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Caterpillar director Johnson acquires $39,857 in stockThe Wallabies’ hopes of the first grand slam in 40 years were dashed because their wider squad didn’t have the cohesion necessary to orchestrate an upset win against a superior side. There were several issues which contributed to the poor cohesion, some were within the Wallabies’ control, some were not, others were just bad luck, but that was the full capabilities of this Wallabies team. Sure, there were intangibles like the weather: Storm Bert brought snow and heavy rain across the entire UK, forcing the Wallabies to curtail their training and change their preparation considerably. Similarly, no squad is ever at 100 per cent health, injuries are always a part of the rugby equation. An altered and minimised training week, in an unfamiliar place would be fine for an experienced squad but Joe Schmidt’s men were light on caps throughout the matchday 23. This is where the context of the 27-13-point defeat to Scotland begins to take shape. While the Wallabies were a picture of the walking wounded, Scotland were near full strength. The Scottish captain, Australian born Sione Tuipulotu, said in the post-match press conference, he knew Scotland were the better side leading up to the weekend’s game. Scotland’s Sione Tuipulotu speaks to Australia’s Angus Bell. (Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images) “The feeling throughout the week is we were pretty confident that we’re a better team than this Wallabies team,” Tuipulotu said. “I’m not too sure if it’s an upset, or how the media views it, but we were very confident that we were going to be the better team today.” “It’s a good win, but I don’t think it’s the best win or anything. The way we themed the week is we didn’t really feel like they had played a defensive team like us, and we also didn’t feel like they had played an attacking team like us.” Scotland are currently ranked two spots higher than the Wallabies on the world rankings, have had the same coach for several years and have a consistent roster of players in their best years. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt last week called Scotland; a side with the bulk of their team in the “sweet spot” twice, a zone where players have ‘30-60 caps and are aged between 25-30 years.’ This is a zone where this Wallabies side will be in two years. So, of course Scotland are a better side. But it would be wrong, even for a moment, for Wallabies fans to think the result at the weekend is the best that their team can muster. Or for that matter, that Scotland are without a doubt a better side in general. There is very little between Scotland and the Wallabies. Why? Because even before a ball had been kicked at Murrayfield, there had been nine changes made from the starting XV that ran out against Wales, and four changes on the bench. This equates to a staggering 13 changes to the matchday 23 from one week to another, few sides could make that many changes and expect an 80-minute performance. Conversely, the hosts, Scotland, were on home turf, with combinations which have played together for years, and almost all their best starting lineup. This is not to say the Wallabies would’ve won, had the eleventh-hour injuries and illness to Matt Faessler and Jeremy Williams not occurred. Nor is it suggesting they would’ve triumphed had Taniela Tupou not been under an injury cloud and Samu Kerevi not suspended. What it is positing, is that had these players been present, and coach Joe Schmidt selected the likes of Fraser McReight, the Wallabies could have stayed in the fight for longer. Actually, it goes further, had Filipo Daugunu, Dylan Pietsch, Liam Wright, Tom Robertson, Hunter Paisami, Dave Porecki, and Lachlan Lonergan not been injured this season, then the Wallabies are in that contest right up to their hairlines. This equates to 12 players, 12 Wallabies, who are all now established Test players, who have been consistent members of squads in recent years, unable to take the field for Schmidt. Joe Schmidt. (Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images) For Porecki, Lonergan, and Wright, their injuries robbed them of a lot of time in 2024, but they are strong contenders to enter the selection frame once fit and healthy in 2025. Ok, that’s enough about the woulda, coulda, shoulda, but it had to be said, the Wallabies are better than that result, and fans should be excited by the potential of the squad Schmidt is building. However, if we turn to the Scotland game, the team became unstuck as soon as the forward substitutes rolled on, around the 50th-minute. The lack of cohesion was because there was a lack of continuity. Dome of Schmidt’s selection were third or even fourth string squad members, some which hadn’t played since September or August. He selected two inexperienced props, in youngsters Isaac Aedo Kailea and Zane Nonggorr, who have six and nine caps respectively. This issue was compounded by Faessler’s untimely injury. This forced Schmidt to bring Brandon Paenga-Amosa into the starting side and call up another youngster, four cap hooker, Billy Pollard onto the bench. Between Pollard and the reserve front rower, there were only a total of 19-caps, and all were 24 years and under: a front row too young to be the frontline of a Test side. This plastered together side wasn’t helped by the late withdrawal of Williams, it altered the DNA of the Wallabies’ pack, making it bulkier and less dynamic. The backs weren’t spared either, with cross-code star Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii lasting only half an hour, before leaving the field due to injury. This saw winger Andrew Kellaway go to outside