Over the course of her long and famously non-Oscar-winning career, Amy Adams has been a lot of things. She’s been a linguist working with aliens, a woman with a fake British accent, and a painter. Now, Adams is checking one more thing off of her list by transforming into a dog.
In the first trailer for Nightbitch, Adams plays a mom who puts her career on pause to stay at home with her kids. Unfortunately, the extreme stress of spending all day with her kids ultimately convinces her that she’s turning into a dog. The film is based on a novel by Rachel Yoder, and was adapted for the screen and directed by Marielle Heller, who also directed The Diary of a Teenage Girl and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, among other movies. In addition to Adams, the film also stars Scoot McNairy and Zoë Chao.
As silly as the premise may sound, Adams and Heller both have track records of delivering thoughtful, smart movies. What’s more, the trailer certainly makes it seem like the movie itself will spend plenty of time on the pain of being a mother, even when you’re in a committed relationship.
At this point, Adams is one of the most overlooked actors in the history of the Oscars. Nightbitch might be a bit of a tough sell with Oscar voters because of its out there premise and its title, but if Adams and Heller step up in a major way, they could deliver. We’ll only know for sure after the movie hits theaters in December.
