Mothers’ Instinctis not only amasterclass in actingbetween the two leads, withAnne HathawayandJessica Chastainexcelling in all scenes where they go toe-to-toe as their characters Céline and Alice. It is also afascinating exploration of how societal expectations of women, mental health, and motherhood can have disastrous consequences. Once best friends who would do anything for each other, Alice and Céline force each other to the edge of their sanity following an unthinkable tragedy. Yet,Mothers' Instinct’s dark finale has us rethink the entirety of the film, highlighting the gaslighting that had been ongoing and leaving us with slightly unresolved feelings towards Céline and her actions.
What is ‘Mothers’ Instinct' About?
Alice and Céline are next-door neighbors and family friends and while all seems to be idyllic between the two families, from the start, there is a tension inMothers' Instinctthat tells us not everything is right. Despite living the stereotypical 1950s American dream, Alice wants more independence but is limited by her husband, Simon (Anders Danielsen Lie), who believes she should stay at home. Céline’s only gripe with life is that she can’t have more kids after complications surrounding the birth of her son, Max (Baylen D. Bielitz).Both women have valid and opposite reactions to how society expects them to behave.What they have in common, though, is their ability to confide in each other and find supportthrough their challenges in life.
However,that friendship is shattered following a tragic accident in which Max falls from the roof and dies. Alice begins to believe that Céline blames her for Max’s death after Céline gets closer to Theo in situations that make Alice uncomfortable, such as putting Theo up on the same roof or leaving out cookies that she knows he is allergic to. Yet, as Alice’s paranoia grows —which leads her to believe that Céline is at fault for her mother-in-law’s death— she is increasingly berated by her husband, as he blames her past mental health issues for her delusions. Theo forces the two women to make up properly, threatening to jump off the same roof Max fell from. Despite their resolution, Alice and her family decide to move away.
‘Mothers’ Instinct' Gives Us a Twist That Throws Us Into a Tense and Chaotic Final Showdown
Despite being past the conflict, there is an undercurrent of tension, which pays off when Céline spikes her husband, Damian’s (JoshCharles) drink with chloroform and slices his wrists to stage suicide. Céline uses this to trick Alice and Simon into letting her stay with them that night, and whilst she lies upstairs, Alice goes round to her house to collect some things. Throughout these scenes, it is a shock to the audience toreview the previous events of the film, which Alice was gaslit into believing weren’t nefarious, with the knowledge she was right all along. We are forced to sit back and watch the fatal repercussions of Simon’s refusal to believe Alice.
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These cinematic voices arrived fully formed.
Céline uses this time to sedate Simon and Theo, and it’s particularly distressing watching how careful she is with Theo as it confirms our theories about her true motivations — she wants him for herself. Céline is willing to do anything to have another child since she can no longer get pregnant and this shows howbeing a mother is the only lens through which she perceives herself. It seems almost unacceptable to her not to be the perfect wife and mother who runs the PTA at school as she did at the beginning of the film.
Céline and Alice Fight For Theo in a Brutal Confrontation
Alice discovers that Simon and Theo are sedated, and we get aviolent and savage confrontationbetween the two women before Céline can chloroform Alice. What makes the fight feel fiercer is the setting of such a sweet, suburban household that truly highlights just how extreme this conflict has become, with the paranoia and deceit spilling over into brutality. After taking Theo outside and lying Alice on the sofa with her husband,Céline disconnects their gas pipe, staging an accidental death for the two parents, and then adopts Theowith his blessing.
The final scene, of Céline and Theo on the beach, ishaunting as they both look to each other to heal themselves, despite Céline being the entire cause of Theo’s pain. Certainly, the bigger tragedy here is Alice, an innocentwoman who was gaslitdue to her mental health and then murdered. Yet,Mothers' Instincts’ending portrays the complex sympathy we feel for Céline as well. Whilst she directly committed the crimes, we understand how both women were conditioned to view their lives through the lens of what was expected of them rather than one of self-acceptance. Their vulnerabilities, Alice’s mental health, and Céline’s perception of herself were picked on until they were pushed beyond the very limit of what society, the real culprits, would consider civilized.
Mothers' Instinctis currently available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.
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Mothers' Instinct
