‘Nightbitch’ Movie review - Amy Adam’s latest can be appreciated for its uniqueness, yet fails to engage.

 Have you ever seen a film that you appreciate for its uniqueness,  but it just doesn't work? I'm sure you've seen many, and unfortunately, 'Nightbitch' (Starring Amy Adam's as our unnamed protagonist) falls in to that category for me. The movie explores, in a unique manner, the nature of motherhood - yet it intertwines crazy plot threads that make it an honestly jarring watch...

The movie follows a woman who pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mom, but soon things take a surreal turn following her domestication. 

Things are actually pretty great with this film for the majority of the first act. Some light-hearted humor shown through the dynamic of a mother taking care of her son whilst the father is off and earning money as the breadwinner despite the mother having a passion. Our protagonist can actually be relatable for some too, and she does have a lot of depth when we see what her passion is and how her life can be outside of taking care of her mischievous yet innocent baby child. 

Though, as the name suggests, this film taps a strange turn by the midpoint - especially when the 'bitch' aspect of this movie is introduced. I won't say anymore due to spoilers, and I get this is (to some) meant to be the point of the movie, yet the point of the movie just doesn't work for me. I don't think there was a need to have anything to do with dogs in this movie, as it just flattens all effective and emotionally hard-hitting moments that we have seen prior and will see later in the film. Other movies have explored motherhood in way more effective fashions, take this years 'The wild robot' for example, which doesn't introduce other complex, genre-bending externalities that will ultimately confuse viewers and make them, sadly, cringe. This is where the comedy of the film looses its weight too - it's a fun movie at times for sure, but when this comedy intertwines with this whole darker aspect of the film, it falls flat. 

Amy Adam's does a fantastic job, as well as the rest of the cast. Her performance elevates the protagonist as a mirror-like representation of struggling mothers, and thats one thing I can appreciate about this film. It's very well-meaning, and its point that it is trying to get across is evident throughout the narrative. 

Ultimately though, I can't lie to myself and say I enjoyed Nightbitch. There is a lot to like here, and I did like some of it to be honest, but there is a lot of confusion created during the films-midpoint that when we do finally find out whats going on and we get a full on (almost body-horror like) integration with this films narrative, and a somewhat silly ending too, you won't particularly enjoy Nightbitch anymore but will cringe at it instead, despite how well-meaning it chooses to be.