“Nightbitch,” adapted from Rachel Yoder’s eponymous novel, is a film of many parts, some more successful than the others, and each clashes in a tonal mish-mash. Marielle Heller directs, with an inherent understanding of the subject matter—the curbed spirit and artistry of women doomed to stay-at-home motherhood—yet struggles to make a cogent point by the end. Amy Adams stars in the lead role and is unsparing, setting aside all vanity, but is constrained by a film that is ultimately more square than intended. Female viewers will likely find “Nightbitch” cathartic even as they question its clutter of ideas.
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Before “Nightbitch” starts schizophrenically genre-hopping, it begins auspiciously enough. We are introduced to Amy Adams’ retired artist, now a mother of a 2-year-old, as she rues the banality of her domesticated life and the death of her talents. The opening act is the sharpest as her interactions with people in her life are overlaid with her mean-spirited inner monologue, delivered with dollops of irony by Adams. The witticisms cut deep, gender roles are skewered, and Adams provides a masterclass in withering looks and death glares. This section plays like a comedic “Saturday Night Live” spoof of “Jeanne Dielman” for the Gen Z generation. It is entertaining and has some genuine big-belly laughs. If only the entire film were like this.
We soon get into the turning-into-a-dog business, which is amusing initially but quickly stalls the picture. “Nightbitch” spends considerable time showing her literal transformation into a dog without doing much with the transformation at all. There are scenes of Adams on all fours running around a garden, killing animals, digging into the earth, and burying them. She ravenously devours meat and barks and howls guttarly. Heller never settles on whether it is magic realism, a hallucination, or a metaphor and brushes aside the whole thing as “Nightbitch” improbably turns into a serious marital drama towards the end—cue “Marriage Story” style shouting matches between Adams and Scoot McNairy.
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“Nightbitch” operates in too many modes at once, making a muddle of most of them. There are even flashbacks to Nightbitch’s own childhood and her relationship with her mother that contribute little. In perhaps a lack of nerve, Heller fails to go there with the titular Nightbitch premise, and any real weirdness is drained out of the picture. It also has to resort to putting its central thesis into a blunt dialog, “Motherhood is not all sunshine; motherhood is fucking brutal,” lest the audience miss a beat. The best portions of the film play to Heller’s strengths – the scenes of social interactions, the comedy of manners, and the satirical tone at display in the first act.
Amy Adams, often a square presence, is well-cast in the title role. Her generally genial good vibes blunt the edge of even her nastiest rejoinders, making them almost seem adorable. She does commit to the part, sporting a character-appropriate postpartum frame, and her gradual transformation into a dog is physically unflattering. You have to wonder, though, if an actress capable of bringing forth a more malignant edge might have been able to milk the weirdness harder. Adams’ many fans will be entertained to see her muck it up. Her talent has always been in convincing you that you know someone just like her in real life. McNairy is afforded his own arc, from an uncaring, aloof parent and husband to something better. Their toddler, played by identical twins Arleigh Patrick Snowden and Emmett James Snowden, as is custom in Hollywood, is a superb screen partner for Adams.
“Nitghtbitch’s” trailer was ridiculed, though it isn’t far off from where the film eventually lands, and some of the best laughs are already included. The film was upgraded from a streaming launch to a theatrical bow, but prospects seem uncertain. Adams’ name might generate interest, but it doesn’t work as a pure comedy as the laughs dry up in the latter part. Despite that, the “Nightbitch” commentary about the drudgery of motherhood, unsupported by your spouse, is pointedly made, and many male and female viewers will see themselves in Adams and McNairy’s characters. [C+]
Searchlight Pictures will release “Nightbitch” on December 6.
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