Tully review

TULLY:

A FUNNY BUT HONEST DEPICTION OF THE STRUGGLES OF MOTHERHOOD!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

FOCUS FEATURES

Charlize Theron will soon have her life changed forever in Tully

            Yes, I made fun of the film’s trailer because of how unexciting it was, nevertheless director, Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking, Juno, Young Adult) has yet to disappoint me. I can best describe Reitman’s latest film, Tully as what Boyhood did for children growing up for mothers and the struggles that come with the responsibility of parenthood.

            Given that most of my movie picks especially around the summer time consist of major blockbuster releases, I could have easily missed Tully. And I am so glad I didn’t because it’s terrific and a near-perfect balance between humor, honesty, and realism that’s easily relatable in some way whether a parent or child.

            The film follows a woman named Marlo (Charlize Theron-Monster, Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde), who is a struggling stay-at-home mother to three children including a newborn, in her stressful daily life. From dropping off and picking up the kids from school and attending meetings with the principal to cooking meals and taking care of the baby, Marlo just can’t seem to catch a break.

            Until she is greeted by a mysterious night nanny named Tully (Mackenzie Davis-Halt and Catch Fire, Always Shine, Blade Runner 2049) who enlightens her with insightful wisdom and changes her life around. Tully claims to be taking care of her baby but it’s possible that she’s really there to take care of Marlo.

            The film also stars Mark Duplass (The League, Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Safety Not Guaranteed) as Craig and Ron Livingston (Swingers, Office Space, Adaptation) as Drew.

            Overall, Tully is one of those movies anyone who hopes to one day start a family should see, it’s funny, heartfelt, and isn’t afraid to hammer the harsh, harsh reality into your head. Being a parent is a very stressful responsibility and for the most part it’s a very accurate depiction of how tough it can be.

            We’ve seen a lot of comedies and comedy-dramas about parenting over the years such as Parenthood, Mr. Mom, and Three Men and a Baby, this isn’t quite a new concept for film. But what makes Tully shine is Charlize Theron’s performance, everything she says and does feels natural and I was fully convinced I was watching a mother taking care of her children, you really feel the stress that she’s going through, and Theron sells every moment.

            The writing is amazing thanks to the return of Juno screenwriter, Diablo Cody who gives us a witty but also poignant script that chronicles the responsibilities of parenthood and anyone who has ever raised a child can tell you that it isn’t just a walk in the park. The story depicts every stressful aspect about being a parent you could think of and it’s done in an intelligent and thoughtful way.

            There were moments in the movie where as I was watching it I thought back to when I was a little kid and said “I remember doing or saying that at a young age” or it reminded me of things that happened at school or at home growing up. This is a movie anyone can relate to either as a parent or as a child, I swear somehow, you’ll relate to someone or something in this film.

            Really, I only have some minor nitpicks with Tully, I think it’s overall a tremendous movie. But if I have to nitpick something, I found Ron Livingston’s character as the husband to be rather one-dimensional, he does a fine enough job with the performance but every time he showed in the film I had to remind myself “Oh yeah, she has a husband in this movie”, he doesn’t wreck the movie in any way, but it was something I noticed.

            Tully continues Jason Reitman’s slew of successful comedies and delivers a funny yet poignant journey into the struggles of motherhood. It was also released at a perfect time since Mother’s Day is around the corner, I cannot stress this enough go see this movie, it’s well-acted, funny, and dramatic all at the same time plus it’s a perfect Mother’s Day gift as a way of saying “Thank you for all the hard work that you’ve done”.