Nightbitch (2024)
December 29, 2024 6:49 PM - Subscribe
A woman pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mom, but soon her domesticity takes a surreal turn.
An adaptation of the book by Rachel Yoder (FF thread here). Stars Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, and Jessica Harper. CW: various bodily functions (including childbirth) and some dead animals.
An adaptation of the book by Rachel Yoder (FF thread here). Stars Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, and Jessica Harper. CW: various bodily functions (including childbirth) and some dead animals.
Haven't read the book but enjoyed the film a lot; my only suggestion is it should have been weirder with the changeling stuff, it feels like it was suppressed to make it more mainstream (I don't know how the book handled it).
But, overall, still a very good movie about reconciling the independent self with the halcyon view of motherhood society puts on it, also without sugarcoating it. It feels very lived-in and real, despite the fantasy aspects of it. It's nice to see a story where so much conflict is internal, like very few of the main character's problems are external, it's all very normal motherhood stuff, the problem is how she is processing what she is going through, hence the dog-self.
If you've only seen the trailer I don't think it gives a good idea of what the film is, it makes it look sort of like a suburban-werewolf-comedy, not a woman struggling with losing her identity for the sake of others.
My only suggestion for a viewer going in, is to not try and figure out what's 'real' and what's in her head. Everything is a real experience to her, you're in this with her.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:29 PM on December 30 [1 favorite]
But, overall, still a very good movie about reconciling the independent self with the halcyon view of motherhood society puts on it, also without sugarcoating it. It feels very lived-in and real, despite the fantasy aspects of it. It's nice to see a story where so much conflict is internal, like very few of the main character's problems are external, it's all very normal motherhood stuff, the problem is how she is processing what she is going through, hence the dog-self.
If you've only seen the trailer I don't think it gives a good idea of what the film is, it makes it look sort of like a suburban-werewolf-comedy, not a woman struggling with losing her identity for the sake of others.
My only suggestion for a viewer going in, is to not try and figure out what's 'real' and what's in her head. Everything is a real experience to her, you're in this with her.
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:29 PM on December 30 [1 favorite]
This seemed weirdly cliche to me - as a middle aged woman I have seen SO MUCH stuff about feeling ambiguous about motherhood and struggling with a lost sense of self. This was trying very hard to be fresh about it, but ultimately was treading ground that I felt has been heavily treaded before.
At the same time, the main character was shrill and emotionally immature in a way that I think women too often get portrayed. She puts her husband in a weird double-bind about her staying at home with their child.
It struck me as the same kind of feminism 101 that appeals to people who like Eat Pray Love and Glennon Doyle.
posted by jeoc at 1:45 PM on December 30 [5 favorites]
At the same time, the main character was shrill and emotionally immature in a way that I think women too often get portrayed. She puts her husband in a weird double-bind about her staying at home with their child.
It struck me as the same kind of feminism 101 that appeals to people who like Eat Pray Love and Glennon Doyle.
posted by jeoc at 1:45 PM on December 30 [5 favorites]
I wanted to like this, but wound up feeling like I watched an absolutely rote movie about a normal dissatisfied upper middle class mom with some vaguely surreal sprinkles on top. This movie is functionally the same movie if you excise every single scene that involves her actually transforming into a dog, and the monologues (while well-performed) felt like the director or writer having zero faith in the audience getting the very clear message of the movie (which boils down to “talk to your husband about your problems” rather than the more radical message I was expecting.) Just really didn’t hit for me.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:12 AM on January 6 [1 favorite]
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:12 AM on January 6 [1 favorite]
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posted by Halloween Jack at 6:54 PM on December 29