Written by: Marielle Heller
Starring: Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Arleigh Snowden, Emmett Snowden, Zoë Chao
Rating: [3/5]
Motherhood’s impact on a woman checks every box when looking at how women experience large shifts physically, mentally, and socially. Their entire world changes, and while overall it’s a positive, it does not necessarily mean every component, especially from the onset, feels great. Nightbitch attempts to depict this struggle for new mothers with a brutal honesty, and it succeeds when remaining grounded but then struggles when it tries to push the envelope into magical realism.
Having paused her career as an artist to care for her child, Mother (Amy Adams) carries all of the responsibility for her child as her husband spends a good chunk of time away from home due to work. As she continues to feel isolated from others, a sense of resentment continues to build, and she begins to notice changes that make it look like she’s becoming a dog.
Quite the story idea, Nightbitch not only catches the eye with its bold title but also a brazen honesty that everyone needs to hear. For as much as motherhood receives this super sweet coating for all the good it brings to a woman’s life, all of the harsher elements curiously do not receive half the attention. It leaves someone like Mother, like many other moms out there in the world, feeling not only unappreciated but also unheard as they must quell their feelings out of the fear of not presenting themselves as happy and dutiful mothers. The manner in which this film presents this anger simmering under the surface that begins to boil displays its very best elements.
Seeing the way Mother wishes she could act out in ways but must just put on a happy face probably feels very relatable to many women out there. From the moments she could tell someone off or slap her husband in the face because of something stupid he says, those bits of satisfaction remain out of reach for her. It all makes sense, to be fair, and the film does a strong job in displaying how someone can begin to completely lose themselves within this situation. This all leads up to the way this film tries to seek to stand out as Mother begins to turn into a dog herself.
A bold storytelling choice and one that does not necessarily work. While it makes sense on the page what this story wants to convey through this transformation for Mother, the way it presents it on the screen just looks goofy and unserious. Mother’s journey of becoming a dog and, therefore, living with a level of confidence and a complete lack of inhibition does carry some power, but the way in which this magical realism plays zaps it all away. Surely not the desired effect by Marielle Heller but the unfortunate truth.
Marielle Heller has never done me wrong and quickly became one of my favorite filmmakers with Can You Ever Forgive Me? along with the rest of her filmography, which until now has all featured long titles. From the onset, the fact this film carried a one-word title should have given some pause, in addition to the premise as well. Heller has thrived in her deeply human stories and tales, providing such beautiful personalization. Nightbitch has elements of what makes her tick as a director, but when she dips her toe into working in magical realism, it appears she went a bit over her skis. A premise such as this one requires the director to go all-in with the idea of this woman turning into a dog, but the way it turns out in this film comes across as a storyteller refusing to go all-in on its silliness.
While this film fails in the one component it sought to distinguish itself as a narrative, it still manages to deliver the heart of the story quite well. Through a strong Amy Adams performance, we feel every bit of this journey for Mother as she descends into becoming an animal on both a thematic and literal level. Heller has never failed in delivering strong human stories but evidently did not do so well in the heightened elements the source material required and perhaps would have never worked in adapting it to a feature film. Regardless, it has plenty to appreciate in its raw honesty about motherhood and should continue to be shouted from the rooftops.
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