Nightbitch (2024)
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Nightbitch Movie Review
Nightbitch is a 2024 drama film directed by Marielle Heller and starring Amy Adams. It’s a pretty solid, underrated film.
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“We fucking create life. We make life. We are so powerful“
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An artist who pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mum seeks a new chapter in her life and encounters just that when her nightly routine takes a surreal turn and her maternal instincts begin to manifest in canine form. Based on the novel of the same name, this movie is billed as a black comedy and a horror, but it’s actually a family drama with some supernatural elements.
I did not care for those magical realist sections. The protagonist turning into a dog was a solid choice, but because those parts were so sidelined they did not feel necessary to the plot ultimately. I would have personally cut them off and the film would have stayed pretty much the same.
With that being said, the parental drama at its core really worked. There aren’t that many movies about motherhood or parenthood in general, so Nightbitch felt fresh in a way. They depicted motherhood as demanding and even terrifying, but it’s hard to argue against this depiction, especially as it regards the loss of personality and purpose in the woman who essentially just becomes a mother during that period in her life. This is a feminist tale done right and leading to a very moving ending.
Scott McNairy is forgettable as this typical absent father and husband, but this is clearly the Amy Adams show through and through and she delivered in spades. This is one of her best performances to date and had this been a stronger movie, she would have easily been Oscar-nominated for the role. She’s thoroughly believable as this overworked mother and some of her painful speeches were heartbreaking because of her terrific acting skills.
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The movie is worth seeing for her performance alone and for some solid dialogue, but more should have been done in terms of pacing, editing and directing, which were all pedestrian. Heller has directed better films before, that’s for sure.
Nightbitch is a pretty solid and underrated flick. Movies about motherhood and parenthood in general are rare, so this one felt surprisingly fresh in a way. While the supernatural scenes did not work at all, the domestic drama was well done. The technical aspects are pedestrian, but the dialogue is strong, some scenes are quite moving and the film’s worth seeing for the outstanding central performance from Amy Adams alone. Had this been a better-received movie, she would have been a shoo-in for the awards nominations.
My Rating – 3.5
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