Amy Adams and Marielle Heller put all of their motherhood experiences into 'Nightbitch'

TORONTO (AP) — The day after the premiere of their film “Nightbitch,” Amy Adams and Marielle Heller are sitting in a Toronto restaurant reflecting on all that went into, as Heller puts it, “birthing” a movie that captures some of the truest, rawest but seldom Instagrammed things about early motherhood.

Their film, which writer-director Heller has described as a comedy for women and a horror film for men, stars Adams as a woman credited only as “Mother.” With her husband (Scoot McNairy) often away on work (and when he’s there, he refers to solo parenting as “babysitting”), Adams’ character experiences a wide range of emotions raising a newborn.

She is exhausted and resentful. Fresh postpartum horrors await a glance in the mirror. Animalistic urges bubble up. New powers emerge. The movie turns increasingly surreal. There are dogs.

“I just met her where I was at,” says Adams, whose own daughter is now a teenager. “That was me at that time in my life. It wasn’t a transformation that I made for the movie. I just was like: This is who she is. This is who I am, let’s marry the two and let’s be proud.”

The adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s bestseller that Searchlight Pictures will release Dec. 6, is about as close to the bone as it gets for Adams and Heller. In “Nightbitch,” the rage and bitterness of an over-burdened, self-sacrificing mother — Adams’ character has given up her successful career as an artist — find well-deserved expression. Aside from pulling from Yoder’s book, the movie comes directly from Heller and Adams’ experiences. Extreme as it can be, “Nightbitch” is essentially reportage from a little-documented chapter of parenthood.

Heller, the filmmaker of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,”“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” and “The Diary of a Teenage Girl,” wrote the script while raising her second child with her husband Jorma Taccone. They had moved out of New York during the pandemic, but Taccone was away for several months working on a TV show.

“I wasn’t sleeping. My daughter was getting up at 5 every day. I was out of my mind,” says Heller. “When you’re sleep deprived, you sort of feel more connected to the mythological world because you’re not in a literal headspace.”

The only way Heller could write was to put her infant daughter down for a nap and let her older son watch TV.

“And I’d get two hours. And in those two hours I wrote the script,” Heller says. “It was my one little moment that I could carve out, and I could just get out all of my frustrations from the day.”

When Adams, a producer on the movie, read Yoder’s book, she recognized a more honest perspective on motherhood than she had read before.

“It really reminded me of ‘Metamorphosis,’ my favorite book in high school,” she says. “This idea of transformation. Outside of just being a mother, the loss of identity, the isolation, those were things that spoke to me so deeply.”

“I struggled after my daughter was born,” says Adams. “I definitely was not one of those women that bounced right back. I think that’s a really common experience.”

Adams, the six-time Oscar nominee, gives a performance without a hint of vanity. She growls. She eats meatloaf like she’s in a pie-eating contest. She runs around on all fours.

“You didn’t blink,” Heller says, admiringly.

Adams shrugs. That’s how her family sees her around the house, she says, though not the running on all fours bit. “I mean,” Adams adds, “watching it is a different story.” (Adams, who generally avoids watching movies she stars in, slipped out of the premiere's screening Saturday night.)

Many of Heller’s favorite, most cathartic scenes to write came from the kind of passive-aggressive exchanges that can happen in a relationship, especially one tested by the pressures of child-rearing and the inequities that can arise between parents.

“The thing is, you can be in a very equitable relationship, then the moment you have kids, even in an equitable relationship, suddenly gender roles peek their way out,” Heller says. “My husband and I were together for, like, 14 years before we had kids. So it was shocking to suddenly find ourselves falling into gender roles we had never been in before.”

There are delightfully cutting observations laced through “Nightbitch” that might serve as a wake-up call to plenty of fathers. As much as many women will cheer Heller’s film, men — horrified or not — may be its best audience. The dad in the film often appears useless, even when it comes to making coffee.

“Jorma would read scenes from the movie and be like, ‘F--- you, that’s really rude. I know how to make coffee,’” Heller says, laughing.

“It’s funny, I didn’t remember the bit about the coffee until I watched it again. Darren (Le Gallo, Adams' husband) and I literally had a conversation this summer. He was like, ‘How did you get the coffee machine to work?’” Adams adds. “I was like, ‘If I can figure it out, you can figure it out.’”

Early on, Heller and Adams began to get the sense that they had tapped into something. Heller called it “an invisible experience” at the Toronto International Film Festival premiere.

“It started on set with crew members coming up to us,” Adams says. “People kept saying, ‘This is a little too on the nose. I really see myself in this.’”

“I first shared the script with a lot of other mothers and women who I trusted, and they all thought it was hilarious,” says Heller. “Then I started sharing it with my husband and Brandon (Trost), our cinematographer, or other male friends who were like, ‘This scared the s--- out of me.’”

“Nightbitch” — Heller says she still loves saying the title — will open in theaters just weeks after a U.S. presidential election where women's rights are at the forefront.

“Women’s bodies are being attacked. Freedom of choice is being attacked. It’s a very volatile moment for women,” says Heller. “Inevitably making a movie that I don’t think we even thought of as radically feminist in any way — it’s just about where we are in our lives, in our bodies, and we don’t think our own bodies are taboo.”

Adams, who starred in the movie adaptation of J.D. Vance's “Hillbilly Elegy” years before Vance was the Republican nominee for vice president, says she's more hopeful. She made “Nightbitch,” she says, for her daughter.

