What would you do if one day, you woke up and discovered that someone you love had transformed into a dog? Not like some sort of Animorphs-style affair; rather, they had adopted the psyche, mannerisms, and behavior of man’s best friend. Such is the core question behind writer-director-star Marianna Palka’s Bitch, which is in theaters now.
Since it made its auspicious debut at the Sundance Film Festival, Bitch has been one of the most memorable and hard-to-define films of 2017. While it comes across as a horror film at first blush, it deftly flits between being a thriller, a pitch-black comedy, and a work of feminist satire as its Kafka-esque story unfolds. Palka’s film is ostensibly about a long-suffering housewife who slowly turns into a dog, but there’s so much more than meets the eye. As Jill Hart, Palka devolves into human with the mind of a snarling, growling pooch, leaving her sleazebag husband Bill (Jason Ritter) to try–and fail–to maintain a sense of normalcy for him and their children. The results are wild, chaotic, frequently funny, and deeply disturbing.
While at the Sundance Film Festival, I sat down with the film’s stars–Marianna Palka, Jason Ritter, and Jaime King–to talk about bring this weird, wonderful film to life, what they hope audiences take away from it, and much more.
Bitch is in theaters now. Read our review and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Image: SpectreVision
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).
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