At The Movies: Nightbitch

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Verdict: 4/5

For 20 years, Amy Adams has been one of Hollywood’s leading actresses. The 50-year-old is so good at what she does, that no role is out of her reach.

Throughout her career, Adams has been nominated for an incredible six Academy Awards and, after seeing her latest release ‘Nightbitch’, another nomination could easily be headed her way.

‘Nightbitch’ is a film like no other.

Until I was invited to its Australian premiere in Sydney last week, I hadn’t heard anything about it and went into the movie completely in the dark.

All I knew was the plot: a woman, thrown into the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler in the suburbs, slowly embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood, as she becomes increasingly aware of the bizarre and undeniable signs that she may be turning into a dog.

Armed with this small bit of information, I was ready to give it a go and… I’m glad I did!

I must admit, I thought the premise of this movie sounded a bit silly on the surface, but when you see it play out on the big screen, you totally get it and it’s actually quite clever how the whole ‘stay-at-home mum’ thing is portrayed.

And it seems I’m not alone because I read the movie was originally meant to be released straight-to-streaming, but test audiences gave it such a good response that the movie company Searchlight Pictures decided to give it a wide theatrical release instead.

While ‘Nightbitch’ is a little while off from playing in Aussie cinemas, it’s certainly getting people talking on the global film festival circuit and has even collected a couple of awards already. At 100-odd minutes, ‘Nightbitch’ is an entertaining flick.

Although parts of it are a little farfetched, it all comes down to how each viewer interprets it.

Mums will relate to this in a big way, perhaps some dads will too. And if you’re neither, like me, you’ll still learn a thing or two about the importance of parenthood as well as the dos and don’ts for a successful and supportive marriage.

Nightbitch is coming soon to Australian cinemas.

Nathan Taylor

Nathan Taylor is the Weekender's Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.


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