In 2021, Iowa City-based author Rachel Yoder published her debut novel Nightbitch. It’s about a stay-at-home mom who struggles with the exhaustion of parenting, the loss of her career and the loss of her independent identity. Oh, and she might also be turning into a dog.
The book, which is based on Yoder’s own experience with motherhood, has been adapted into a new movie starring Amy Adams. Part horror, part comedy, Nightbitch sees Adams take on a shapeshifting role that is part maternal, part canine.
Marielle Heller, director of the Oscar-nominated films Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, penned the screenplay and directed the film. She was drawn to Yoder’s work while raising her second child. According to Heller, it was almost like Yoder was “living in her brain” and speaking to her at the exact moment she needed it.
“Her book was so cathartic to read,” Heller recalled on IPR’s Talk of Iowa. “There's something about when you really feel represented in a piece of work, whether it's a book or a movie or a TV show… So, I just immediately knew it was something I had to work on.”
The women who made it happen
Yoder, who teaches in the University of Iowa’s cinematic arts department, said she is grateful for all the women who made the film possible, from Heller and her thoughtful adaptation to Adams, whose production company saw the novel’s potential early on.
“Maybe my greatest hope for the book was that women would read it, and they would want to make their own art,” Yoder said on Talk of Iowa. “They would return to their own creative selves.”
For Yoder, having her book adapted into a major motion picture was at times a surreal experience, especially when she participated in the production herself. Eagle-eyed viewers will see Yoder appear in an on-screen cameo along with her son.
“It was very emotionally and psychologically complex, but also really fun,” she recalled.
‘An antidote to Instagram culture’
The raw and intimate approach to motherhood in Nightbitch might be surprising to some, but it will ring true for fans of the novel. Using elements of magical realism to emphasize an all-too-real human experience, Yoder explores both the highs and lows that come with being a mother. The film adaptation, likewise, shows “the good, the bad and the ugly” of it all, as Heller put it.
Adams, the Oscar-nominated actress who has previously portrayed elegant characters like Disney princess Giselle in the 2007 film Enchanted, does without the glitz and the glamor here. Instead, she embraces the rawness of Yoder’s story, embodying a woman coping with the loss of her independent identity — and all the messiness that comes with that.
In Heller’s eyes, Adams’ performance is a testament to her range as an actress.
“She and I talked about how this movie is sort of an antidote to Instagram culture,” Heller said. “If all you ever see is these kinds of filtered women, with these perfect lives and perfect skin and perfect bodies and faces, it can really start to affect everybody's sense of self.”
Blurring the lines of reality
Heller’s film does not shy away from the dark emotions Yoder presents throughout the book — anger, exhaustion, resentment, unhappiness. Matching the novel’s use of magical realism, Heller brings these feelings to life with visuals that blur the line between fantasy and reality.
“It's a fun challenge,” Heller said. “There's an ambiguity to what is real and what is not. I love a movie where you're really, subjectively in one person's perspective, and you're experiencing the world as they experience it.”
Readers and viewers alike may never truly know if supernatural elements are at play. Nevertheless, Yoder believes the story’s emotional truth remains just as potent and universal.
“I think there's something exciting about seeing a mother who is embracing even the sort of ferocious parts of herself,” Yoder said. “I think for younger women, that's something that they really like.”
But the film is not just for younger women. According to Heller, it’s a story that can resonate with anyone, from experienced moms and expecting mothers to anybody who has ever had a mom.
“I’ve also had so many people tell me that even if they didn't have kids, they watched this movie and left the theater and called their mom, that it gave them some new perspective about their mothers,” Heller said.
Nightbitch is the opening night film selection for the Refocus Film Festival, an event dedicated to celebrating the art of adaptation. Audiences can see it in Iowa City at the Englert Theatre Oct. 17 and again Oct. 19 at FilmScene at The Chauncey. The film will have a limited theatrical release Dec. 6 before expanding nationwide.
Listen to the full conversation with Marielle Heller and Rachel Yoder on Talk of Iowa.
To hear this conversation, listen to Talk of Iowa, hosted by Charity Nebbe. Danielle Gehr produced this episode.
