One of the Virginia Film Festival’s most highly-anticipated screenings this year is a story oft-present in everyday life but rarely depicted in the media. A woman puts her career on hold in order to stay at home and take care of her child. In adjusting to a more domestic life, she is often forced to obtain alternative sources of engagement to fill her time. Maybe she picks up a hobby, starts volunteering or goes viral on TikTok. In the case of Mother, Amy Adams’ character at the center of “Nightbitch,” she spends her days slowly transforming into a dog.
That is right. As each day progresses, Mother notices her striking similarities to the neighborhood canines. She develops an abnormal taste for red meat, late-night runs and walking on all fours. Mother also detects changes to her physical features and senses and gains an insatiable desire to hunt for prey. Her previous social group of other moms at weekly “Book Baby” meetings is replaced by a new collective — a pack of wild dogs.
Based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Rachel Yoder, “Nightbitch” blends magical fantasy with an all-too-real family dynamic to tell a unique story that aims to deliver a critique on the role of professional women within the home. The film adaptation draws inspiration from the book and the director’s own work in Hollywood but is devoid of any creative or potent criticism of society.
Both written and directed by Marielle Heller, the movie has a weak composition overall, visually displeasing cinematography and wildly unnecessary and tonally gratuitous violence against a myriad of neighborhood wild animals. While an objectively intriguing premise, one that offers potential for creative plot developments, the film unfortunately trips over its own paws. With cringe-inducing dialogue, poor pacing and an undeserved resolution, “Nightbitch” is unable to say anything truly meaningful.
As a mother of two herself, Heller connects the film’s story of a mother putting her life on hold to care for her children to her own movement for more sustainable hours on film sets to accommodate the lives of the cast and crew. For Heller, her advocacy is a step towards increasing the representation of female directors in Hollywood.
“Why do so many women drop out of the workforce at this age, in our late 30s, early 40s?” Heller said in an interview with Variety. “Well, often it’s because we’re raising kids, so, let’s be honest about that. We have pretended for many generations that we are not trying to do everything, but we are trying to do everything.”
The film draws upon these feminist themes, containing similarities to replicate recent pieces of modern feminist cinema — such as “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” or “Poor Things.” However, it fails to deliver on any genuine, groundbreaking societal commentary. The early minutes of the film lead the viewer towards this expectation, implying a subversive critique on the inherently feral nature of motherhood, but reveals its hand completely in an Adams monologue about halfway through the movie.
It is this blatant messaging that bogs down the creative premise of the movie. By revoking the spectator’s right to make connections and draw meaning from the film, instead, the film opts to use dialogue to beat the viewer over the head with the greater significance of the story — which was not hard to find to begin with.
And, in the conclusion of the film, Mother and her husband, aptly credited as Husband, resolve their conflict despite having their marriage deteriorate over the course of the film. In the final scene, the plot undoes any potential for potent female empowerment that the film had sought to highlight thus far. The movie’s embarrassing conclusion not only undermines its significance but makes for a weak, unsatisfying resolution to a poorly-paced story.
The film features supporting roles from Scoot McNairy in the role of Husband, Zoë Chao as Mother’s friend, Jen, and Hollywood veteran Jessica Harper as the wise librarian, Norma. All of these characters contribute to the mundane reality of life from which Mother seeks to escape, but none of these roles stand out as particularly strong or resonant — rather, they add to the overall bland, uncontroversial world in which the movie takes place. In a film obsessed with breaking out of societal norms and conditions, it fails to develop any of its side characters in creative ways that align with the greater themes.
Adams, who also produces the film, puts on full display her range as an actor in a truly singular performance. Having played characters ranging from a semi-animated princess to a linguist communicating with aliens and everything in between, this role has already garnered Adams acclaim and awards — including the Tribute Performer Award at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
Adams holds nothing back in her portrayal of Mother. From barking at a colleague in the middle of a crowded restaurant to crawling across her front yard to dig a hole, Adams truly embodies the role that she plays.
“I knew from reading the book that this would be an opportunity to just dive into the deepest, most feral parts of me,” Adams said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “Lose my vanity, lose inhibition and just go on this ride that I so identify with.”
The problem with her character, then, lies in its direction and writing — Adams’s performance is strong but cannot overcome the sloppy cinematography and poor scene composition.
It is the point of identification that the film struggles to bring to life. While Mother may be a point of resonance for many women, especially those who sacrifice their careers in order to spend more time with their family, it is hard to draw a connection between the changes that Mother undergoes and genuine touchpoints for those watching. In this way, the film acts as less of a tribute to the strength and power of women and mothers and instead acts as a mockery of those roles, failing to deliver on their desired and deserved glorification.
Hollywood is and has always been a male-dominated industry, especially in the role of directors. Even in 2023, which saw Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” as the year’s highest-grossing film, only 16 percent of directors on the top 250 movies of last year were female. Heller’s movements in advocating for greater equality in such roles is admirable, and will certainly lead to more women’s visions being executed in the film industry. However, “Nightbitch” undermines this mission by satirizing creatively professional women and reinforcing the role of men — regardless of their abhorrence or ignorance — within the institution of marriage.
Both Adams and Heller seem to relate to and find solace in the protagonist of “Nightbitch” — Adams explicitly and Heller through her work as a director and filmmaker. It is clear that both the film’s director and its star are emboldened by the film and its messaging, drawing on their own experience as women and mothers in a male-dominated industry. However, the film ultimately falls flat by failing to deliver on any of its intended critiques of the societal constructs that inhibit career-oriented women after having a child.
With films like “Anora” and “Emilia Pérez” present at this year’s Virginia Film Festival, there is no shortage of strong female representation in roles that are genuinely original and offer a fresh perspective on how certain groups of women navigate life in modern society. In contrast, “Nightbitch” barks up the wrong tree by overdoing its symbolism, hoping that they think the film is smarter and more innovative than it truly is.
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