Written And Directed by Marielle Heller
Mother: "Do you ever feel like the big secret is that we are gods? We fucking create life. We make life. We are so powerful. I bet men are terrified of us. I mean, look at you. You are this miraculous goddess growing bones as we speak."
When I first read about this movie, I thought it sounded absolutely bonkers. I felt the same way when I caught the trailer for it. Unfortunately when I watched the movie, it didn't quite live up to it's intriguing premise.
Amy Adams undoubtedly would be considered one of the most talented actors working today. With this movie, I do get the sense that she gave it her best shot and took the absurdity of the script in her stride and tried to make it work.
Basically she played Mother to a toddler Son (Arleigh/Emmett Snowden) and it was made clear that while she did like being a parent, she also missed being an artist and seemed to be going through a creative dry spell. It also didn't help that Father (Scoot McNairy) was rather ineffective in helping, which led to a temporary separation between the couple.
During the movie, Mother started to get a bit further and found herself reading up about mythical transformations. As the film progressed and when she wasn't terrifying old artist friends, Mother was also turning into a dog and finding the experience to be very freeing for her.
On top of that, she also started treating Son like a puppy, killed the family and managed to get her artistic groove back. At first I did wonder if she was hallucinating actually turning into a dog before family flashbacks made it clear that Mother's transformation was a hereditary thing.
By the time the movie does and after a rather on the nose discussion about motherhood, creating life and so on, it does seem like everything worked out for out frazzled protagonist. I wonder how Father will react when does realise that both Mother and Son share that gene.
- The movie's based on the 2021 Rachel Yonder book of the same name. The rights were acquired before the book even got published.
- It got a wide theatrical release before ending up on Hulu this week.
- Standout music: Alexander McCabe's Riding Carousel.
- Chronology: It does seem to be a present day setting.
While I'll give it points for it's absurd take on motherhood and the points about creating life and being a mother, Nightbitch felt like it could've been a lot better. It doesn't outstay its welcome as a movie but I wouldn't exactly recommend it either. It's very average at best.
Rating: 6 out of 10
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