centre, with debutant Harry Potter on the wing and 20-year-old Max Jorgensen slotting onto the other wing, off the bench. On-top of all these forced changes, Carlo Tizzano was promoted to No.7 in lieu of rested Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson slotted back into No.8 with Seru Uru dropping out. Jake Gordon was back from a head injury, and Len Ikitau and JAS partnered in the centres for only their second game together ever. It is truly a mess and from this chaos emerged the result. The first casualty of mass changes and poor preparation is trust, that was the word of the week for the Wallabies leading up to the Murrayfield clash. Trust in each other, trust in the gameplan, and trust in themselves. The first rugby specific casualty from these disruptions is defence, because defence is built on trust. For the Wallabies, their ‘connected line-speed’ defence is built on trust. Trust that your inside man will hustle high and cover your inside shoulder, trust that the men around the ruck will get onto their feet and reload, trust that your teammate is where he should be. Once the Wallabies’ substitutes started rolling on in the forwards, at the 50-minute mark, the trust which had kept the team within two scores began to wither. The trust in each other which had seen them go to halftime at 7-3 down began to disappear, there were shades of Santa Fe emerging. However, it never got that bad because despite Schmidt being correct in that “development is never linear,” there has been big improvement in this side since the record loss to Argentina. Although the Scotsmen were a little off their game and failed to execute their finer skills in attack, the Wallabies nevertheless held on, showing grit and determination. The Wallabies for 2024 have a magic number they must keep the opposition under if they wish to be in with a chance to win, that number is 23 points. Which if adjusted for historical data reaching back into the 2000s has been averaged out to be around 20 points. This rings true for the current Wallabies, had the Wallabies kept the Scots to 20-23 points, then with 12-minutes to go they could have been within two scores of winning. But to move forward, the Wallabies must learn from the weekend. The lesson they learnt the hard way is that inexperienced players who haven’t played together before, are a risk in the defensive line. How many times have Tizzano, Kailea, Nonggorr, Potter, and Tate McDermott defended together? Let me give you clue; it rhymes with hero. In this instance, Potter makes the first error in getting too high. In defence coach Laurie Fisher’s ‘connected line speed’ system, the outside man, particularly as the third man out, should never get a meter in front of the inside man. This is compounded by Nonggorr biting-in on maverick flyhalf Finn Russell when he had already released the ball. Potter did well to make the ankle-tap, but the damage had already been done. In the end, the Wallabies thwart the attack, but it shows how small margins can undo a defence at Test level. Here, the Scots show they did their homework on the Wallabies’ fold etiquette after a set piece. Pollard and Kailea fold too hard to the openside, despite Scotland only having five men on that flank. Had either of them stayed on the open side, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto could have rushed hard to fill the space between himself and Nonggorr and plugged the gap no.11 Duhan van der Merwe slices through. Admittedly, LSL slips of a tackle he should’ve made but this is 70-minutes into a big effort form the tight forward, a factor Nonggorr and Nick Frost should’ve considered in their rush. In both these instances, the Wallabies were outnumbered on the respective sides by one player. A deficit a ‘connected line speed’ defence should theoretically deal with exceptionally well, as opposed to a rush a defence, but instead they allow the Scotsmen to make breaks on the inside of their defence. Something, which within their system, shouldn’t be happening. This is what a lack of cohesion, continuity, and experienced does, players are different pages, and it turns small differences of implementation into big problems. As the full-time whistle blew, LSL was the most experienced forward on the field with 38-caps. He gapped the next highest capped Wallaby by almost double. Most of the pack had 12-caps or less each and the most experienced player on the field was McDermott with 39-caps. This inexperienced selection was totally within Schmidt’s control and yet he decided to rotate. Australia players after the Autumn International match at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh. Picture date: Sunday November 24, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images) But this is not a critique of Schmidt, it is just the reality considering the injuries and a squad to manage under a long campaign. Now, it must be remembered that Schmidt’s goal has always been to build a side ready to take on the British and Irish Lions in 9-months’ time. His only barometer of success, ever since he signed on the dotted line has been the Lions. The Wallabies stocks at this point in the year are not the side which will be selected come July-19 2025, for their first Lions Test. Those 12 players which were not selected for one reason or another, will be in the mix, making the cap count and experience much higher. Although this doesn’t bode well for Ireland in a few days’ time, there is still enough starch in this touring squad to put in an 80-minute performance. The Wallabies are not yet done for 2024.
