Review: 'Nightbitch' is a solid, if sometimes obvious, satire of the constraints of motherhood — but Amy Adams' lead perfomance gives it bite

It’s been a minute since we’ve seen Amy Adams get to make a mark in a leading role — probably back  to “Arrival” in 2016 — so it’s a delight to see her inhabit the frazzled new mom in the satire “Nightbitch” with such full passion.

Adams’ character doesn’t have a name (she’s listed in the credits as “Mother”), which is part of the point of writer-director Marielle Heller’s adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s 2021 comic novel. This stay-at-home mom, who gave up a promising career as an artist to raise her toddler (played by Arleigh Patrick Snowden and Emmett James Snowden), has lost her sense of self-identity, between the “book babies” sessions at the library and endless cooking of hash brown patties for her son’s breakfast. 

She is wary of bonding with the other moms she meets — because she doesn’t understand why she should make friends with women whose only common denominator is having recently given birth. And she finds it difficult to make her husband (Scoot McNairy) understand what she’s going through, especially when he comes home from four-day business trips and doesn’t see why he needs to take on the parenting duties for a night.

And, to top it all off, Adams’ character notices she’s experiencing some weird physical symptoms — like the tuft of hair growing in the small of her back. If she didn’t know better, she’d think she’s starting to turn into a dog. This turns out to be a on-the-nose metaphor for her barely suppressed rage, and a way to dodge the million expectations of so-called “perfect” mothering. (Among other things, she buys a new dog bed, and is delighted to discover that her son falls asleep in it instantly.)

Heller — who gave Melissa McCarthy one of her best roles in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” and directed Tom Hanks’ turn as Mister Rogers in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” — gets great comic mileage out of the mother’s exasperation and her dog-provided liberation. She does tend to underline the point a little too heavily, with dialogue that sounds more like an op-ed than a comedy script. 

What makes the movie worth watching is Adams, who makes us feel the weight this mother is carrying — and the the exhilaration she experiences when she discovers this strange new superpower. With Adams leading the pack, “Nightbitch” has a bite as strong as its bark.

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‘Nightbitch’

★★★

Opens Friday, December 6, in theaters. Rated R for language and some sexuality. Running time: 100 minutes.