BY JACK RANSOM APRIL 7, 2024
As a sucker for a pulpy thriller drama, the trailer for this very much caught my attention with its lashings of throwback 90’s vibes (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Sleeping with the Enemy etc. come to mind). Whilst it may not fully embrace the level of trashy, twisted lengths of that era, Mothers' Instinct still a decently entertaining, tight 90 minutes led by a strong double act from Chastain and Hathaway.
SYNOPSIS
Mothers’ Instinct sees Alice (Jessica Chastain) and Celine (Anne Hathaway) live a traditional lifestyle with successful husbands and sons of the same age. Life's perfect harmony is suddenly shattered after a tragic accident. Guilt, suspicion and paranoia combine to unravel their sisterly bond.
REVIEW
If you’ve seen the trailer you probably will have pieced together what exactly the plot and tension progression is centred around here. The film escalates the fallout of the tragedy well enough, with Alice’s guilt, fear and eventual outright paranoia as Celine becomes more overwrought and unpredictable in her trauma. Admittedly it never reaches truly thrilling or disturbing heights, and largely sticks around the engagingly watchable territory.
Both Chastain and Hathaway are clearly relishing the material. With the former’s overbearing, micro-managing and fear of any risk her son might take, to the latter’s wide-eyed optimism that turns to jittery, snappy, almost hypnotised obsession and anger at the tragedy that befell her family. Josh Charles and Anders Danielsen Lie deliver as the consistently frowning and chain smoking husbands.
Mothers’ Instinct is a decently entertaining yet ultimately disposable throwback thriller drama. The lead performances keep it engaging and the runtime is tight. However, it lacks a unique edge to the narrative and never reaches the level of shock or engagement that it could have done.
STAR RATING
