Benoit Delhomme has spent three decades as one of the world’s finest directors, making gorgeous such films as At Eternity’s Gate, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and The Theory of Everything. Delhomme will finally have the chance to do the same for his directorial debut, Mothers’ Instinct, a 1960s psychological thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain.
An adaptation of Olivier Masset-Depasse’s novel which he adapted into a 2018 French-language film, Mothers’ Instinct stars Hathaway as a 1960s housewife whose son suffers a fatal fall from the roof. Chastain plays her friend and neighbor who witnessed the incident and possibly could’ve prevented it, drawing suspicion and paranoia.
Also in the cast are Josh Charles and Anders Danielsen Lie. The film has a script by Sarah Conradt.
SYNOPSIS: Set in the early ’60s, best friends and neighbors Alice (Chastain) and Celine (Hathaway) both live an idyllic traditional lifestyle with manicured lawns, 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 and a psychological battle of wills begins as the maternal instinct reveals its darker side.
NEON wasted no time in acquiring the film back in 2022, and it’s easy to see why with this cast, director, and this chilling look at the dark side of motherhood.
Mothers’ Instinct opens in select theaters on July 26th, digital on August 13th.
