Review: ‘Nightbitch,’ starring Amy Adams and Scoot McNairy

December 2, 2024

by Carla Hay

“Nightbitch”

Directed by Marielle Heller

Some language in German with no subtitles

Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed U.S. city, the dramatic film “Nightbitch” (based on the novel of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some African Americans, Asians and Latin people) representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash: A frustrated and overwhelmed married homemaker, who has almost all the responsibility of caring for her 2-year-old son, finds out that she has a secret side to her that comes out at night.

Culture Audience: “Nightbitch” will appeal primarily to are fans of the movie’s headliners and people who are interested in offbeat dramas about the stresses of parenthood from a female perspective.

“Nightbitch” is wildly uneven but also very compelling in its portrayal of motherhood frustrations. Amy Adams gives the type of performance that makes it hard to look away, even when some of this psychological drama occasionally goes off the rails. “Nightbitch” can only be recommended to viewers who are open-minded enough to go with some of the movie’s fantasy elements that are eventually revealed.

Written and directed by Marielle Heller, “Nightbitch” is based on Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel of the same name. “Nightbitch” had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie is mostly a drama, but it has elements of fantasy, horror and dark comedy. In “Nightbitch,” Adams plays an unnamed woman (identified only as Mother in the end credits), who is a homemaker and the primary caregiver for her 2-year-old son, who also doesn’t have a name in the movie. Identical twins Arleigh Patrick Snowden and Emmett James Snowden have the role as the son.

This mother is married to a workaholic man, who also is unnamed in the movie. He is identified only as Husband in the end credits. Scoot McNairy portrays this character, who is often busy working and very oblivious to all the stresses that his wife goes through as a homemaker and primary caregiver for their son, who is very energetic and demanding. It’s later revealed that this mother used to be a professional painter artist but gave up her career to be a stay-at-home mother. She is having doubts that she made the right decision.

There’s not much more that can be said about the “Nightbitch” plot except to say that this mother has a lot of pent-up rage. She also finds out that she has a side to herself that comes out at night. As seen in the trailer for “Nightbitch,” there are hints about what this secret side is when the mother starts to see fur-like hair growing in unusual places on her body. She also starts to have certain cravings for food (such as huge chunks of raw meat) that are usually enjoyed by non-human animals.

One of the reasons why the mother in “Nightbitch” feels stifled and trapped is because her social life used to revolve around her work as an artist. Now that she’s a stay-at-home mother, she feels isolated and restless. A local library has a reading activity group called Book Babies for parents and their preschool kids. The mother feels like a misfit at these gatherings because the other parents (almost all of them are mothers) look like they love being there with their kids, while the “misfit” mother feels uncomfortable and awkward.

Three of the other Book Babies mothers approach her one day and try to start a friendly conversation with her. Their names are Jen (played by Zoë Chao), Miriam (played Mary Holland) and Liz (played by Archana Rajan), but the mother is a little bit wary and standoffish. She thinks these other mothers are a little too cheerful for her liking and doesn’t seem to want to become friends with them.

Meanwhile, the “misfit” mother has flashback memories to her childhood, when her German-speaking mother (played by Kerry O’Malley) seemed to be involved in some mysterious rituals. Michaela Baham has the role of the “misfit” mother when she was a child. These childhood scenes are also obvious signs that whatever is “different” about her, her own mother knew about it and probably had something to do with it.

As an adult, the “misfit” mother continues to see changes in her body and notices that she has a heightened sense of smell. Trying to make sense of it all, the “misfit” mother goes to the library and finds a book called “A Field Guide to Magical Women,” with the help of a librarian named Norma (played by Jessica Harper), who has noticed the “misfit” mother’s discontent. This book has an impact on the “misfit” mother’s way of thinking.

“Nightbitch” might test the patience of viewers after the secret side of the mother is revealed, because the movie’s plot then becomes meandering and unsure of where it wants to go before it races to an ending that will get mixed reactions from viewers. The ending of the film has a jarringly different tone than the rest of the movie. At times, “Nightbitch” looks like it would’ve been better as a short film. But the movie has good-intentioned messages about appreciating mothers who are often underappreciated, even though the story is told in a way that can be erratic and somewhat gimmicky.

Searchlight Pictures will release “Nightbitch” in select U.S. cinemas on December 6, 2024.