Nightbitchthe latest entry in a now rich pantheon of media about fed-up American mothershas an interesting premise.
When these two things intersect, the mother undergoes a transformation so radical that she turns into a dog.
Below, find the questions we asked ourselves, and our conversation, lightly edited for length and readability.
Searchlight Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Lets start with the basics.
Overall, what did we think ofNightbitch?
Did it accurately depict motherhood today?
Searchlight Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Anna Moeslein:Yes and no.
And then the whole time hes yelling from the other room, Hey, honey, wheres this?
Hey, honey, wheres that?
So she ends up just going in and doing it herself.
Stephanie McNeal:Oh yeah.
We can take a diversion just to talk about the scenes where her husband displayed wildly infuriating weaponized incompetence.
And then the whole time hes hovering around like, Well, how do I do it?
So the bathtime one was the triggering one for you?
Anna:Yeah, it was definitely the bathtime scene.
I do, frankly, delegate a lot.
Ill ask him to do something but he wont know, like, what drawer the socks are in.
That kind of stuff.
I just inherently hold all that information, always.
But is that true across the board?
Or is it just a stereotype?
Anna:Thats the stereotype or, historically, its been women.
I have friends where its the reverse.
Stephanie:We dont want to be heteronormative here.
Everyones dynamic is different.
What parts of the film didnt ring true?
At times I thought, What is she complaining about?
I found it hard to relate to, but I know thats highly specific to my own circumstance.
At the beginning there are a series of scenes where shes doing the same thing over and over again.
Shes making eggs, shes going to the park, shes going to music class.
And she hates it.
They didnt put any makeup on Amy Adams to make her look haggard and sad.
But from my perspective as a working mom, I felt wistful.
I guess you always want what you dont have a little bit.
They kind of did at the end, but I wish theyd done more of it.
I wish theyd delved deeper into the nuance that comes with every decision of motherhood.
Stephanie:I agree.
Whereas I feel like, when you’re watching the movie, it comes off as very mean.
But eventually she becomes friends with them and recognizes their value, I guess.
As it stands, I ended up feeling as in the dregs as her character did.
Another movie that came out last year and was about similar themes wasAnother Happy Daywith Lauren Lapkus.
We dont have a lot of support, childcare is expensive, and we have nopaid leave.
Much of the content emphasizes this and its impact on parents, especially moms.
DidNightbitchthread that needle effectively?
Anna:Im torn.
They would work if there were adequate childcare options.
So I understand the content coming out to meet that rage.
But its like anything.
We need a little bit of it all.
Stephanie:Oh my God, I totally know what you mean.
What was the main message of the film?
What are we supposed to take away from it?
Hes complaining, essentially, that shes lost all the qualities about herself that he fell in love with.
She died in childbirth.
I think that is an interesting point.
Anna:Yeah, you do change.
I changed to such a degree that I dont think I could even recognize my old self.
I couldnt even go back to her if I wanted to.
I do feel like, in a way, a new species of human.
So I totally get the dog metaphor.
I didnt read the book, but I imagine it would be really effective in print.
This fear of, What is happening to meeverything has changed!
And I found the same to be true for me.
We all had to find a new way to be together.
Theres a lot happening.
But then things leveled out.
We also learned our kids quirks and things like that.
Its not exactly a happy ending as much as its a new beginningthe same as any life change.
Youre a dog now.
