The conversation around Amy Adams as an actor is largely based entirely around how many times she has been nominated for, and failed to win, an Academy Award. The count is currently at six, not quite up to Glenn Close’ eight, but she’s closing in! Still, it’s not a terribly interesting conversation, especially when you realize that her best performance, that of her portrayal in ‘Arrival’ did not eke out a nomination. But people saw her leading ‘Nightbitch’ and immediately assumed that this would be her moment. She is after all, due.

It seems unlikely based on awards predilections that she will be receiving a nomination. ‘Nightbitch’ is simply not the style of movie they usually cast their roses at. But if you ask me this is one of Adams best performances to date. It’s a performance that demands buy-in. As an actor you have to put your inner awkward aside and lean into the performance. This becomes more and more difficult when you have to do something embarrassing, such as digging in the yard, barking at a small child at a food court, or eating food out of a dog dish.

The plot is that Adams character, titled simply “Mother” is feeling at sea after becoming a mom and moving to the suburbs. She detests the other moms in her orbit and spends time exclusively with her son. As she folds into herself she starts turning into a dog. This transformation includes a lot of work for the film and for the actor. Like any great body horror there’s some deeply unsettling visual effects, as well as Amy Adams selling the role with everything she has.

Adams is fully invested from the first scene, and the film is put together in such a fashion that the barrage of tones that we receive all coincide at the end of the day. Marielle Heller has pulled off an impressive feat with how this movie comes out at the end when the credits roll. A lot of directors would have not been able to handle oscilating between comedy, drama, and body horror with the deftness that she had. She mentioned in the Q&A after the film that she’s not afraid of mixing genres because “life doesn’t have genres.” It’s a commendable thing to claim, but we know all too well that many films fold underneath an attempt to accomplish just this thing.

Adams is joined on screen by Scoot McNairy who plays her often bumbling husband. The movie takes a few interesting swings with his character, in that he starts out by almost exclusively making the wrong choice in response to the things that his wife is saying she needs. This simplifies the film in a way that it’s very easy to see what the path forward is. He does however learn from the error of his ways, and delivers an excellent monologue in the form of an apology, adding more depth to the character. Scoot’s performance itself is also very strong, a perfect accompaniment to Adams stellar lead work.

The messaging of this movie felt a little deeper than other “societal issue” movies I’ve seen. While I wouldnt’ call it subtle, it dives into multiple aspects of what we expect from new mothers. The isolation is the main subject it dives into, and the lack of assistance from the Scoot’s husband character are only two of the prongs they try to tackle. It is a funny, gross, heartfelt, deeply strange film, and if you go get your ticket punched you will not be disappointed.

4/5