NoneAn Arizona man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill President-elect Donald Trump through “numerous lengthy videos” on Facebook, according to court documents. Manuel Tamayo-Torres was charged with one count of making threats against Trump, referred to in the documents as “Individual 1,” and a president’s successor. The documents allege he made “vague yet direct threats” toward the president-elect, his family and law enforcement agents. The documents state that on Thursday, Tamayo-Torres posted a video in which he said, “You’re gonna die, your son’s gonna die. Your whole family is going to die. This is reality for you now. This is the only reality you have in your future, dying.” He also claimed in the video that the “Secret Service, FBI, CIA and the military are all defenseless.” In another video, Tamayo-Torres was reportedly seen threatening to shoot Trump while holding “what appears to be a white AR-15-style rifle with a 30-round magazine inserted into it,” according to the documents. Officials said Tamayo-Torres posted “on a near-daily basis” about “[Individual 1] and his family kidnapping and sex-trafficking his children.” Tamayo-Torres also claimed in a video posted Aug. 23 from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, where Trump was holding a rally, that he “observed [Individual 1] and Secret Service kidnap his daughter there.” While investigating the alleged threats, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives task force officer said they found photos on Facebook showing Tamayo-Torres holding a bullpup-style shotgun, a rifle and the AR-15-style rifle seen in one of his videos. Tamayo-Torres was arrested in California after he posted a video from his vehicle indicating he was in San Diego. The charges against him were filed in Arizona. In recent months, Trump has faced two assassination attempts — one at a rally in Pennsylvania and another at a golf course in Florida. A report released earlier this month by the Secret Service highlighted “communication failures” that allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks to get close enough to shoot the president-elect in the ear and kill a man at the rally. Crooks was shot and killed by the Secret Service shortly after opening fire. In the second assassination attempt in West Palm Beach, authorities said Ryan Wesley Routh was captured after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking out from trees. Routh allegedly waited on the golf course for 12 hours. Have a news tip? Contact Alexx Altman-Devilbiss at aaltman-devilbiss@sbgtv.com . Content from The National Desk is provided by Sinclair, the parent company of FOX45 News.Egypt Daily News – Lieutenant General Abdel Majeed Saqr, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defense and Military Production, inspected a number of armed forces units planned to participate in one of the African Union missions, in the presence of Lieutenant General Ahmed Khalifa, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and a number of armed forces commanders. Major General Abdel Muti Abdel Aziz Allam, Commander of the Central Military Region, delivered a speech, during which he stressed the keenness of the General Command of the Armed Forces to support the region with the latest capabilities within the fields of combat training to ensure the preparation and distinguished training of the forces planned to travel within the missions of the African Union. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces listened to a detailed explanation of the technical and administrative preparation and equipment procedures for the participating force, which are carried out according to scientific principles using the latest weapons, equipment and advanced technological means. He also visited a number of training fields and educational classrooms equipped with the latest capabilities for military preparation and qualification in various specialties and inspected a number of training activities that demonstrated the high level of training, enabling soldiers to carry out their tasks in support of security and stability efforts, and reflects Egypt’s historical commitment to its brothers in the continent African. Lieutenant General Abdel Majeed Saqr, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defense and Military Production, conveyed the greetings and appreciation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, stressing that the participation of the Armed Forces within the UN mission comes within the framework of Egypt continuing to implement its pioneering role at the regional and international levels and exerting all efforts to confront the challenges of international peace and security and establish the principles of peace and stability. He called on the participating elements to be role models in discipline, commitment, and to work with all honesty and honor, pointing out that they are the best ambassadors of the Armed Forces outside the borders of the country.
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Caterpillar director Johnson acquires $39,857 in stockLAS VEGAS — Players Era Festival organizers have done what so many other have tried — bet their fortunes in this city that a big payoff is coming. Such bet are usually bad ones, which is why so many massive casino-resorts have been built on Las Vegas Boulevard. But it doesn't mean the organizers are wrong. They're counting on the minimum of $1 million in guaranteed name, image and likeness money that will go to each of the eight teams competing in the neutral-site tournament that begins Tuesday will create a precedent for other such events. EverWonder Studios CEO Ian Orefice, who co-founded Players with former AND1 CEO Seth Berger, compared this event to last year's inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament that played its semifinals and final in Las Vegas