Tag: Motherhood

Feral yet oddly beautiful, the Amy Adams-starring Nightbitch takes animal imagery to the next level. The film is a mix of magical realism, satire with touches of mystery and thriller. This wild and fun ride into femininity, motherhood and marriage is complete with its try at a Barbie-level monologue on the woes of being a woman.

★★★☆☆

Nightbitch follows a stay-at-home mum whose frustrations with her adorable yet misbehaving son, the loss of her career, and her constantly absent and needy husband, start to materialise in a more physical and animalistic manner. It’s open to interpretation whether or not this slow transformation is truly happening or purely a symbolic sensation. Regardless, she must find a way to quiet these raging emotions – as women are usually forced to do.

Nightbitch is sparse in exciting events and simple in its premise. The themes, however, are abundant. It tries to tackle nuances in the feminine experience, especially regarding motherhood, marriage and the divide in the role of husband and wife. The most interesting exploration of all, and the one with the most potential, is parenthood and its sacrifices. It touches on how individuals might navigate through that loss and regret.

The picture excels the most in its implementation of thriller and horror aspects to sell the transformation. One can argue that this ambiguity lacks the same commitment of the novel. But it’s the blurring of lines between reality, magic and the slow mind-breaking of the mother that truly makes the premise work when adapted for the screen. It’s very much similar to what Jason Yu has done earlier in the year with his debut film Sleep. Yu uses these same thriller and horror elements in his film to highlight a divide between science-backed causes for sleepwalking and the more abstract and superstitious aspects of the paranormal.

Marielle Heller does something similar with Nightbitch. She applies these jump-scare, body horror and mystery tactics to mundane and everyday activities of a mother and son to emphasise the mother’s plights with her current role as a stay-at-home mum. Her loss of identity, her struggle with motherhood, and her regret over the dreams she left behind are all abstractly displayed through the physical manifestations of hair, multiple nipples, and animal carcasses. These moments of excellence within the film, however, falter in the face of patronising over-explanations of the hardships of womanhood.

One of the most beloved parts of Barbie is America Ferrera’s monologue on women. Adams’ speech in Nightbitch attempts to emulate a similar effect. In Barbie, the monologue serves the purpose of showcasing not just the struggles of women. It’s to elucidate all the different ways a woman can be, breaking constraints often imposed upon them. While not exceptionally perfect by any means, it does work to some extent. The reason mainly comes down to the film’s ending which reveals Barbie’s dream to become a mother. Pairing that with Ferrera’s monologue emphasises women as more than just one thing: they can be strong, rebellious and fight for their world, while also wanting to be a mother and have a family of their own. Oftentimes, the two concepts above are presented as oppositions of each other when they don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

The speech in Nightbitch on the other hand comes across as an empty rally. It points out all the different struggles of womanhood while affirming women as amazing because of their ability to overcome these struggles. But ultimately, the speech results in no greater impact on the rest of the film. It’s just another statement that has been said before. It adds nothing new to the film or the conversation about motherhood and femininity. Couple this sentiment with the lacklustre use of internal monologue in which the mother constantly voices her disdain for the people around her and the struggles she faces – further exposing her hypocrisy – it makes for a very superficial tackling of the themes.

The Verdict

The mix of different genres is a sensory treat for the viewers with plenty of comedic beats and the constant back and forth between reality and possible hallucinations delivers quite an amusing journey overall. While Nightbitch does try to tackle some very important topics, it never truly does justice to any of them. The picture adds no further nuance to discussions regarding the sacrifices of parenthood, which is a disappointing feat for such an interesting subject matter, nor does it say anything new about the struggles of being a woman and a mother. Still, imperfect in many ways, one thing Nightbitch is not is boring. Lacklustre in its thematic execution, Nightbitch is still a fun and delectable performance by Adams, boasting her charm and an enjoyable eccentricity that makes this book-to-film adaptation work.

Words by Mae Trumata

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