This is the most beautiful portrayal of motherhood I have ever seen.
Mother (Amy Adams) is a first-time mom to a rambunctious toddler and she is struggling. Overworked and sleep-deprived, she is stuck in a routine that makes her feel less and less like herself every day. Oh- and she is slowly turning into a dog.
This is a film about motherhood for women and mothers; it is a testimony to our extraordinary power to create life, to reinvent ourselves, to care for every single person around us while running on fumes. This film is a love letter to women that declares motherhood is beautiful when we acknowledge it for what it is versus how it has been sold to us through a patriarchal lens.
As a non-parent who has questioned whether or not I want to have children, it made me feel like maybe I would like to have a baby or two. Watching Mother go through the motions of losing herself and realizing in real time that she had no clue what she signed up for, to be a stay-at-home parent while her husband worked, really moved me. She believed that she could stay who she was- an artist, a creative, a tastemaker and she feels ashamed that that part of her is no longer accessible. She feels embarrassed, she yearns for her old life; she resists making friends with other moms to avoid falling into the stereotype of frumpy mom. She clings to her former identity, desperate to feel like she used to, the cycle of self-criticism and shame drives her more mad.
It is only when she gives into the madness and stops fighting what she thinks she should be doing as a mother, that she can step into her new self. Still an artist, still a woman, just as wonderful as before, as a mother.
This film is a 10/10 for me.
Nightbitch is playing at TIFF ’24. For more information, click here.
