Nightbitch

As a lifelong single male I'm out of my comfort zone to discuss this one! It's a rather fascinating, insightful (I think) and somewhat ruthless and startling look at early motherhood. However, while I'm sure some do, I don't get the canine gimmick, for lack of a better word. Not only do I not get it, I think it undermines the really fine parts of this which includes the writing for this loving, harsh and humorous look at a woman on the brink not really understanding all that would change in her world and her being after giving birth to her first child. However, gotta blame the the same writing team of Marielle Heller & Rachel Yoder for the canine analogy. While I don't think it her finest hour, Amy Adams is her usual excellent self in a tricky role that she conquers and it was nice to see Jessica Harper for the first time in a while, though the talented Scoot McNairy is wasted in an underwritten role. For me, much of this was a learning experience.

If you didn't raise your children on your own full time, you won't understand. It has some overly dark comedy, but other than that it's one of the first movies that truly encompasses how it feels to raise a child on your own. I personally felt like clapping multiple times. I raised my daughter on my own since she was 1yr old and ran a home daycare, so I could relate all too well. The animal aspects were very over dramatic and at times gory, but the overall message was on point. I do feel that parents that aren't hands on with raising their children should watch, just so they know what us full time mothers really go through.

I enjoyed this movie. I went in blind so I had no idea what to expect. I kept thinking what the heck am I watching? This movie is so bizarre. But honestly it's just a way to get the message across. Moms lose themselves. And this story is raw and real to what most of us feel. We love our kids more than anything in the entire world. We don't regret them. But we do at times miss the person that we lost when we entered motherhood. I think a lot of the negative reviews that this movie gets are either from men or women who haven't experienced motherhood. You don't know until you're there. And I appreciated the honesty of this movie. We as mothers are trying to live up to the stereotypes of what a good mom is. Not only do we struggle with the changes it brings but also trying to live up to the people who seem like they have it all figured out. We don't get to see that we all struggle. We all pretend like everything is great. Because if we don't then we are weak and we are bad moms. I liked watching a story that shows that maybe we're all struggling to figure it out.

Marielle Heller's Nightbitch is a film that wears its metaphor on its sleeve, adapting Rachel Yoder's novel into an intimate, surreal meditation on the anxieties of motherhood. Amy Adams delivers a deeply committed performance, portraying a woman slowly morphing-psychologically and perhaps physically-into something wild. The film is honest, heartfelt, and full of intriguing ideas, but it never quite harnesses its own potential into something truly lasting.

At its best, Nightbitch captures the quiet desperation of a woman whose identity is dissolving into the routines of child-rearing. The film doesn't shy away from the frustration, isolation, and even the bodily transformation that can come with motherhood. The central premise-Adams' character believing she is turning into a dog-feels like a perfect vehicle for exploring these themes. The problem is that the film introduces a range of interesting ideas but rarely commits to them. It flirts with horror, dark comedy, and psychological drama, yet never fully sinks its teeth into any of them.

Visually, the film plays with an unsettling, dreamlike atmosphere, and the sound design heightens the tension in subtle ways. The moments where Nightbitch leans into its body horror elements are effective, but they feel restrained-almost as if the film is afraid to follow through on its own premise. Instead, it settles into a more symbolic and introspective tone, which works emotionally but leaves some of its most compelling aspects underexplored.

Amy Adams is undeniably the film's strongest asset. Her performance is raw and vulnerable, grounding the surreal elements in something deeply human. However, the narrative around her remains somewhat scattered. There's a sense that the film wants to say something profound about identity, femininity, and transformation, but it never fully lands on a clear or resonant thesis.

In the end, Nightbitch is a film that lingers in the mind but doesn't quite leave a lasting mark. It's compelling in moments, frustrating in others-always interesting, but rarely as sharp as it could be. It's worth watching for Adams' performance and its unique take on motherhood, but it ultimately feels like a howl that never reaches a full roar.

What happened to my wife?" (Father). "She died in childbirth!" (Mother)

Nightbitch is the Swiss Army knife of motherhood psychoanalysis. The joys and sorrows of leaving a profession as an artist to raise a child are in full display as Mother (Amy Adams) eventually sees the downside of motherhood while clueless Father (Scoot McNairy) goes off to work several days in a row most times.

The reality of a job that pays nothing and leaves her sleepless while former colleagues prosper happily merges into Mother's fantasy (?) of becoming a dog. The feral aspect of this motif is handled deftly by writer-director Marielle Heller so that the film is much less horror than the title suggests. Any woman in middle-age, even with an aging parent to tend rather than a child, can identify with the contradictory emotions emerging regularly.

Nightbitch shows that even the all-consuming love of the caregiver is not enough to stem the resentment that can eat away at her happiness. When Mother scrapes the floor for food like a hungry dog, the point is well taken about the primitive nature of survival.

Mostly the loss of one's calling, in Mother's case as an artist, seems the greatest cut of all. But, then, our society has not yet fully embraced the idea of retaining or returning to one's gift during or after child-rearing. At one point, Father admits to never having thought about the necessity of tending to Mother's talent beyond nurturing.

To give dad his due, he was blindsided by her wish to leave her profession, never having been trained to explore motivations more fully. Nightbitch skirts analysis of Father's role probably because it would compromise the attention to the film's core subject-Motherhood. While the film is part deconstruction of the role and bodily horror (try to watch her discover a tale protruding from her backside!), it surprisingly exposes the many sides of parenthood through common sense, little horror, and some magic realism.

Amy Adams should be Oscar-nominated for the 9th time. She's that good and may win this time. As for the audience, the trip home should be full of discourse about the complicated jobs of parents and, by extension, caregivers. It can be a "bitch" and the grandest calling of all.