Mothers Instinct review: Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain can’t save this psychological thriller from its blandness

Mothers' Instinct could have been a more resonant portrayal of motherhood in turmoil in 1960s America only if it had risen above its surface-level outlook and built a profound emotional core! 

The grief of losing someone is as complex as death itself—both are inevitable, yet the way they strike a person varies profoundly. Notably, the grief of a mother losing her 8-year-old son to an unexpected accident is an unfathomable kind of pain. This emotional landscape is central to Mothers’ Instinct, the directorial debut of cinematographer Benoît Delhomme. While marketed as a psychological thriller entwined with themes of guilt, grief, and suspicion, the film, unfortunately, struggles to live up to its premise, ultimately sinking into a slow and predictable narrative.

Adapted from Barbara Abel's novel and a remake of the 2018 Belgian film Duelles, Mothers’ Instinct is set in 1960s suburban America. The story centres on two neighbouring families who seem inseparable until tragedy strikes. Céline (Anne Hathaway), despite the frantic intervention from Alice (Jessica Chastain), loses her son Max in a tragic accident—he falls from a balcony. This moment catalyzes the unravelling of their once-close friendship. What begins as grief soon turns into mistrust and suspicion, with the film teasing two pressing questions: Is Céline genuinely mourning her son or does she irrationally blame Alice for the accident? On the flip side, Alice becomes wary of Céline, suspecting that her friend's grief is manifesting into an unhealthy obsession with Alice’s son, Theo. Is Alice’s suspicion grounded in reality or is it the resurfacing of her own unresolved mental health issues that previously resulted in her hospitalization?

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The film sets up a deliciously promising narrative, where grief and guilt fuel paranoia, but instead of delving into these emotions, the film falls into familiar and unexamined stereotypes. The tension between Céline and Alice, once intimate friends, is reduced to clichéd depictions of women whose unresolved emotions lead them to silently and secretly gaze at each other's lives from behind curtains, desperately trying to find a hidden agenda. The film's exploration of female hysteria feels not only dated but also shallow, particularly in a world that has evolved in how it depicts mental health and the complex emotions of motherhood.

The dynamics between Céline and Alice go beyond friendship or shared tragedy—they are women navigating a patriarchal society, finding solace in each other where they cannot rely on their husbands. Céline seems better suited to the traditional expectations of woman and motherhood, while Alice struggles more visibly with her role. This setup, which could have been a rich exploration of how grief can erode even the strongest relationships, is instead left underdeveloped. The film's inability to develop any emotional core and hollowness leaves you unable to connect with the characters on a deeper level. Hence, the result is a poorly structured randomised sequence of events that leaves you unaffected despite its reach. Even the twists that should deliver gut-wrenching tension feel flat and underwhelming, losing out on creating a mind-bending effect. Despite its narrative flaws, the film does have one undeniable strength: its cast. Both Hathaway and Chastain try their best to carry the weight of the film’s emotional themes on their shoulders. While they manage to keep the film from veering into complete absurdity, even their talent can't salvage the unimaginative script.

In a weird sense, it is understandable that the loss of a child, coupled with the inability to conceive again or a traumatic past with untreated mental illness, could drive these women to irrational behaviour. However, the paranoia it attempts to depict becomes hard to sympathize with as the plot unravels, leading to a climax that feels more ludicrous than mind-bending. Ultimately, Mothers’ Instinct is a film that promises complexity but delivers a lukewarm psychological drama, leaving an impression of a story that never quite found its footing.

Mothers’ Instinct is currently streaming on LionsgatePlay! 

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