A Night Out With Tully
I feel I should make this clear right off the bat. I’m not a mom. I love kids but so far they haven’t been in the cards for me and I’m fine with that. Why the disclaimer? I recently, attended a free preview of the movie Tully which is ALL about motherhood. I must admit I was hesitant to even go and thought maybe I wouldn’t “get it.” But as I’m a fan of Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody’s past collaborations, Juno and Young Adult, I decided to give it a try.
Tully stars Charlize Theron as Marlo who has recently given birth to her third child. Already overwhelmed with the first two she’s finding herself at her wit’s end. She has a loving husband, Drew (Ron Livingston) but he’s busy working and can’t offer the support she needs. Enter Tully (Mackenzie Davis), a night nurse hired by her brother, Craig (Mark Duplass). Tully is just the relief Marlo needs and she slowly finds herself returning to her old self – for good and bad.
As I said, I entered Tully with trepidation. How could I possibly related to a plot so thoroughly entrenched in new motherhood? And what on earth is a night nurse? As it turns out, I could relate quite well because you don’t need to be a mother to feel truly overwhelmed by your circumstances. Between my day job and this blog and family obligations and the cost of SoCal living I’d love for someone like Tully to come into my life every once in awhile and give me a little break.
In short, I loved Tully. Really, truly loved it. Why? Because it’s real. Marlo and Drew are average people who have basic jobs, drive cheap cars, live in an old, out of date home and, like may Americans, are just struggling to get by. When watching movies when characters are supposed to be “average” their lifestyles often don’t reflect their income and all believably flies out the window. It’s one of my biggest film-related pet peeves. This NEVER happens in Tully. They are 100% average and that’s a good thing.
Margot and Dave also have a very real relationship and Charlize Theron and Ron Livingston have great chemistry. I’ve long been a fan of Livingston (hello, Office Space!) but Theron not so much. Yet, she completely blew me away as the overworked, under appreciated Marlo. Leaving all vanity at the door she thoroughly embraces the role and creates a character that any modern woman can relate to whether mother or not. I was not familiar with Mackenzie Davis prior to the film but she’s also wonderful as the kindhearted Tully.
Tully, is a quiet film that has the potential to be overlooked. When you’ve got Avengers saving the world who wants to watch a small film about a new mom? Well, you should because if you don’t you just might miss one of the best films of the year.
Tully opens May 4 in theatres everywhere.