Mothers’ Instinct ending explained: Shocking spoilers for Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway’s film

To say that things get slightly unbalanced from this point on would be an understatement, and as the film nears its climax, several shocking twists and turns are sure to produce audible reactions from the audience.

If you’ve seen the film and need a recap of the events of the dramatic finale, read on to explain the ending of Mothers’ Instinct.

Warning: contains full spoilers for Mothers’ Instinct.

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film-a0098b56″>Mothers’ Instinct ending explained: Shocking spoilers for Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway’s film

At the start of the film, Alice (Chastain) and Céline (Hathaway) share a close bond and lead a seemingly idyllic existence – but this being a psychological thriller, that was never going to last.

Indeed, everything changes radically the day Max, Céline’s son, tragically falls from a balcony and dies.

Alice had seen the event unfold from her garden and had tried to prevent it, but her intervention was too late, which left her with a feeling of guilt, especially since Céline seemed to blame her for not having avoided the drama.

Although they initially seem to repair their relationship, Alice soon becomes paranoid and believes that Céline is out for revenge and is targeting her family, suspicions which turn out to be not unfounded – although her husband Simon doesn’t give much thought. pay attention to the warnings.

This goes up a notch at the birthday party of Alice’s son Theo, who was Max’s best friend, and since her death he seems to have developed a much closer bond with Céline.

At the party, Alice’s outspoken mother – called Grandma Jean – is suddenly found dead, and although the explanation given is that she had forgotten to take her medication, Alice becomes convinced that Céline has something to do with death.

As her suspicions increase and evidence begins to mount to suggest that Céline had Implicated in Jean’s death, Alice finally discovers that Céline kept a large quantity of chloroform in a secret compartment in her house.

If viewers have any doubt about what’s in the compartment, the chloroform is labeled in clear, bright letters – one of many moments in which the film doesn’t exactly trade in subtlety.

Either way, soon all hell breaks loose and Céline’s revenge campaign – not to mention the film‘s camp elements – is ramped up to 11.

Céline and Alice meet in the hallway where the former knocks out the latter using chloroform, while she also sneaks into Théo’s room and applies enough so that he too passes out.

But she doesn’t stop there: she then gasses the house while Alice and her husband Simon are unconscious, kills them and passes it off as an escape before taking Theo away. She’s certainly not hiding anything.

The film ends with Céline gaining custody of Théo, with the final scene showing them enjoying a day at the beach – a wholesome image at odds with the storylines that preceded it.

Missing her own son and consumed by grief, Céline was desperate to adopt Theo for herself – and did whatever was necessary to make it happen.

And so, she gets her happily ever after – even if most of the other characters aren’t so lucky…

Mothers’ Instinct is now showing in UK cinemas. Check out more of our movie coverage or visit our TV guide and streaming guide to find out what’s on tonight.

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