why does film look better in shadows

[rack_focus]

analog grain in the shadows feels like dust motes in a streetlight. digital noise just dumps static on the subject. it renders the shadow so flat you can't tell where the form ends and the background begins. film grain acts more like a light modifier, creating gradients where there shouldn't be any. i pushed a 16mm shot to ctb ten stops for a night scene and the shadows just breathed. is it that digital cameras stop resolving detail in bad light or is analog contrast distortion just better at hiding the flaw?