Nightbitch is an unstoppable force of raw intensity layered with depth and honesty about the pain of motherhood, and how mothers deal with the loss of identity as they become consumed by the raising of their child.
Amy Adams delivers a powerhouse performance, one of the best of her career, as Mother, who from the very first moment of the film tells the audience that she is not doing well. Adams’ opening monologue at the grocery store is delivered with such passion and truth that it alone would secure her the Academy Award, but the pace of the movie never lets up in this jaw dropping story,
No other film has been this honest in the portrayal of what it is like to be a mother. The sanitized version of past films and sitcoms of the 1950’s are replaced with a gripping portrayal of reality, and the love that exists between mother and child.
Mother loves her son, but the demand and draining of her reserves and the arrangement she has with her husband about staying home all the time, is not working. The problem for Mother, as Adams brilliantly displays throughout the film, is that while she knows that she is not happy, Mother is consumed with the idea that she needs to be thankful and to concentrate on what’s best for her child. Riddled with doubt over her own abilities, Mother constantly worries about doing the right thing. There is one moment as Mother is trying to put the son down for bed, she rolls over and vents her frustration with sarcasm and worry, that if she did what all the expert books suggested, then her son would be sleeping on his own.
As her grip on control starts to slip way, Mother notices that she might be turning into a dog. The changes are not so strange, and the weird portion of the story make sense. It’s easy to believe anything that Amy Adams would say on screen in this role, because her ability to express the pain, isolation and the loss of freedom and identity as she assumes the all-consuming mother role is nuanced with heart and emotion that this role traditionally never gets. It feels real.
Mother starts running the streets at night as a dog, and this leads to a confrontation with Husband and a separation. Mother knows what’s best, and finally she is starting to be truthful about what is happening to her and how she feels.
Scoot McNairy as Father is a role that is not only perfectly written by director Marielle Heller but refrains from portraying the husband as a dimwitted man child. Father is a decent guy; he just doesn’t get what is happening with Mother. Sometimes to have a better understanding of one’s situation a change is needed, and the marriage separation was not only skillfully crafted into the story, but it also avoids the cliché response from the newly single father. It’s a learning opportunity for both parents.
Nightbitch is one of the most unique films to hit the screen in decades. Not only does it provide an opportunity for Amy Adams to play a fantastic character, but it forces audiences to rethink the concept of what motherhood is really like and opens the door for a genuine and real discussion about what life is like as a parent.
The motherhood role has been a vaunted crown that society wishes to place on the head of every woman. The problem is that the crown can often come with a multitude of thorns that hurt and cause pain.
There is a loss of identity in the film that is explored in multiple ways. From naming the character Mother, we already see that Adams’ character doesn’t even get to be herself in name. Her name becomes her job, and that is all that is expected of her by society. When Mother does get to spend time with her grad school friends, she is a fish out of water that doesn’t feel comfortable being with the people she would have the most in common with, because she doesn’t even know who she is anymore, but Mother.
Adams’ Mother is probably one of the most genuine characters on screen in the last 20 years of cinema, if not longer. Director Marielle Heller has made the book by Rachel Yoder a discussion point that audiences will examine about the magnificence of motherhood, and how often women get left alone to figure it out, with little to no help at all.
I personally think this will be the role that secures Amy Adams an Oscar, because the movie’s story and success relies on Adams being able to make the audience empathize with Mother, and there is no other actor that could have brought the star power, gravitas, and unmitigated talent to the role.
Nightbitch will be the most talked about film this year. The performances are exemplary, the script is a tight concise narrative of truth mixed with a bit of magical realism, and the direction is superior. Not only are real issues explored in this unflinching look at the domestic role of motherhood, but it’s also funny too. The humor is constant, and while audiences will be confronted with reexamining their thoughts and views on the role of motherhood, they are certain to have a great time.