by saying it "did really well to reinvigorate the fan base at the beginning of the year." "We're excited that we're able to really change the paradigm in college basketball on the economics," Orefice said. "But for us, it's about the long term. How do we use the momentum that is launching with the 2024 Players Era Festival and be the catalyst not to change one event, but to change college basketball for the future." Orefice and Berger didn't disclose financial details, but said the event will come close to breaking even this year and that revenue is in eight figures. Orefice said the bulk of the revenue will come from relationships with MGM, TNT Sports and Publicis Sport & Entertainment as well as sponsors that will be announced later. Both organizers said they are so bullish on the tournament's prospects that they already are planning ahead. Money made from this year's event, Orefice said, goes right back into the company. "We're really in this for the long haul," Orefice said. "So we're not looking at it on a one-year basis." Rick Giles is president of the Gazelle Group, which also operates several similar events, including the College Basketball Invitational. He was skeptical the financial numbers would work. Giles said in addition to more than $8 million going to the players, there were other expenses such as the guarantees to the teams. He said he didn't know if the tournament would make up the difference with ticket sales, broadcast rights and sponsorship money. The top bowl of the MGM Grand Garden Arena will be curtained off. "The math is highly challenging," Giles said. "Attendance and ticket revenues are not going to come anywhere close to covering that. They haven't announced any sponsors that I'm aware of. So it all sort of rests with their media deal with Turner and how much capital they want to commit to it to get these players paid." David Carter, a University of Southern California adjunct professor who also runs the Sports Business Group consultancy, said even if the Players isn't a financial success this year, the question is whether there will be enough interest to move forward. "If there is bandwidth for another tournament and if the TV or the streaming ratings are going to be there and people are going to want to attend and companies are going to want to sponsor, then, yeah, it's probably going to work," Carter said. "But it may take them time to gain that traction." Both founders said they initially were met with skepticism about putting together such an event, especially from teams they were interested in inviting. Houston was the first school to commit, first offering an oral pledge early in the year and then signing a contract in April. That created momentum for others to join, and including the No. 6 Cougars, half the field is ranked. "We have the relationships to operate a great event," Berger said. "We had to get coaches over those hurdles, and once they knew that we were real, schools got on board really quickly." The founders worked with the NCAA to make sure the tournament abided by that organization's rules, so players must appear at ancillary events in order to receive NIL money. Strict pay for play is not allowed, though there are incentives for performance. The champion, for example, will receive $1.5 million in NIL money. Now the pressure is on to pull off the event and not create the kind of headlines that can dog it for years to come. "I think everybody in the marketplace is watching what's going to happen (this) week and, more importantly, what happens afterwards," Giles said. "Do the players get paid on a timely basis? And if they do, that means that Turner or somebody has paid way more than the market dictates? And the question will be: Can that continue?" CREIGHTON: P oint guard Steven Ashworth likely won’t play in the No. 21 Bluejays’ game against San Diego State in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Ashworth sprained his right ankle late in a loss to Nebraska on Friday and coach Greg McDermott said afterward he didn’t know how long he would be out. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Snell, Dodgers agree to $182M, 5-year contractLoneliness has become so prevalent that the U.S. Surgeon General referred to loneliness and isolation as an epidemic affecting productivity and engagement in schools, workplaces, and civic organizations. According to the 2023 Work in America Survey by the American Psychological Association, 26% of employees — both working in offices and remotely — reported feeling lonely and isolated at work. With 167 million people in the United States’ labor force as of May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are clearly many lonely people sitting behind computer screens and along factory lines. Jennice Chewlin, owner of Chewlin Group, a NH-based consultancy focused on improving workplace well-being through training, coaching, and strategy development, says many of those people may be hiding their feelings of loneliness. Creating a workplace culture of belonging is crucial, she says. “If you want to improve workplace wellbeing and reduce loneliness start with belonging,” she says, citing a recent American Psychological Association report. “Twenty percent of respondents to an APA survey said they did not feel like they belonged at work when asked.” From a financial perspective, loneliness often results in disengaged employees, lower productivity and decreased performance, costing businesses an estimated $154 billion annually in stress-related absenteeism alone in 2019, according to the Cigna Group’s Loneliness Index. Stuart Lustig, the national medical executive for behavioral health strategy and product design at Evernorth, a division of the Cigna