of this scene because of how the camera “stays in the detail” and forces us to witness the reality of what has just happened, as Celine must too.

‘Mothers’ Instinct’ Explores Both Past and Present Sexism

Mothers’ Instinct crafts a fascinating exploration of what sexism in the 50s and 60s could force women to do to fit into these roles and how women are still controlled to this day. According to Anne Hathaway, in the same interview with Glamour Magazine, Celine is given “prescribed identities” that she fights against, the idea of her being a mother and then a mother who lost a child. It’s fascinating to watch how Celine fights so hard against one of these identities just to fit into the other, believing she is nothing if she isn’t a mother.

Celine also had a forced hysterectomy, according to Hathaway, where she is put to sleep and has her uterus removed while giving birth, as she tells Theo at one point in the film. Hathaway described this as creating a “rage that would be under a really pretty surface.” One could link this to the way abortion bans are an incredibly, and sadly, relevant issue today, which Hathaway acknowledged was “important to me” in the way some people assume control over women’s bodies in a “violating act.”

Alice, on the other hand, is brutally put down by her husband, Simon, when she wants to go back into journalism, desperate for more from her life. The expression on Alice’s face when Simon suggests writing “something for the school newspaper” is heartbreaking and truly underscores the unfair power balance that existed at that time, with Simon only wanting Alice to be a wife and mother. What is even worse is that, despite his objections to her trying to move away from the identity of being a wife and, more importantly, mother, Simon still doesn’t listen to her instincts of danger later on.

Mothers’ Instinct is certainly a film I recommend you watch immediately. It’s almost surprising how instantly it pulls you in and has you on the edge of your seat. Each word of dialogue and expression is portrayed wonderfully by Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, with the film looking stunning in every scene, each shot having a purpose. These elements come together to help the film craft a really intriguing exploration of sexism in the past and present. Overall, this film will make you unsure if you can trust the people you love most, especially when it comes to the safety of your children.

Mothers’ Instinct is available to rent on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

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