“It's not a surprise but I really always try to find a celebration in a moment that can be challenging. My daughter is going to be voting in four years. To have these conversations with her — women’s issues, bodily autonomy, misogyny — that’s kind of where I’m at with this,” Adams says. “Let’s keep our eye on the future. I’m really excited that her generation will be voting in four years. And they’re listening.”

Nate Heller, from left, Jorma Taccone, and director Marielle Heller attend the premiere of "Nightbitch" at Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Darren Le Gallo, Amy Adams and Aviana Le Gallo, arrive on the red carpet for the premiere of 'Nightbitch' at Princess of Wales Theatre, during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Amy Adams, left, and director Marielle Heller attend the premiere of "Nightbitch" at Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Marielle Heller, left, the writer/director of "Nightbitch," and the film's star Amy Adams pose for a portrait during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Amy Adams arrives on the red carpet for the premiere of 'Nightbitch' at Princess of Wales Theatre, during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Cole Burston/The Canadian Press via AP)

Marielle Heller, left, the writer/director of "Nightbitch," and the film's star Amy Adams pose for a portrait during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in Toronto. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Andrew Benintendi homered twice for the third time this season and drove in four runs, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-4 Monday night for their first three-game winning streak in nearly three months.

“It's been fun to watch. He's on a nice little stretch right now," interim manager Grady Sizemore said about Benintendi, who is 6 for 12 with three homers and six RBIs during the winning streak. “He's doing it against righty's, lefty's. He's coming through for us.”

It is only the fourth time the White Sox have won at least three in a row — and the first since June 27-29, when they beat Atlanta and Colorado. Chicago took two of three from Oakland over the weekend to snap a string of 20 consecutive series losses.

On Tuesday night, Chicago will try to match its season-high winning streak of four, which happened May 8-11 against Tampa Bay and Cleveland.

“The wins have been hard to come by, so when you can get one, you appreciate it. When you get a couple in a row, it’s even better,” Sizemore said. “It was a good atmosphere in the dugout. Guys are happy right now.”

The White Sox are 36-115 with 11 games left and are trying to avoid the post-1900 record of 120 losses by the 1962 expansion New York Mets. Chicago is 16-57 away from home, well off the post-1900 mark of 65 road losses by the 1935 Boston Braves.

“We’re showing up every day, playing our best baseball and one day at a time. I’m not worried about the future,” said first baseman Andrew Vaughn, who had two hits and drove in a pair of runs.

The White Sox took a 3-0 first-inning lead in a matchup of teams with the worst records in the American League. Benintendi hit a two-run shot to right field off Angels starter Reid Detmers (4-7). Two pitches later, Vaughn drove a fastball over the wall in left-center.

It was the fifth time the White Sox hit back-to-back homers, but it was the first since June 13 in Seattle.

In the second inning, Benintendi’s grounder drove in Zach DeLoach to make it 5-0. The left fielder hit his team-leading 19th home run in the seventh inning on a solo shot to right-center.

Lenyn Sosa also went deep for the White Sox as his homer to lead off the third inning extended their lead to 7-1.

Rookie Jonathan Cannon (4-10) went 6 2/3 innings and picked up his second win in three September starts. The right-hander tied a season-high with seven strikeouts and allowed four runs and three hits.

The Angels have dropped six straight despite Eric Wagaman’s first big-league homer. Charles Leblanc also had a solo shot.

Los Angeles' 90th loss came in its 150th game, the quickest it has reached that mark in franchise history.

With 10 straight losing seasons, the Angels are trying to avoid having the most losses in franchise history in Ron Washington’s first year as manager. The record is 95, set in 1968 and 1980.

“You could see the body language out there. He didn’t have the feel for things he wanted to do, and when it didn’t happen, he didn’t stay focused and tried to make it happen. It look like he just gave into it,” said Washington about Detmers, who allowed seven runs in 5 1/3 innings.

TRAINER'S ROOM

White Sox: 3B Yoán Moncada was activated off the 60-day injured list. He had been on the IL since April 10 because of a left adductor strain.

Angels: CF Mike Trout (left knee) said he would consider a position change next season. ... 2B Michael Stefanic (right calf tightness), 2B Brandon Drury (left hamstring tightness) and OF Mickey Moniak (left hand) were not in the lineup.

UP NEXT

White Sox RHP Davis Martin (0-4, 4.14 ERA) makes his ninth start and 10th appearance of the season. Angels RHP Griffin Canning (5-13, 5.35 ERA) looks to bounce back after allowing 10 runs (nine earned) in 5 2/3 innings on Sept. 10 at Minnesota.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Chicago White Sox catcher Chuckie Robinson, left, and relief pitcher Justin Anderson congratulate each other after the White Sox defeated the Los Angeles Angels 8-4 in a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Angels right fielder Gustavo Campero makes a catch on a ball hit by Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn during the seventh inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Reid Detmers throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox second baseman Jacob Amaya fields a ball hit by Los Angeles Angels' Jordyn Adams during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. Adams was thrown out at first on the play. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn walks into the dugout after the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Jacob Amaya, below, scores on a single by Luis Robert Jr. as Los Angeles Angels catcher Matt Thaiss stands at the plate during the second inning of a baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, is congratulated by Luis Robert Jr. after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Chicago White Sox right fielder Zach DeLoach makes a catch on a ball hit by Los Angeles Angels' Charles Leblanc to end their baseball game, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)