Group, says when people are feeling lonely and disconnected, whether they work for a small or a large company, those employees are more likely to quit. “This happens when people feel disconnected from others and with their work,” he says. “We’re social beings by nature and want to feel connected and be with others at least some of the time.” Tackling loneliness post-COVID Loneliness became a huge problem during the COVID-19 pandemic, when offices across the country closed, sending people home to bedrooms, dining rooms and whatever spaces they could find. Chewlin says COVID exposed problems with workplace wellbeing that had been simmering for years. “There was a need to identify and prevent burn out,” she says. Chewlin, whose background is in public health, started Chewlin Group in 2022. “COVID taught workplaces they can’t keep doing business as usual and for those companies that made employee wellbeing a priority, they’re seeing the most benefit today.” And even as companies and workers adjusted to the “new normal” following the pandemic, loneliness in the workplace remains as prevalent as ever. Maggie Pritchard, CEO of Lakes Region Mental Health Center in Laconia and president of the NH Community Behavioral Health Association, says, “Feelings of loneliness at work are on the rise post-pandemic, both for our mental health workforce and the patients we see, [and] we likely won’t know the full extent of the crisis for years.” Remote work since the pandemic created more flexibility for employees and allowed businesses to reduce travel and office expenses, but it also affects peoples’ ability to stay connected, says Pritchard. “Remote work significantly changed workplace culture. People experienced unprecedented isolation,” she says. Sue Drolet, chief human resource officer for Lakes Region Mental Health, says workforce flexibility that provides more autonomy can also lead to isolation for some people. “If someone is feeling lonely at work, especially if they work remotely, they should reach out to a co-worker, schedule a meeting, phone call, or lunch,” she says. “There is a balance that can be achieved.” Understanding and combating workplace loneliness Being proactive is one way to combat workforce loneliness. At Mainstay Technologies in Manchester, talking about loneliness and wellbeing is built into the company’s monthly checkins with its 100 employees. President Jason Golden says Mainstay creates opportunities for connection and belonging. “We are very intentional about creating systems of communication,” Golden says. “You can’t force connections, but you can force opportunities.” Mainstay holds lunch and learn sessions allowing employees to connect with each other and offers quarterly outings, including to Funtown Splashtown USA in Maine. Golden and his team are aware of the potential for burnout, particularly for service companies like Mainstay. “We watch overtime, including billable client hours, to make sure there’s a good work-life balance,” he says. “And we’ve been very intentional in the past year about training our leadership in the idea of radical respect,” which involves honoring individuality, rather than demanding conformity and creating opportunities for collaboration, not coercion. “We’re super intentional about creating as many opportunities as we can to eliminate loneliness and increase connection,” Golden says. Pritchard says companies are increasing such efforts. “People, including legislators, are recognizing that mental health is a major priority,” she says. “The younger workforce, ‘Gen Z’ for example, is more comfortable asking for help or mental health days at work. This is helping to normalize it and reduce stigma.” Companies are also reaching out to experts for assistance. Chewlin Group facilitates conversations with companies by helping them make informed decisions about increasing potential opportunities for employee engagement and wellbeing.“[People] often confuse feeling lonely with being alone,” Chewlin says, citing the Surgeon General’s definition of loneliness, which is rooted in feelings of disconnection and a lack of belonging. “There’s often a deficit of connection.” Loneliness is a normal human experience, as much as happiness, joy, or hunger, Chewlin says, adding that it is often hidden. “There’s stigma attached to this feeling,” she says. “People feel others will perceive them as having something wrong with them and because of this we put on a mask and pretend everything is ok.” More from this section Nicole Sublette, owner of Therapists of Color New England in Manchester, says the topic of workplace disconnection and loneliness came up recently at a Stay Work Play event she attended. “People were talking about this, and my own business really struggles because people tend to work in silos,” she says. One thing Sublette has done to combat loneliness at her company is to plan group gatherings. Recently, Therapists of Color’s also created a “clinician support coordinator” to do check-ins and meetings with staff. “Workplaces today are becoming more progressive around mental health and wellness. I had a client whose organization offered wellness incentives including yoga, gym memberships and coaching.” Sublette says 50% of Therapists of Color’s work is telehealth and that staff work two days in office. “This allows people to grab lunch with each other and they have two hours off during the day,” she says. “I try to make everyone’s lunch hours the same.” Money, race and age matters When it comes to loneliness in the workplace, certain trends stand out. One is age. The 2024 Work in America Survey by the American Psychological Association found that 45% of workers ages 18 to 25 felt lonely, compared to 33% of workers ages 26 to 