Six Oscar nominations for Amy Adams might be enough, even without a win, for the American Hustle and Enchanted star to do whatever she wants. That includes a new dark comedy film that adapts the same-named bestselling novel from Rachel Yoder.
The film should be as flat-out bonkers as the book, which became a club favorite and, as such, arrives with a built-in audience. Actually, the story is so bitingly funny that this movie is virtually guaranteed to be a runaway hit. Let’s talk about what to expect when this story comes to life onscreen, Oscar material or not:
Plot
Marielle Heller will be in the director’s seat and wrote the script, which presents a scathing take (with a feminist slant) on societal expectations of motherhood. Adams will portray, well, a woman whose name we will not actually learn. In the book, she’s known as a “mother,” but then, according to the longline, she is — get this — “thrown into the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler in the suburbs, who 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 canine.”
It happens? Well, perhaps the psychological adjustment of motherhood needed a good shake at the movies. Nothing quite turns a life upside down like sudden parenthood, but this story takes things into the body-horror-esque realm. She starts to grow hair on her body and sprouts additional nipples, and after her husband (Scoot McNairy) tells her that she acted like a “bitch,” Adams’ character becomes known as “Nightbitch.” Yes, it’s freaking weird stuff, and Variety warns viewers to expect not simply a dark comedy but a “darkly comic Neo-horror.”
Cast
Adams will portray the protagonist, of course, and Scoot McNairy will be in a role like we’ve never seen him before. His character travels plenty for work, so it remains to be seen how much of Mr. Nightbitch we will see, but some Scoot is better than none. The film’s cast also includes Zoe Chao, Laura Meadows, Mary Holland, Jessica Harper, and Ella Thomas.
Release Date
The film will eventually stream on Hulu as a Hulu Original movie. No word yet on whether a theatrical release is in the cards, but the movie will premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival being held in September.
Trailer
No trailer exists yet, but something tells me that Adams might draw from the same well of inspiration that she did while portraying Camille in HBO’s Sharp Objects, based upon the Gillian Flynn novel.
