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“You don’t want a movie that holds back.” As Nightbitch hits theaters, critics disagree on Amy Adams’ transformational dark comedy

Pabio December 7, 2024

I have to admit that I didn’t know what to expect when I first saw the title. Night female dog on the list of upcoming movies in 2024and I was even more intrigued once I read what it was about. However, many other people were looking forward to this one. Night female dog is an adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s novel, and fans are excited to see how his crazy story translates on the big screen. Fortunately, they don’t have to wait any longer, because the Amy Adams-The theatrically directed film was released in theaters on December 6. However, does it live up to readers’ expectations or is it it lacks the bite of the book it’s based on? Here’s what critics have to say about it.

Night female dog stars Amy Adams as a former artist who now stays home with her and her husband’s 2-year-old son (Scoot McNairy). In a twist that proves it’s no ordinary stay-at-home mom storythe Mother begins to fear turning into a dog. David is afraid of the Rolling Stones says director Marielle Hunter makes a powerful statement about motherhood when she writes:

Make no mistake: Nightbitch isn’t here to warn you that it’s hard to give birth to a child and then take on the bulk of the responsibilities of raising them. It’s a given. What he would like to convey is that modern motherhood is definitely an asshole, and that the outdated idea that such a “dirty little secret” can only be discussed within the confines of mom groups and post- noon washed down with wine, or just screamed furtively into a pillow, should be extinguished. …And even though Heller’s film occasionally strays from the howling-at-the-moon intensity of the source material, it still manages to sag with more than a little blood on its incisors.

John Nugent of Empire praises Amy Adams for her “remarkable” performance and says overall: Night female dog provides an unusually honest and authentic portrayal of motherhood. If anything, it might not be strange enough, because it feels like Marielle Hunter pulled some of the novel’s punches. Nugent continues:

There are many famous movie moms. But the actual experience of motherhood – the brutal daily monotony, the blood and milk labor required to keep a tiny human alive – remains something of a cinematic rarity. Nightbitch is an effort to redress the balance, in an uncompromising way: it’s a funny and bizarre and rightly messy film that’s part broad comedy extravaganza, part toe-curling body horror, part a feminist treatise.

IGN’s Lena Wilson also feels the next adaptation of the book doesn’t go as far as its source material. However, it’s certainly refreshing to see a new maternal character on screen who actually looks the part, Wilson says. Although, speaking in Amy Adams’ characters, Night female dogThe mother feels more Delighted that Sharp objectssays the reviewer, giving it a “mediocre” rating of 5 out of 10 and writing:

Although it masquerades as an examination of the difficulties of motherhood and draws on fierce source material, Marielle Heller’s adaptation of the novel Nightbitch offers little in the way of catharsis, character development, or carnality. This film is far too polished, from its protagonist’s uncluttered home to the script’s ridiculous ending, and it ultimately feels incapable of matching the urgent energy of the novel. We know Amy Adams has the range to perform boldly, and it’s always a pleasure to watch her, but alas, Nightbitch has her on a tight leash.

Natalia Keogan from AV Club gives it a C-, thinking about it while Night female dog certainly achieves relativity, it also presents a generic treatise on femininity that reinforces sexist conventions more than it refutes. Keogan continues:

It’s normal to be excited when one’s experience seems to be accurately represented on screen, but a successful film must be more than just a mirror. While emphasizing the unrecognized and vital presence of mothers, Nightbitch does not explore the broader societal devaluation that causes women to feel unfulfilled and unimportant in their new roles as caregivers. It’s not just the fault of pretentious artists, incompetent fathers or staid middle-class mothers, but rather the deeply misogynistic society that views women as mere reproductive vessels. Why not mobilize against this cultural misconception rather than make a film that largely reiterates its sexist expectations?

THR’s David Rooney agrees with the sentiments of some other reviewers that, in a story that’s already this strange, why cut anything down for the big screen? Rooney expresses disappointment that a book that dared to speak out loud dark truths about the unspoken conflicts of motherhood had been misrepresented in this way. The reviewer says:

When you have a title with the brutal impact of Nightbitch and a premise as seemingly outrageous as a woman who responds to the isolation, alienation, and self-sacrifice of motherhood by becoming a canine, you don’t want to ‘a film that holds back. But Marielle Heller’s adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s 2021 novel, while it begins promisingly with sharp humor and tantalizing touches of nascent strangeness, doesn’t push its ideas far enough to be seriously provocative. It’s a shame for Amy Adams, who runs with everything the story throws at her but is shortchanged by the script.

It really seems like there’s validation in Night female dog for mothers who felt their identity reduced to this nameless title. Critics have praised Amy Adams’ overall performance, with many saying it is worth the price of admission, even though the storyline eliminates some of the combat from the Mother’s Dog novel.

If you want to check this one out for yourself, Night female dog is now playing in theaters.

Mondor Festival

Mondor Festival

“You don’t want a movie that holds back.” As Nightbitch hits theaters, critics disagree on Amy Adams’ transformational dark comedy

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