REVIEW: NIGHTBITCH

3.5/5

The Doghouse

98 Mins. Starring: Amy Adams, Scoot McNairy, Arleigh Snowden, Emmett Snowden, Zoë Chao, Mary Holland, Ella Thomas, Archana Rajan & Jessica Harper. Screenplay: Marielle Heller. Director: Marielle Heller. On: Disney +.

Night's a bitch, and then you bark. Great screenwriter and director Marielle Heller ('A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood' and a standout performance in 'The Queen's Gambit') and amazing actress Amy Adams ('The Fighter', 'The Master' and the DCEU's Lois Lane in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice') may just been snubbed, like Denzel, as this year's Oscar nominations have come out ('Can You Ever Forgive Me?' Maybe), but this is still a powerful picture. Now, ain't that a bitch? But how about this one? It's much more than the best Nikki Glaser Ben Affleck gag at The Globes. 'Nightbitch', based on Rachel Yoder's call to the wild of a novel, is a Fox Searchlight movie, now streaming on Disney Plus, like all those films do, finding a path on streaming services after their cinematic release runs. And running in the night like Richie, with more mutts than an Al Pacino afternoon, Amy Adams literally transforms into one. But before you think this is the juju of some Stephen King kind of 'Cujo', cross-bred with 'An American Werewolf In London', think again. This is more akin to 'Arrival, 'Big Eyes', 'Sharp Objects', and 'The Woman In Window' for the 'Enchanted' actress.

Disenchanted, the 'American Hustle' and 'Vice' star is barking mad with talent here. Adams plays a mother who is going through the dog days of raising a child, seemingly alone, although a great 'BvS' reuniting Scoot McNairy ('Argo', 'Killing Them Softly and Woody Guthrie in the Dylan movie 'A Complete Unknown') is on feeling helpless hand. As are the motherhood gang of the great Zoë Chao, Mary Holland, Ella Thomas, Archana Rajan. Not to mention moving monologues like what America (Ferrera) did with 'Barbie'. Whilst the local librarian, played perfectly by 'Bones And All' and 'Minority Report' actress Jessica Harper, offers Adams more to check out. But Amy's artist Mother (like the character named Father) has so much more on her plate (the canvas can wait), with her Son, played by twins Arleigh and Emmett Snowden, suggesting so much more to deal with one set. This beautiful black comedy, with the most amazing asides, has received reviews as mixed as its tone, but it's still a Toronto International Film Festival darling that moves the needle like the CN Tower

God is a woman, especially here, but perhaps 'The Substance' of a Demi Moore award favourite film is taking some bite out of this bitches bark. Still, the Academy does not take anything away from the message that is clear to see as the subtle snarls are to hear in all this repressed rage. Hear this woman's roar, in one of Adams' best performances in a family of a filmography. Staying at home with the same substance in the notion that a woman's worth still lasts longer than society strives to think in its work. By industry ignorant standards, Demi reaffirmed to Hollywood that there was more to a woman than how young she is (the older, the better, I say), and Amy accents the fact that motherhood isn't just the start of one life, even in the times it feels like the end and all hope is lost. This film will get you laughing, crying and thinking I even had some strange ideas about how my own birth by caesarean is like how I never want to hurt anyone, but somehow still manage to leave a scar...I know, crazy, right?! But the real idea you should take home is how influential this film is in looking at mothers and womanhood in a whole new way. The old dog trick is not for Halloween treats, it's a trick to show you what you've been missing. A moving metaphor and mediation on motherhood. Bow WOW! TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'The Substance', 'Colossal', 'The Woman In The Window'.