Amy Adams is Nightbitch, a woman whose exhaustion with motherhood has led her to believe she is slowly morphing into a dog. Adapted for the screen by director Marielle Heller from Rachel Yoder's 2021 novel of the same name, the peculiar invention surprised audiences when the trailer dropped earlier this year showcasing a lighter, brighter, more comedic tone for such a psychologically gnarly concept suggested, but is this subversion a wise take for a distinct premise?
One thing must be understood heading into Nightbitch: it is not the film it should be. Lending itself perfectly to a Black Swan-esque psychological drama-thriller exploring the female psyche, the potential for such a boldly dark interpretation was always too good to be true. Remaining faithful to the satirical nature of Yoder's source material, Nightbitch will, immediately, alienate potential viewers for such a decision, and while it's difficult to reject the notion that it would result in a far more suiting and striking picture, the Nightbitch we end up with certainly has its charms.
Both a love letter and scathing takedown of motherhood, exploring the sacrifices made by women to bring and sustain new life and societal and parental expectations, Nightbitch is rendered with profound insights and tonal innovation by Marielle Heller to create a wholly singular vision. Capturing the throes of motherhood with razor-sharp insight, there is also a universality to Nightbitch's explorations that will ensure the film resonates beyond its target audience, wearing the sincerity imbued similarly throughout Heller’s previous work proudly on its sleeve.
With bracing confidence and empathetic penmanship, Heller's written work is stronger than her directorial efforts. While she would have undoubtedly done better to lean into the horror elements featured in the novel to create a more viscerally charged piece, her talents are commendable and the piece is tightly contained. A little visually uninspired, there's a corporate sheen to Nightbitch admittedly in-keeping with the picture-perfect view of suburban motherhood the film addresses that nevertheless feels like a missed opportunity to deliver a more aesthetically striking cinematic experience. It is disappointingly flat in its cinematography and fatefully unwilling to push the envelope towards the teased area of body horror that could have enriched the overall piece, the visual front leaves us with the same overarching feeling of "this could have been stronger".
Both grounding and elevating the entire film around here, Amy Adams delivers her best performance in years as the titular Nightbitch. Superbly uninhibited, Adams commits with full-throttle ferocity and meets the demands of the sharp prose and physical needs of the film with brazen confidence. Imbuing such warmth into the character, which certainly helps given the amount of narrative and direct address involved, Adams' portrayal is one clearly executed with care, sympathy and just a little anger for good measure. We have been in desperate need of a reminder of the type of actress Adams has the capability of being, after a handful of poorly-chosen roles in recent years, and this is most certainly it: she is truly terrific. But she isn't the only one doing astonishing work in Nightbitch - her onscreen child is a revelation!
Nightbitch is a consistently amusing and crowd-pleasing success for the most part. Still, those who recognise the level of talent and potential involved may be disappointed with how safely it plays in the sandbox. Nevertheless, the strength of Amy Adams' central performance is reason enough to give it your time, and its thematic explorations and narrative peculiarity are uniquely realised and emotionally nourishing in the long run. While not the surefire success fans anticipating the collaboration of Marielle Heller and Amy Adams may have been holding out for, it’s hard to feel too dispirited by a feature that chooses its lane and travels it well.