#Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway to Star – /Film

Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway are going to play rival housewives in the psychological thriller Mothers’ Instinct, the English-language remake of Olivier Masset-Depasse‘s 2018 Belgian film Duelles. Masset-Depasse will be directing this English-language remake, which Chastain will also be producing.

Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway have starred in films together before — namely Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar — but we never got to see these two talented actresses cross paths onscreen. Now they’re moving across the street from each other in an idyllic 1960s suburb, where a “psychological battle of wills” unfolds. Chastain and Hathaway are set to star opposite each other in Mothers’ Instinct, Olivier Masset-Depasse‘s English-language remake of his own 2018 acclaimed Belgian film Duelles. The film follows two best friends and neighbors whose perfect harmony is shattered after a tragic accident.
Here is the logline for Mothers’ Instinct:

Set in the early ‘60s, best friends and neighbors Alice (Chastain) and Celine (Hathaway) both live an idyllic traditional lifestyle with manicured lawns, successful husbands and sons of the same age. Life’s perfect harmony is suddenly shattered after a tragic accident. Guilt, suspicion and paranoia combine to unravel their sisterly bond and a psychological battle of wills begins as the maternal instinct reveals its darker side.

Writer Sarah Conradt (50 States of Fright) is set to adapt the English language script of the film, which is based on Barbara Abel’s novel Derrière la Haine. Olivier Masset-Depasse helms the remake after his 2018 film Duelles was a critical hit, winning a record-breaking 9 Magritte Awards from the Belgian Academy including Best Film and Best Director.

“It takes actors of Jessica and Anne’s caliber to communicate the intricacy of these two roles,” Masset-Depasse said in a statement. “The relationship between a mother and child is the most powerful connection between two human beings.  When this bond is severed, it calls into question conventional morality and even sanity. In the behind-closed-doors atmosphere of 1960’s America, Mothers’ Instinct becomes a terrifying, high-pressure powder keg.”

Added Sébastien Raybaud, the founder and CEO of Anton, which is set to produce and finance the film, “Audiences could not wish for a more dynamic match-up on screen. Both character roles are wonderfully complex and will showcase Jessica and Anne’s incredible breadth of talent. Olivier has already proven adept at this twist on the Hitchcock-ian genre and we have great faith in his ability to deliver a compelling thriller.”
Chastain is producing the film alongside Kelly Carmichael with her banner Freckle Films, which is also behind the Chastain-starring international espionage film The 355. It’s always great to see prominent names like Chastain using their platforms to boost lesser-known creators in the States, and even better that this film brings together Chastain and Hathaway, who are always committed performers. And the prospect of them playing rival mommy dearests? That sounds like vamp heaven.

Paul Nelson at Mosaic (The Other Guys) and Jacques-Henri Bronckart (Duelles) also produce. Anton will fully finance and executive produce the project, as well as launch worldwide sales on the film at the upcoming 2020 AFM in November.

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