Nightbitch
Review by Mark Woodring
Nightbitch is an interesting premise, promising a look behind the curtain at motherhood through Amy Adams’ character, a promising artist with a future who gives it up to get married and become a mother.
But has the creation of a new life pushed her over the edge, or is she actually undergoing some sort of primal change?
**NOTE: this post may be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
98 Minutes, Rated R
Written by Marielle Heller, Rachel Yoder (novel)
Directed by Marielle Heller
Synopsis:
A woman pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mom, but soon her domesticity takes a surreal turn, as she starts to believe she is turning into a dog at night, running wild with a pack of other canines.
The novel this was based on was, from a quick bit of research, written by a successful author (Rachel Yoder) as a form of self-care or self-analysis as she struggled with the same doubts as Amy Adams’ character: was it worth it to give it up for the difficulties of raising a child and a husband who doesn’t seem to understand what she’s going through?
Of course, modern feminism would have women believe that the answer is an absolute “No,” and even criticizing women who choose to do so.
As a man, the only dog I have in this fight (see what I did there?) is from the husband’s perspective. Modern feminism would then tell me to shut the hell up, so I’ll keep my comments brief:
I’m a father, and I can honestly say yes, women who choose to be stay at home mothers to young children are freaking heroes. They’re superheroes without capes, juggling 80 flaming items of various size and import each day, only to barely get any rest before doing it all again the next day.
I give my wife full credit for how good a person our kid is.
Regardless, Nightbitch the movie feels like a cinematic translation of what I assume the book wound up being: the aforementioned bit of analysis. It’s a surreally dramatized version of the central themes of womanhood espoused by Barbie in 2023.
Only not as well.
On the other hand, I felt, as I was watching it, that it shared a strand of DNA or two with another great psychological film about identity and self-knowledge: American Psycho.
The biggest difference, of course, is that the instances of her inner, more honest commentary and behaviors are presented to us before being immediately undercut by the “reality” of the situation, whereas American Psycho leaves little doubt (depending on how you feel about the final “revelation”) about the reality or unreality of Patrick Bateman’s life.
All this uncertainly allows us to ignore nearly everything that happens until she confronts her dissatisfaction to her husband, which is when “real life” takes center stage ahead of her canine fantasy (or magical reality, again depending on your POV).
A lot of critics are dragging Nightbitch like a retriever drags his butt across the carpet, but I’m not that negative on it. It’s arguments are not without validity, though they lack a certain nuance that might even the tone of the film out. It’s not Adams’ best work, but neither is it the worst performance.
Nightbitch is, for me, a movie that could have been better had it played either darker and straighter or even more surreal and/or magically real.
This was going to be a direct to Hulu release, but that changed after test audiences gave it enough of a reception to change it to a theatrical one.
I think they were right the first time around.
Nightbitch rolls into theaters on Friday, December 6 and stars Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Arleigh Snowden, Emmett Snowden, Jessica Harper, Zoe Chao, Mary Holland, and Archana Rajan.
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