Tragedy unravels idyllic suburban life in 'Mothers' Instinct' trailer with Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain

An idyllic 1960s suburban life straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting comes crashing down among two mothers pitted against one another in the first trailer for "Mothers' Instinct."

Led by Academy Award-winners Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, the film tells the story of two best friends whose relationship irreparably unravels when tragedy strikes.

The first trailer for the film, the directorial debut from cinematographer Benoît Delhomme, was released this week by StudioCanal, a French production company that acquired distribution rights in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

See the trailer for "Mothers' Instinct" below, along with what we we know so far about the psychological thriller.

Watch the trailer for 'Mothers' Instinct'

The trailer depicts the sisterly bond shared between Alice (Chastain) and Celine (Hathaway) as they raise sons of a similar age in the same neighborhood.

But when Alice fails to save Celine's son, Max, from falling off a balcony to his death, guilt and paranoia begin to creep in to their seemingly picture-perfect lives.

“You need to separate the grief from the guilt,” Alice tells Céline, who retorts: “What guilt, Alice?”

Watch it here:

What is 'Mothers' Instinct' about?

Based on Barbara Abel’s 2012 novel of the same name, "Mothers' Instinct" was first adapted in 2018 for a Belgian film.

The trailer depicts how the bond the women share begins to deteriorate after Max's death as Celine grows more suspicious of Alice. Alice, in turn becomes more wracked with shame over her failure to protect the boy as she worries that her former friend is out for revenge.

Left without a son, Celine instead grows close to Alice's boy, Theo – further amplifying the growing feelings of mistrust between the once close friends.

Who else stars? Cast of 'Mothers' Instinct:'

The film also stars "the Good Wife" actor Josh Charles and Anders Danielsen Lie of "the Worst Person in the World" alongside Hathaway and Chastain as Celine and Alice's respective husbands.

A release date for "Mothers' Instinct" has not yet been announced.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com