33, 22% of workers ages 44 to 57 and about 15% of workers over age 58. “It seems counterintuitive. You would think younger people would have more connections than older people, but it doesn’t pan out that way,” says Lustig, a child psychiatrist by training. “Younger people are supposed to be forming their identities and making lasting connections, graduating college, having their first jobs, and much of that was hindered by the pandemic.” The U.S. Surgeon General laid out a framework of five requirements for workplace mental health and wellbeing. They are: protection from harm, opportunity for growth, connection and community, mattering at work and work-life harmony. Forlower paid workers, these are harder to find. Lustig says that while money can’t buy a person happiness, it can buy friends. “All joking aside, having connections with friends is an indicator of well-being,” he says, explaining that having financial resources provides the ability to better engage in social activities. And working more hours to make ends meet is time away from family and friends, he adds. “People with better financial resources can engage in important activities and stay more connected.” According to a 2021 Cigna report, men and women have roughly the same likelihood of loneliness (57% of men and 59% of women) while people from underrepresented racial groups are more likely to be lonely. Seventy five percent of Hispanic adults and 68% of Black/African American adults are classified as lonely — at least 10 points higher than what is seen among the total adult population (58%). Sublette says people of color — who can experience powerlessness and invisibility — and those with neurodivergence have needs that employers may not understand. “It’s important for employers to gauge their employees’ needs individually. When it comes to group gatherings they can simply ask, ‘what do you want to do, what does fun look like to you,’ these questions are important,” she says. Creating the potential for connection Creating a workplace of belonging begins with trust, says Chewlin. This includes executive leaders, managers and employees working together to build that trust. “This requires more than a one-and-done approach, she says. “But when building trust is made a priority, workplaces can help create a momentum for change where everyone thrives.” Golden of Mainstay says he asks employees what is meaningful in their lives and how they can get closer to that. He emphasizes to his staff the importance of fostering positive relationships with people who are trusted sources of wisdom. “You need to know your squad,” he says. “When you’re feeling lonely, who is it you turn to?” As the leader of a tech company, Golden says he’s aware of the dangers of isolation. “I’m an introvert who also enjoys people,” he says, adding he’d typically rather be reading a book than attending networking events. “There’s a seduction for introverts, especially in the tech world where much of the work is online ... they sometimes think they can solve everything in their own mind. That’s dangerous.” ••• These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org .
The question sounds so basic and friendly. But it’s actually loaded, as many mothers can attest. “Do you just love getting to be home with him all the time?” asks the younger, more put-together woman in the supermarket. “Must be so wonderful.” Wonderful, of course — and sometimes brain-numbing and soul-draining too, some exhausted fulltime moms might reply. Especially if, like Amy Adams’ character in Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch,” they’d 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 “stuck inside of a prison of my own creation,” 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: “I do, I love it! I love being a Mom.” RELATED COVERAGE Amy Adams and Marielle Heller put all of their motherhood experiences into ‘Nightbitch’ There we are, two minutes and 13 seconds into “Nightbitch” 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 don’t mean figuratively. We mean literally. Let’s go back to the beginning, shall we? “Nightbitch” 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 Mother’s 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 — why should they be friends just because they’re 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 it’s too early for dinner and you’ve 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. There’s something weird coming out of an apparent cyst at the bottom of her spine. She finds extra nipples. And that’s 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. What’s happening is that Mother’s frustration is becoming ferocious. Dangerously ferocious. But also — empowering. At night, or so she thinks, she is a wild dog. Aspects of the film work wonderfully. Mother’s 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 — that by transforming into a dog, Mother discovers her true nature and power — resorts late in the game to a safer story about a marriage that never seemed appealing enough for us to care about anyway. It doesn’t help that it’s hard to grasp the distracting subplot about Mother’s own mother. None of this takes away from the strength of Adams’ 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. It’s an irony that for reasons of storytelling, characters have generic names — because Adams is such a singular and particular talent. The journey she embarks upon is bizarre indeed, but you won’t regret taking it with her. “Nightbitch,” a Searchlight Pictures release, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association “for language and some sexuality. “ Running time: 98 minutes. Two stars out of four.
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