[Rating: Rock Fist Way Down]
In 2017, when I was just getting started writing reviews, I reviewed a movie called Bitch that was about a woman who, one day, snapped and started acting like a vicious dog. Seven years later, a similar sounding film has been released with nearly the same plot.
Nightbitch is based on a 2021 novel and directed by Marielle Heller. Like that movie from so long ago, this one tells the story of a woman who thinks…she’s turning into a dog.
Buckle up.
A nameless woman, simply billed as Mother (Amy Adams) is a stay-at-home mother who lives a mundane life with her toddler Son (Arleigh Snowden and Emmett Snowden). Each day is the same old routine. Make breakfast, go to a park, go to the store, go to the library, come home, make dinner, bathtime, bedtime and repeat. Her workaholic Husband (Scoot McNairy) doesn’t seem to see the hard work that she goes through everyday in order to make her house run. One day, her son notices that her back is getting hairier. This in turn leads the Mother to come to the realization she is getting the same instincts as a dog. She then comes to the conclusion that she must be tapping into a primal instinct and turning into a dog. Through bizarre and surreal events, she spends her night as the Nightbitch, hanging out with dogs in the neighborhood and living her life to the fullest.
It’s really…something.
I don’t know how to feel about this movie. I read the novel this is based on and absolutely hated it. This movie and story are in a subgenre of women understanding who they are through metaphors, that I simply do not understand because I cannot relate. Amy Adams does her goddamn best at this movie, but once again lands herself in a dud if I’ve ever seen one. The narration that is constant in this movie and in the book itself is too much and oftentimes, I (cannot believe I’m saying this) just needed Adams to stop talking. Like, I feel as if I want to understand what this entire story was about, but really I don’t care enough to want to deep dive.
Amy Adams, bless her, has made a string of really crummy movies lately. I need her to fire whoever is giving her these scripts and get her back to making ONE really awesome movie again. Nightbitch is just too damn weird for any real thought or care.
Christian Ramos is a classic film fan, having had the dream to host Turner Classic Movies for years now. He also has a large amount of Oscar trivia in his head, remembers dressing as Groucho Marx one Halloween, and cherishes the moment Julianne Moore liked his tweet.
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