'Derriere la haine' is a French novel that despite receiving a cinematic re-imagination of it's storyline back in 2018 with Olivier Masset-Depasse's 'Duelles', has now been retold for the second time in six years through the form of Benoit Delhomme's 'Mothers' Instinct'.
The story of 'Mothers' Instinct' follows the lives of Alice (Jessica Chastain) and Celine (Anne Hathaway), a pair of best friends as well as Mother's to boys of similar ages, forced with the task of dealing with a new-found tragedy following an unfortunate incident that would change their lives forever.
Within the intense and enticing storyline of this movie, various thought-provoking themes are discussed and dealt with throughout such as grief, alcoholism, psychological manipulation as well as many others.
The unique selling point of this movie is the two show-stealing performances from both Chastain and Hathaway as our two protagonists. The two Oscar-winning actress excel in their respective roles as Alice and Celine, providing cinema-lovers with the unexpected 'Interstellar' reunion we all needed.
Chastain perfectly headlines the movie as Alice, the scarred Mother attempting to maintain her relationship with her best-friend and convince both her and herself that she was not at fault for the tragic turn of events. Whereas Hathaway does a delicate job of portraying Celine, a Mother who has lost something no parent could ever imagine, who takes matters into her own hands to grieve in the best way she knows how.
And although it is the due of Hathaway and Chastain that once again prove why they are both two of the most talented actresses working today, the supporting performances from Andres Danielsen Lie, Josh Charles and Eamon Patrick O'Connell round off the entire ensemble cast with their impressive portrayals of Chastain and Hathaway's counterparts and child.
Whilst from the outside looking in, this movie may feel like it possesses a storyline with a very limited ceiling, the film does all but prove you correct. As the storyline slowly but carefully unveils itself, there always seems to be another chapter to this dark tale that audiences refuse to expect.
I, for one, myself disrespectfully mistook this movie for one with a dull and boring storyline with a lack of excitement, priding itself on one specific plot-twisting event that is then dragged out over 90 minutes. But for this movie, this just isn't the case. As audience members are lead to believe that they have seen the entire plot play out before them, another twist of events reveals itself, forcing us to remain in our seats even longer.
Overall Rating: 8/10
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