Hathaway/Chastain

A large part of my life is talking to the neighbors about children: what is happening with the pre-K lottery, what does it mean to have a "fear" of the sprinkler, which Disney World restaurant deserves a blue ribbon.

So "Mothers' Instinct"--a campy melodrama about two NJ mommy-frenemies--seems tailor-made for me.

In this film, Oscar winner Anne Hathaway lives next door to Oscar winner Jessica Chastain. All's well until Hathaway's kid climbs onto a roof, and Chastain doesn't properly intercede. The kid dies--and Hathaway appears to take her revenge. She steals from Chastain. She disrupts Chastain's public events. She (maybe) kills Chastain's mother-in-law?

Hathaway has the obviously showy role, but Chastain also has fun. She gets to make an insane accusation against Hathaway. She finds herself breaking into houses. Finally, she *asks* to be committed, to be returned to an asylum, where she was once confined for months for the sin of having shown professional ambition. (This is the 1950s.)

I didn't learn anything profound about the human condition, but the cat/mouse games are entertaining, and the costuming deserves recognition. There are many less-worthy options in movie theaters, for now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLikloRQiUE

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