The Subterranean: ‘Tully’ just in time for Mother’s Day

Review of Tully

**** 1/2 out of five stars

Currently in limited theatrical release (showing at Celebration! theaters including the Celebration! Cinema RiverTown)

by Walter G. Tarrow

An honest and adult, serious, yet wisely humorous, look at modern Motherhood. 

This movie is staying with me. My appreciation of it has continued to grow now that I’ve left the theater. What started out as a Mother’s Day gift of a film (as they say, the timing of a film’s release can be everything), a bittersweet meditation on the trials and tribulations of a forty-something mother of two expecting, delivering, and coping with the care of a third child, subtly twists unexpectedly into something more like Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense.

Once again, as she did in Monster and Mad Max: Fury Road, Charlize Theron, as Marlo, goes the extra mile, and even a few miles more, in her willingness to transform physically into her role, reportedly gaining fifty pounds to become the firstly pregnant, then postpartum, Mom. And once again, she slips on, wears her character so convincingly, she deserves consideration come next year’s award season.

Into Marlo’s now even more chaotic life, replete with a difficult “quirky” child Jonah and professionally absent husband Drew, enters Tully, the night nanny, courtesy of Craig, Marlo’s well-intended, wealthy brother. Reluctant, at first, to accept her brother’s generous offer of help, and ill at ease in allowing a stranger into her home to care for her and her infant daughter, Marlo cautiously accepts, then comes to welcome Tully fully as a caregiver, helpmate, and ultimately bonds with her as a younger friend.

Marlo has become seemingly condemned to a life of routine and tedium which, along with the existing challenge of her “quirky” son being a problem at school, and with almost no help from her hardworking inattentive husband, is stealing her spirit. Her life is of frozen pizza dinners, of nights spent watching reality TV alone while her husband plays video games in the bedroom, and then, with the arrival of little Mia, breastfeeding and diapers, diapers and breastfeeding, and diapers, always diapers. The gift of Tully, a free spirited loving and clear thinking soul, frees Marlo to regain her own soul, to find the energy to pay attention to herself and her family, to do things like making meals again, even making cupcakes for Jonah’s kindergarten class.

However, about two thirds into the film, Tully takes a bizarre, discordant risqué turn that I found disturbing, but I  hung on to the end, and that same jarring uneasy moment, in reflection, I saw as loving and poignant. So that is forgiven, and great respect is given to scripter Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult). Cody crafts smart dialogue and a unique spin on initially a conventional story of coping with the loss of youth, the hardships of adult responsibilities, and motherhood.

This film warrants a second watch. Many clues are given foreshadowing, hinting at, the twist that makes sense of it all and brings deeper meaning to Tully. Even song choices portend the final reveal. There is a clever song sequence with a Cyndi Lauper playlist that is age appropriate for Marlo and informs us of how long it takes to get to Brooklyn.

Tully is one of those small indie films that rarely go mainstream but deserve the widest audience possible. Thankfully there’s Netflix and streaming. So pay attention so you don’t miss this gem of a movie when it becomes available in video and online. I will be buying a copy you can be sure.

Next up, coming soon, comments about bread, circuses, modern media and marketing, and the blockbusting beast that is Avengers: Infinity War, which you’ve most likely already seen…