Review
DULCIE PEARCE
Nighbitch review: This portrayal of a new mother who transforms into a dog at night teeters on the brink of barking mad
Adams’ performance as an unfulfilled powerful female who howls, barks and hunts is excellent
NIGHTBITCH
(15) 99mins
★★★☆☆
ANY parent will tell you raising young children can be animalistic at times.
But this portrayal of a new mother who transforms into a dog at night teeters on the brink of barking mad.
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Adapted from Rachel Yoder’s fantastic novel of the same name, it sees Amy Adams (American Hustle, Enchanted) play the “mom-mutt” in question.
Once a top artist in New York, she is now a stay-at-home mum in the suburbs.
Creative days in the studio are long gone. In their place is a tedious and repetitive routine of shopping, bottom wiping, feeding and going to Baby Book Club.
Feral canine
Meanwhile, her husband (Scoot McNairy) works away and returns home at weekends to distribute fun “Daddy baths”, moan about his interesting job and unhelpfully point out that there’s no milk in the fridge.
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Oh, he’d quite like some sex too, and his wife to be more fun and cultured as she was pre-kid.
For the dog-tired mother of his child, the endless frustrations of being trapped in a toddler-fug begin to manifest in surreal ways.
Her teeth sharpen to resemble fangs, fur patches sprout on her body, she grows a tail, her nipples multiply and, while out for dinner, she dunks face first into a bowl to eat.
Eventually as darkness falls, the metamorphosis is complete, and she becomes a fully feral canine who roams with a pack.
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Adams’ performance as an unfulfilled powerful female who howls, barks and hunts is excellent. Certainly as believable as it can be and compelling enough to hold your attention.
But it’s also conceptually and visually flawed.
Cate Blanchett and Charles Dance star in 2024 comedy horror film Rumours
Parallels drawn between the loss of identity and freedom that can accompany the demands of childcare for women and, er, bitches, are at best unsubtle and start to feel one-note.
More enjoyable moments come from director Marielle Heller’s simple and accurate depictions of everyday parenting.
The boredom of yet another rendition of Wheels On The Bus, the exhaustion of interrupted sleep and the longing for a night out only to discover once there that you only want to converse about your child. Or the pure joy of family time playing in the park.
These observations on the magic and madness of motherhood have real bite.
UNSTOPPABLE
(12A) 123mins
★★★☆☆
THIS triumph-over-adversity tale, based on a true story, doesn’t break new ground, but if you’re after a feel-good watch, it certainly delivers.
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Jharrel Jerome plays Anthony Robles, who succeeded against the odds to become a wrestling champion.
Born with one leg, Robles overcame his disability and a background of domestic violence and financial struggles to clinch a university scholarship – and in 2006 he claimed the title that would change his life.
On screen, the sports-focused story (produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) sticks doggedly to Robles’ real-life script, which feels formulaic. But it’s hard to mind when it successfully illustrates such stirring achievements.
There are Rocky-style training homages and characters trot out clichéd motivational soundbites and locker room pep talks about chasing dreams.
Robles’ biggest supporters, struggling mum Judy (a decent Jennifer Lopez) and high school coach Bobby (Michael Pena) never stop believing in him.
And violent step-dad Rick (Bobby Cannavale) gets his comeuppance for a crowd-pleasing clean finish.
- Laura Stott
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RUMOURS
(15) 104mins
★★★☆☆
WHEN a politician says they will “provide clarity”, you know they will be as clear as mud.
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Starring Cate Blanchett and Charles Dance, this satire of world leaders at a G7 summit takes aim at such double speak.
The leaders’ job is to draw up a “draft of a statement” about an unspecified crisis, while drinking wine in the garden of a secluded estate.
Instead, the politicians are left to fend for themselves in the midst of a mysterious apocalypse.
Rumours is worth watching just to see Blanchett, who plays Hilda Orlmann, do what is clearly an impression of former German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Equally entertaining is Roy Dupuis as melancholic Canadian Prime Minister Maxime Laplace, for whom Hilda has the hots.
But the film gets as lost in the woods as its characters, taking bizarre turns. This includes zombie-type “mud men” who explode while playing with themselves.
And there’s no explanation for why Dance’s sleepy US president has a British accent.
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Sadly, none of the three co-directors took the “tough decision” of trying to make sense of their film.
- Grant Rollings
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