Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Housewives Alice and Celine are best friends and neighbours who seem to have it all. However, when a tragic accident shatters the harmony of their lives, guilt, suspicion and paranoia begin to unravel their sisterly bond.
Mothers' Instinct is a polished remake of the 2018 Belgian film Duelles, transplanting the slow-burn psychological thriller to a 1960s American suburban setting. The cinematography stands out as genuinely exceptional — the period-perfect production design, saturated palette, and Hitchcockian framing elevate the material considerably. The plot is competent but thin, leaning heavily on its source material's structure without adding meaningful layers; the paranoia escalates predictably. Hathaway and Chastain deliver committed performances that keep the film engaging, though neither is given enough complex material to fully shine. Novelty suffers from being a fairly straightforward remake that doesn't radically reinterpret its source, even if the aesthetic execution is strong. The ending resolves with reasonable impact but lacks the gut-punch surprise that would make it truly memorable.