Amy Adams is never given a name in Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch. The former New York City artist turned stay-at-home mom is simply credited as “Mother,” a fitting moniker since motherhood has become her identity, for better or worse. Her son is a toddler, though not quite preschool aged, so they remain joined at the hip at all times in their suburban town. When out and about, she fields enthusiastic questions about her new role with a polite smile. In an early scene, she imagines answering an acquaintance with brutal, piercing honesty about unfair expectations and how she's left with little time to herself, before the film doubles back to her polite white lie. When asked if she enjoys being home all the time, she replies “Yeah, I do. I love it,” through gritted teeth. It seems like a light in her eyes has been extinguished.
