Amy Adams is stuck in a rut. She put her career as an artist on hold to raise her kid while her husband (Scoot McNairy) is out on the road working. Increasingly frustrated by her predicament, the frazzled housewife begins noticing some odd changes. She’s getting hair in weird places, her sense of smell is becoming acute, and her teeth are now razor sharp. Dogs also start following her around and she gets weird looks from customers when she frantically stuffs her face with meatloaf in the middle of Trader Joe’s. Is she becoming a dog, or is it all in her head?
This is one of those moves where some of the imagery is a little too on the nose. (Housewives, like dogs, are both domesticated, don’t you know.) However, since the performances are great and the social commentary is sharp, it’s really a moot point.
The body horror stuff works quite well too. The scene where Adams finds a bunch of dog hair in a giant zit would look right at home on an episode of Dr. Pimple Popper. Then of course, there’s the scene where she takes off her blouse and finds… well… I won’t spoil that one for you.
Adams is excellent, especially in the scenes where she lashes out and unloads all her deep, depressing thoughts at random people (which turns out to be all in her head.) The scenes of her home alone with her son hit the right notes of pointed realism and hilarious farce. I’m sure anyone who ever had to raise their child alone for long stretches at a time will be able to empathize with Adams in this, and even root for her when she snaps and snarls at people. McNairy is equally good in a trickier role. He’s not exactly a bad person or an uncaring husband. He’s just oblivious to his wife’s needs and is slightly confused by the “new” her. I also enjoyed seeing Suspiria’s Jessica Harper as a librarian who recognizes what Adams is going through and tries to lend a helping hand.
Not all of Nightbitch works. The flashbacks of Adams’ mother just kind of feel like filler, and they aren’t really fleshed out all that well. It probably makes all its points early on and plays its cards too soon. That should in no way deter you from checking it out though, especially if you’re a fan of Adams.
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