Charlize Theron’s comic-drama ‘Tully’ is an early Mother’s Day gift
“Tully” is an uncommonly intelligent, amusing and honest portrait of motherhood, thorns and all. It is the third and best alternative universe created by director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, who collaborated on the quick-witted “Juno” and melancholy “Young Adult.” With Charlize Theron returning for her second lead role with the team, the new film hits the trifecta.
With its unassuming camera work and unobtrusive soundtrack, “Tully” initially seems to be the most traditional or old-fashioned of the bunch. It is anything but, following a path that conceals the team’s inspired creative choices and delayed-effect decisions that make “Tully” far from a standard-issue woman’s tale. The loose plot requires a willing suspension of disbelief.
But before it can reveal its Sphinx-like mysteries, it appears stylistically conservative. It guides us through the daily routine of Marlo (Theron), a fatigued suburban mom of two who is soon to deliver a third. Beyond her thoroughly human and minutely observed life, the ingenious, emotionally powerful and many-sided film ever so gradually slides away from the familiar. By the third act, it carries us on a current of unforeseen emotion and imagination that could carry “Tully” into Oscar territory.
The movie is almost all relationships, with hardly any plot, and all the richer because of it. “Tully” can best be summarized as an adult coming-of-age story.
From the beginning, Marlo is in a solidly committed marriage to Drew (Ron Livingston), a decent clod with boundless love for her and their children but clumsy marriage and fatherhood skills. She is comfortable enough with her gruff, wildly successful brother (Mark Duplass) and his wife (Elaine Tan).
Partly because none of them could effectively grant her the attention and the help that a new mother requires, and partly because she doesn’t want to appear needy, Marlo doesn’t ask for help with her imminent third child.
After the birth, help arrives in the form of Tully (Mackenzie Davis). Brimming with the enthusiasm of mid-20s youth, Tully comes from a “night nanny” firm, bankrolled for service by Craig.
“Tully” concerns a mature, well adjusted, even brave woman’s response to the tender daydreams, acidic nightmares and erratic mood swings that modern postpartum life can impose, pulling us into its alternate universe. The film’s artistic license earns our poetic faith. See it.