Honestly, walking into a movie starring both Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway feels like a cheat code for Hollywood. You’ve got two Academy Award winners who aren't just "good," they're powerhouse performers who specialize in making you feel slightly uncomfortable. That is exactly what the Mothers Instinct cast brings to the table in this 2024 psychological thriller. Set against the manicured lawns and stiff hairspray of 1960s suburbia, the film is a remake of Olivier Masset-Depasse's 2018 Belgian film Duelles, which was based on the novel Derrière la haine by Barbara Abel. It’s a messy, grief-stricken, and paranoid ride.
The premise is simple but devastating. Two neighbors, Alice and Celine, live the quintessential mid-century dream until a tragic accident involving Celine’s son shatters everything. From there, the movie transforms from a story about friendship into a sharp-edged study of suspicion.
The Powerhouse Duo: Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway
It’s rare to see two leads with this much chemistry—and this much historical baggage—share the screen. Remember Interstellar? They were both in it, but they never actually shared a scene. Here, they are constantly in each other's space.
Jessica Chastain plays Alice. She’s the one who sees the accident happen and can’t stop it. Chastain plays Alice with this fluttering, high-strung energy that feels like a bird trapped in a cage. She’s historically suffered from psychiatric issues, which makes her the "unreliable" one in the eyes of the other characters. It’s a nuanced performance. She isn't just "crazy"; she’s traumatized and deeply empathetic, which makes her eventual suspicion of Celine feel both grounded and terrifying.
Then you have Anne Hathaway as Celine. Celine is the grieving mother. Hathaway’s performance is chilling because she keeps it so bottled up. You see the cracks in her composure through the way she handles a tea service or the way her eyes go dead when she looks at Alice’s son, Theo. It’s a physical transformation. She moves through the film with a heavy, grief-laden grace that keeps you guessing. Is she a victim? Is she a villain? Hathaway plays both sides of that coin simultaneously.
Supporting Players: The Husbands and the Kids
While the Mothers Instinct cast is dominated by the two women, the men provide the necessary, if somewhat oblivious, backdrop of 1960s patriarchal dismissal.
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Josh Charles plays Celine’s husband, Simon. He’s a man drowning in his own stoic grief. You might know Charles from The Good Wife, and he brings that same grounded, slightly stern presence here. He’s the one who wants to move on, who can’t handle the messiness of his wife’s mourning. His character serves as a catalyst for Celine’s isolation.
Anders Danielsen Lie plays Simon, Alice’s husband. This was an interesting casting choice. Lie is a staple of European cinema—you might recognize him from the acclaimed The Worst Person in the World. Here, he’s playing the "supportive but skeptical" husband. He loves Alice, but he’s quick to dismiss her fears as a "relapse" of her previous mental health struggles. This gaslighting, intentional or not, is what fuels the movie's tension.
The kids are important, too. Eamon O'Connell plays Max (Celine’s son), and Baylen D. Bielitz plays Theo (Alice’s son). Child acting is tricky, especially in thrillers, but Bielitz does a great job of being the innocent pawn caught between two increasingly unstable maternal figures.
Why the Casting Matters for the 1960s Setting
The 1960s setting isn't just for the aesthetic. It matters for the plot. Back then, women were often relegated to the domestic sphere, and their "intuition"—their instinct—was frequently dismissed as hysteria.
Director Benoît Delhomme, who was the cinematographer on the original Belgian film, uses the Mothers Instinct cast to lean into the Hitchcockian vibes. The costumes by Mitchell Travers are weapons. The bright colors of the dresses contrast with the dark, psychological decay happening inside the houses. When Hathaway puts on a specific shade of blue, it’s not just a fashion choice; it’s a mask.
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The Nuance of "Maternal Instinct"
What people often get wrong about this movie is thinking it's a simple "bad neighbor" flick. It isn't. It’s about the burden of being a mother.
The film asks a really dark question: What happens when the thing that defines you—motherhood—is taken away? And what happens when you start to envy the person who still has it? The cast handles this without making it feel like a soap opera. There’s a scene where Celine spends time with Alice’s son, Theo, and the tension is so thick you could cut it with a kitchen knife. You’re waiting for something bad to happen, but the horror is in the possibility of it, not just the act itself.
- Alice (Chastain): Driven by guilt and a desperate need to protect.
- Celine (Hathaway): Driven by loss and a potentially warped sense of justice.
- The Husbands: Driven by a desire for a return to "normalcy" that no longer exists.
The Production Context
Filming took place mostly in New Jersey, standing in for suburban America. Interestingly, the movie sat on the shelf for a little while before getting a wide release, leading to some speculation about its quality. But when you look at the performances, it’s clear the delay wasn't about the acting. The Mothers Instinct cast delivered exactly what was asked: a tight, claustrophobic, and ultimately mean-spirited thriller.
The movie doesn't have a happy ending. It doesn't wrap things up with a bow. It leaves you feeling greasy and sad, which is the hallmark of a successful psychological thriller. The chemistry between Chastain and Hathaway is the only reason the ending lands as hard as it does. If you didn't believe they loved each other at the start, you wouldn't care that they’re trying to destroy each other by the end.
Practical Takeaways for Fans of the Cast
If you watched Mother's Instinct and found yourself wanting more of this specific "prestige thriller" energy, there are a few places to go next.
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First, watch the original Belgian film, Duelles. It’s fascinating to see how the same story is told with a different cultural lens. The 2018 version is perhaps a bit more "cold," whereas the 2024 version leans into the star power of its leads.
Second, check out Jessica Chastain in The Eyes of Tammy Faye or A Most Violent Year. She has a range that is frankly absurd. For Hathaway, if you want to see her play "dark" again, Eileen (2023) is a fantastic companion piece to Mother's Instinct. It also deals with 1960s repression and female relationships gone wrong.
Finally, pay attention to the cinematography. Because Delhomme is a cinematographer by trade, every shot of the Mothers Instinct cast is framed to highlight isolation. Even when they are in the same room, there’s often a physical barrier—a door frame, a window, a table—separating them.
To get the most out of your next viewing:
- Watch the background characters. The way the husbands interact when the wives aren't around tells a whole second story about 1960s social expectations.
- Look at the use of pills and alcohol. It’s a subtle nod to the "mother’s little helper" culture of the era.
- Analyze the sound design. The silence in Celine’s house after the accident is a character in itself.
The movie works because it trusts its actors. It doesn't need big explosions or jump scares. It just needs two women in a kitchen, a secret, and the terrifying power of a mother's love turned sour.