150 Word Review: 'Nightbitch' (2024)
Who, who, who, who, who?
Amy Adams transforms from an unhappy suburban wife and mother into a dog in Nightbitch. This conceit is neither funny nor scary, which is too bad because Adams is ready and willing to explore humor and horror. Instead, she is forced to perform within director Marielle Heller's comfort zones, which include family drama but not surrealism.
Based on Rachel Yoder’s bestseller, Nightbitch is a fable about motherhood. Adams plays a stay-at-home mama who feels disconnected from her marriage, son, and dormant career but slowly learns she is not domesticated. She is a powerful force of nature— a feral she-pooch. As her husband, Scoot McNairy is a shortsighted everyman, a video game-playing doofus blind to the sacrifices his wife makes every single moment of the day. It's a thankless role, but the movie needs a man who doesn't understand. The dialogue is cerebral and the sentiments are sincere. Adams is unleashed.