If you saw the 2018 film “Tully,” you have a reference point for where “Nightbitch,” based on the book by Rachel Yoder, is headed. The biggest difference between the two honest films about the hardships of modern-day motherhood is, of course, the dog element. Both films use narrative illusions to subvert a run-of-the-mill domesticated drama and feature award-winning actresses deglamorized to paint a more realistic picture. Much like Charlize Theron did with “Tully,” Amy Adams finds new territory by quite literally digging in the dirt. Adams explains that it was the internal monologue that she related to most when approaching the project. She also serves as a film producer.
There is a voice inside her (Adams) head that says what she really thinks when someone asks how she likes being a mother. “I’m dumb now,” that inner voice responds while outwardly she smiles and says, “I love it.” Stepping away from a career as an artist, she is now all consumed with raising her three-year-old son at home and cooking endless amounts of hashbrowns. Her doting but clueless husband (Scoot McNairy) travels for work during the week and is on daddy duty during weekends. “Honey, where are the towels…. The sippy cup…. Another towel.” He doesn’t provide her with the reprieve she so desperately needs. Mother notices weird hairs growing, her sense of smell stronger than before, and a primal urge to run at night barefoot. She needs a break, change, and balance to be an individual and simultaneously a mother before her new animalistic instincts consume her humanity.
"I'm dumb now," that inner voice responds; while outwardly she smiles and says, "I love it."
Director Marielle Heller (“Can You Ever Forgive Me“) walks a thin line with “Nightbitch” between enlightened conversation about motherhood and absurdity. It’s a balance that, like the character of Mother (Adams and McNairy are not given names, only labels), isn’t always steady. The six-time Oscar-nominated Adams is the film; every frame, every scene, without her devotion, “Nightbitch” would be as ludicrous as the trailer suggests. The opposite of a vanity project, Adams lets it all hang down and out, plating with a hair sticking out of her chin in one scene, commenting to herself, “That’s where we are now.”
Heller’s script paints a story that’s very black and white. In one scene where Father takes an apartment to give his wife some “me time,” you can’t help but wonder if they can afford a house and apartment, why not a nanny or sitter, mentioned elsewhere in the film? Flashbacks show generational struggles, yet “Nightbitch” won’t garner much sympathy from boomers who weren’t afforded time outs, me time, and worked full-time jobs while raising multiple kids. When “Nightbitch” leans into its more comedic elements, it works best; the opening sequence is probably the funniest and orients the viewer directly into the headspace of the film. It’s also quite moving in the more dramatic moments, one scene in particular where Mother loses it, finally cluing her husband in on their deterioration as a family. It’s everything in between that will work for more open-minded viewers and turn off audiences who prefer two feet instead of four.
Final Thought
Adams's performance is the highlight as she keeps this film on a much-needed leash.