‘You Don’t Want A Movie That Holds Back.’ As Nightbitch Hits Theaters, Critics Disagree On Amy Adams’ Transformational Dark Comedy
I have to admit, I didn’t know what to expect when I first saw the title Nightbitch on the list of upcoming 2024 movies, and I was even more intrigued once I read what it was about. Plenty of other people, however, have been looking forward to this one. Nightbitch is an adaptation of the novel by Rachel Yoder, and fans are excited to see how its wild story translates to the big screen. Fortunately, they don’t have to wait any longer, because the Amy Adams-led film hit theaters on December 6. However, does it live up to readers’ expectations or does it lack the bite of the book it’s based on? Here’s what the critics have to say about that.
Nightbitch stars Amy Adams as a former artist who now stays home with her and her husband’s (Scoot McNairy) 2-year-old son. In a twist that proves this is no ordinary stay-at-home mom tale, the Mother begins to worry she’s turning into a dog. David Fear of Rolling Stone says director Marielle Hunter makes a powerful statement on motherhood, writing:
Make no mistake: Nightbitch is not here to warn you that giving birth to, and then taking on the bulk of responsibilities around raising a child, is hard. That’s a given. What it would like to convey is that modern motherhood is definitely a motherfucker, and that the quaint notion that such a ‘dirty little secret’ can only be discussed within the confines of mommy groups and wine-sodden afternoons, or simply screamed furtively into a pillow, should be extinct. … And if Heller’s film occasionally backs off from the full howling-at-the-moon intensity of the source material, it still manages to slouch away with more than a little blood on its incisors.
John Nugent of Empire praises Amy Adams for a “remarkable” performance and says overall, Nightbitch provides an uncommonly honest and authentic depiction of motherhood. If anything, it might not be weird enough, as it feels like Marielle Hunter pulled some of the novel’s punches. Nugent continues:
There are plenty of famous movie mums. But the actual experience of motherhood — the brutal daily monotony, the blood-sweat-and-milk toil that goes into keeping a tiny human alive — remains a bit of a cinematic rarity. Nightbitch is an effort to redress the balance, in uncompromising fashion: it’s a funny and freaky and appropriately messy film that’s part broad outlandish comedy, part toe-curling body-horror, part feminist treatise.
Lena Wilson of IGN also feels the upcoming book adaptation doesn’t go as far as its source material. However, it is admittedly refreshing to see a new mother character on-screen who actually looks the part, Wilson says. Although, to speak in Amy Adams characters, Nightbitch’s Mother feels more Enchanted than Sharp Objects, the critic says, rating it a “Mediocre” 5 out 10 and writing:
Though it masquerades as an examination of the difficulties of motherhood and draws from ferocious source material, Marielle Heller’s adaptation of the novel Nightbitch offers little in the way of catharsis, character development, or carnality. This movie is far too tidy, from its protagonist’s uncluttered home to the script’s ridiculously pat ending, and it ultimately feels incapable of matching the urgent energy of the novel. We know Amy Adams has the range to play edgy, and it’s always a pleasure to see her, but alas, Nightbitch keeps her on a tight leash.
Natalia Keogan of AV Club gives it a C-, musing that while Nightbitch certainly achieves relatability, it also presents a generic treatise on womanhood that reinforces more gendered conventions than it refutes. Keogan continues:
It’s normal to become excited when one’s experience appears to be accurately represented on screen, but a successful film needs to be more than merely a mirror. While it emphasizes the unsung and vital presence of mothers, Nightbitch doesn’t probe the broader societal devaluation that actually causes women to feel unfulfilled and unimportant in their newfound roles as caregivers. It’s not solely the fault of pretentious artists, or inept fathers, or poised middle-class mommies, but rather the deeply misogynistic society that sees women as little more than reproductive vessels. Why not rally against this cultural misconception rather than make a film that largely reiterates its gendered expectations?
David Rooney of THR agrees with some of the other critics’ sentiments that in a story that’s already this weird, why scale anything back for the big screen? Rooney expresses disappointment that a book that dared to say out loud some dark truths about the unspoken conflicts of motherhood was defanged in such a way. The critic says:
When you have a title with the blunt-force impact of Nightbitch and a premise as seemingly outrageous as a woman who responds to the isolation, alienation and self-sacrifice of motherhood by turning canine, you don’t want a movie that holds back. But Marielle Heller’s adaptation of the 2021 Rachel Yoder novel, while it starts out promisingly with sharp humor and tantalizing jabs of incipient weirdness, doesn’t take its ideas far enough to be seriously provocative. That’s too bad for Amy Adams, who runs with everything the story throws at her but gets shortchanged by the script.
It definitely sounds like there’s validation to be found in Nightbitch for mothers who have felt their identity being stripped down to just that nameless title. Critics have praised Amy Adams’ performance overall, with many saying she’s worth the price of admission, even if the script takes some of the fight out of the novel Mother’s dog.
If you want to check this one out for yourself, Nightbitch is playing in theaters now.
