Tehran – “Mothers ‘Instinct” is a 2024 American film directed by Benoît Delhomme and will be reviewed on Sunday evening at the Arasbaran Cultural Center in Tehran.
Film critic Kurosh Jahed will be taking part in a review session following the film’s screening.
“Mothers ‘Instinct” is a fascinating psychological thriller, marking Delhomme’s directorial debut. The film stars Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Anders Danielsen Lee and Josh Charles. This is a remake of a 2018 French film directed by Olivier Masset DePas, which itself was adapted from Barbara Abel’s 2012 novel, Delière La Hain (Behind Hatred).
The story explores the themes of motherhood, doubt, sadness, and dark secrets that can be boiled under the apparently perfect suburban life.
Set in the 1960s, the story revolves around two mothers next door, Alice Bradford and Cerely Lin Jennings. However, their friendship makes a tragic turn when Serin’s young son Max plays on the balcony and tries to hang a nest box he made at school, loses his footing and falls to his death. Alice, who is pruning her garden nearby, realizes that Max is at risk and tries to warn Serene. Her efforts were delayed by her big sun hat, causing her to run around the hedges that divide their gardens. By the time she reaches Celene, it’s too late – the boy has collapsed.
This catastrophic loss begins to approach Alice’s son Theo, but this catastrophic loss is crushed from Alice and emotionally far away. During Max’s funeral, Theo notices his toy in Max’s co, and reacts vigorously. Overcoming with grief, Serene leaves town for a month, but later returns and the woman reconciliates. Their relationship becomes more and more tense when Alice witnesses Theo play on the same balcony where Max has fallen. Suffering from the incident, Alice suspects that Serine is testing her mother’s instincts.
Tensions grow as Theo and Céline bond deepens, and Theo invites Theo to his birthday party. After the celebration, tragedy strikes once again when Alice’s stepmother suddenly collapses and dies a heart attack. The autopsy reveals that she was taking the drug, but the tests show no traces of the drug. Specific evidence remains elusive, but Alice’s suspicions are suspecting that she is replacing her medication with a placebo.
The story reaches its climax as Alice uncovers a more disturbing truth and leads to a tense conflict with Selene. The film explores how to manipulate maternal instincts and how sadness and doubt can lead to catastrophic consequences, reaching its peak in a shocking, chilly finale.
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