Tully

Tully

Starring Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston, Mark Duplass

Directed by Jason Reitman

The Story:
Marlo (Charlize Theron) is a woman approaching her 40s with two young children, and another on the way.  Her well-meaning husband Drew (Ron Livingston) works a lot and when he comes home he retreats into himself with video games, while she struggles to balance her two children (one of whom is on the autism spectrum) and being pregnant with her third.  Her daughter struggles with her image, and she's having issues with her son's school who wants to kick him out for being too difficult.

Before the third child is born, her rich brother Craig (Mark Duplass) suggests hiring a night nurse - a woman who watches the baby at night so Marlo could sleep.  At first she is hesitant, and after giving birth she tries to do it herself, but realizes she's falling apart.  So she relents and hires Tully (Mackenzie Davis), a youthful free-spirit who's wise beyond her years.  Not only does she take care of the baby, but she tends to Marlo's needs as well, and Marlo finds herself with newfound energy and optimism.

The Synopsis:
The holy trinity of film - director Jason Reitman, writer Diablo Cody, and actress Charlize Theron - make their second coming with "Tully," a film about the realities of motherhood and the importance of taking care of yourself as well as tending to the needs of your family.  In 2007, Reitman and Cody collaborated with the heartfelt and realistic portrayal of teenage pregnancy in the critically acclaimed hit "Juno," and in 2011 the three stars joined together for the first time in "Young Adult" - a film about a successful writer who goes back to her hometown to relieve her high school glory days and capture the heart of her old flame.  You could say this is a trilogy of sorts - "Juno" focuses on the carefree issues of youth (before reality hits like a ton of bricks), "Young Adult" is about an early mid-life crisis, and "Tully" focuses on the throngs of motherhood.  In any event, "Tully" is an epic film that shows the real cost of motherhood, and doesn't sugar-coat the experience, but it also doesn't make it seem totally impossible.

Oscar winner Diablo Cody has a brilliant way of telling a story in the most natural way, while also infusing her own unique sense of sarcasm and wit in a way that makes the characters endearing and memorable.  "Tully" is her most personal film yet, as she wrote it after giving birth to her third child like Theron's character did, and there's no hiding the fact that she portrays being a mother as a full time job with no benefits (there's a brilliant montage of Theron's Marlo waking up in the middle of the night to a crying baby, changing his diaper, breast-feeding him, bathing him and rocking him to sleep in a manner that even made me exhausted).  The story works on several levels, as we not only see the struggles facing Marlo, but also the realities of a woman on the brink of loosing control. 

Oscar winner Charlize Theron is one of the most powerful and unique actresses of our time.  Unlike many other actors, she can flawlessly flow from one genre to another without getting type-casted in any of them.  She can appear in female butt-kicking action epics like "Atomic Blonde" and "Mad Max: Fury Road," while she can also give incredibly dramatic performances such as in "Monster" (which she won her Oscar), and "Young Adult," as well as stretching her comedy chops in films like "Gringo" and "A Million Ways to Die in the West" (she even made her big-screen debut in the horror film "Children of the Corn III").  She can transform her body from a sleek, slender babe to an almost unrecognizable monster, to a mother of three who's given up on caring about her body (in a humorous scene, after her son spills a drink on her shirt, she carelessly takes it off and slumps on her chair, wearing a big old woman bra and letting her gut hang out, to which her daughter asks, "mom, what's wrong with your body?").  She's a fearless actress who goes head-first into any role she lands, and here she truly shines.

Ron Livingston is your typical supporting husband who works a lot, but doesn't really do a lot of stuff at home.  He could've been typecasted as the wayward husband who goes on trips for work and beds other women who are younger and prettier, but Cody smartly doesn't follow that typical logic - instead, while he's very sincere and genuinely a good guy, he tends to ignore Marlo's needs in a way that's not mean, but just simply forgetful.  Additionally, Mark Duplass (who looks like Ron Livingston, it's weird) plays Marlo's rich brother who also has three kids, but has a night nurse to help and convinces her to do the same.  He doesn't get a lot of screen time here, but he's always a consummate professional.

When Marlo finally relents and hires the nurse (after voicing her misgivings, one especially humorous when she says it feels "like a Lifetime movie where the nanny tries to kill the family and the mom survives and she has to walk with a cane at the end"), Tully is everything Marlo needed and more.  Mackenzie Davis is a true vision here, serving as an exact opposite to Marlo - she's young, pretty, thin, youthful, optimistic, smart, caring, and full of wide-eyed wonder. 

It's the relationship between these two women that cement the film as its emotional centerpiece, as Marlo learns to live again thanks to Tully.  Not only does she take care of the baby, but she cleans the house and makes cupcakes like a professional, and Tully soon finds herself being full of energy again, and even tries to make herself look more appealing by using makeup again.  While she maintains some of her cynicism, Marlo learns how to live again and also care for her children in a way that she should.

More than anything, this film gave me a newfound appreciation for my own mother, who basically had to raise me by herself (my father was around, but he wasn't "around").  She gave me everything I ever wanted or needed, and sacrificed so much for me because she loved me, and that's how Marlo acted in the film - despite being tired, cranky, and totally depleted of energy, she still managed to find the strength to love her children (no matter how they acted) and gave them everything they needed, even to her own detriment.  Motherhood is an amazing thing, and easily the hardest thing all at the same time.

The Summary:
"Tully" is not so much a celebration of motherhood as it is an unflinching look at the daily struggles and events motherhood faces, told with bold reality by one of the best actresses out there, combining a heartfelt relationship between mother and nurse in a way that serves to better both their lives.

The Score: A+