The question sounds so basic and friendly. But it91裸聊视频檚 actually loaded, as many mothers can attest. 91裸聊视频淒o you just love getting to be home with him all the time?91裸聊视频� asks the younger, more put-together woman in the supermarket. 91裸聊视频淢ust be so wonderful.91裸聊视频�

Wonderful, of course 91裸聊视频� and sometimes brain-numbing and soul-draining too, some exhausted fulltime moms might reply. Especially if, like in Marielle Heller91裸聊视频檚 they91裸聊视频檇 left their prized art gallery job to this other woman.

And so Adams responds, twice, showing in this very opening scene exactly why her typically brave, brutally frank performance lifts this movie from an oddly uneven script to something unequivocally worth seeing.

First we get the honest answer, the one no one really gives until later in the shower: she feels 91裸聊视频渟tuck inside of a prison of my own creation,91裸聊视频� where she torments herself and ends up binge-eating Fig Newtons to keep from crying. She is angry all the time. Oh and, she has gotten dumber.

Then we rewind and director-writer Heller has Adams give her real answer: 91裸聊视频淚 do, I love it! I love being a Mom.91裸聊视频�

There we are, two minutes and 13 seconds into 91裸聊视频淣ightbitch91裸聊视频� and you may already find yourself wowed by Adams. If not, just wait until her Mother is sitting at a chic restaurant with a bunch of colleagues from the art world, and her fangs come out.

And we don91裸聊视频檛 mean figuratively. We mean literally.

Let91裸聊视频檚 go back to the beginning, shall we?

91裸聊视频淣ightbitch91裸聊视频� is based on the 2021 novel by Rachel Yoder, a feminist fable that the author has said came from her own malaise when pausing work for child-rearing.

She sets her tale in an unidentified suburb of an unidentified city. Mother (characters all have generic names), formerly an admired installation artist, spends her weekdays alone with her adorable, blond 2-year old Son. Husband has a job that seems to bring him home only on weekends.

The early scenes depicting Mother91裸聊视频檚 life are tight and impactful, a contrast to the confused havoc that will come toward the end of the film. Life revolves around the playground and the home, with occasional trips to storytime at the library where she notes, in narration, that she has no interest in the company of other moms 91裸聊视频� why should they be friends just because they91裸聊视频檙e moms?

In fact, Mother lives in solitude, and director Heller does a nice job illustrating how that feels. You can almost feel the weight of the afternoon coming around, at this comfortable but hardly ostentatious home, when it91裸聊视频檚 too early for dinner and you91裸聊视频檝e done all the activities already and you wonder if you can make it through the day.

Then things start to get weird. In the bathroom mirror, Mother starts noticing things. Her teeth are getting sharper. There91裸聊视频檚 something weird coming out of an apparent cyst at the bottom of her spine. She finds extra nipples. And that91裸聊视频檚 before she starts eating rare meat. (Also, if you love cats, you may want to close your eyes at one point.)

Somehow Adams, who also produces here, makes these things seem, if not quite natural, then logical. What91裸聊视频檚 happening is that Mother91裸聊视频檚 frustration is becoming ferocious. Dangerously ferocious. But also 91裸聊视频� empowering. At night, or so she thinks, she is a wild dog.

Aspects of the film work wonderfully. Mother91裸聊视频檚 relationship with Son (twins Arleigh and Emmett Snowden) is lovely, largely due to a decision to let the young boys talk freely, with the adult actors reacting to their words. It lends a grounding realism to a film that quickly veers surreal.

Less successful is the relationship between Mother and Husband (Scoot McNairy), which takes on too much importance as the film goes on, in a baffling way. (Also, just asking, has anyone in this movie ever heard of a babysitter?)

More importantly, a story that posits itself on such a tantalizing idea 91裸聊视频� that by transforming into a dog, Mother discovers her true nature and power 91裸聊视频� resorts late in the game to a safer story about a marriage that never seemed appealing enough for us to care about anyway. It doesn91裸聊视频檛 help that it91裸聊视频檚 hard to grasp the distracting subplot about Mother91裸聊视频檚 own mother.

None of this takes away from the strength of Adams91裸聊视频� performance. You believe her love for her child as much as you believe her resentment for what he is taking away from her. And Adams can make almost any line work, including one about a walnut. But we digress.

It91裸聊视频檚 an irony that for reasons of storytelling, characters have generic names 91裸聊视频� because Adams is such a singular and particular talent. The journey she embarks upon is bizarre indeed, but you won91裸聊视频檛 regret taking it with her.

91裸聊视频淣颈驳丑迟产颈迟肠丑,91裸聊视频� a Searchlight Pictures release, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association 91裸聊视频渇or language and some sexuality. 91裸聊视频� Running time: 98 minutes. Two stars out of four.