This year has already made a name for itself with its offbeat and unexpected film offerings, from the shockingly gross body horror of The Substance to whatever Megalopolis was supposed to be, and the CGI monkey Robbie Williams musical biopic coming down the line.
However, 2024 is not yet over, and the BFI London Film Festival screened a movie quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, with its mix of queasy beastliness and a bold take on motherhood – we’re talking, of course, about Nightbitch.
It’s been described as everything from ‘absurd’ and ‘primal’ to ‘off-leash’ and ‘fierce’.
Starring six-time Oscar nominated actress Amy Adams, the film’s title alone is a provocative one from writer and director Marielle Heller, adapted from Rachel Yoder’s 2021 book of the same name.
But that’s nothing compared to its content, which swings between whip-smart comedy, a very obviously-delivered message about the loneliness and confusion of motherhood and some slightly disgustingly surreal evolution.
Nightbitch – set for release in December – is the movie where Adams transform into a dog and, having seen it, I can confirm we get to watch that change in all its furry, benippled glory.
And that’s outside of the Vice and American Hustle star also scampering around on all fours, barking and sticking her face in a dog bowl.
Critics and fans who have seen Nightbitch so far through festival screenings have seemed largely energised by its message and star turn.
‘Nightbitch f***ing rocks. A downright revolutionary tale and stance on motherhood unlike I’ve ever seen before,’ Lewis insisted on X, also claiming that Adams ‘delivers the greatest performance of her career’.
‘What y’all thought Barbie was for girlhood, Nightbitch is for motherhood,’ praised @kenzvanunu. ‘Motherhood is messy, we’re not allowed to say so many things and Marielle Heller allows it to be said and for mothers to be heard.’
Nightbitch was also branded ’without a doubt the most absurd film of this year’s London Film Festival’ by actor Sam O’Sullivan, who added: ‘I loved every wild, unfiltered, satirical minute of it!’
However, some critics were looking for a bit more from the movie, with David Opie reckoning it ‘could go harder’ and @MeredithEO saying it ‘ends way too tied in a bow for me and should have been much weirder’.
However, Opie added that he ‘still had a lot of fun with it’ and that he was struck how the ‘phenomenal’ Adams ‘really is game for anything at this point, especially in the film’s most primal moments’.
The movie is marketed as a comedy horror film, but it also veers into odd-ball drama, thriller and think-piece territory rather a lot more than, say, the Scream franchise.
Discussing its unusual mix, Can You Ever Forgive Me? filmmaker Heller pointed out: ‘The wonderful thing about life is that life doesn’t follow a genre – nothing in life is just sad or happy, or just funny or tragic.’
‘So the hope with the movie is that it sort balances the realities of life which are much more complicated than just one genre,’ she added to the BFI while on the red carpet at the movie’s headline gala last week.
Of course, Nightbitch goes way beyond reality as Adams’ character – known simply as ‘Mother’ – pulls a greasy little tail out from her back, grows six extra nipples and sprouts fur alongside her sharper canine teeth.
It’s not a subtle message that the film offers either, with its on-the-nose dialogue and metaphysical metaphor showing how the identity of motherhood can strip everything else away from a woman while being a time of confusing change.
But it is a pretty powerful and visceral one, and something that we rarely seen discussed in society – let alone a Hollywood movie. So, it’s refreshing to see it up there on the big screen, (almost) no holds barred.
Nightbitch also boasts an impressively vanity-free performance from Adams, who doesn’t baulk at any of the weird barking, attacking, digging or myriad of other wild things she’s asked to do.
It does lean into some clichés about parenthood though, having the Husband (Scoot McNairy) being happily clueless over his wife’s inner turmoil while he works away in the week – and having the audacity to complain when he’s asked to do bedtime.
However, any reservations aside, I can guarantee you’ve not seen a film like it in 20024 – if ever.
Nightbitch premiered at TIFF on September before screening at the BFI London Film Festival. It will release in UK cinemas on Friday, December 6.
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