In my movie reviews, I usually try to avoid any spoilers that are not in the trailer or the first half hour of the movie. You can watch the trailer at the end of this post.
Tully is directed by Jason Reitman, written by Diablo Cody, and stars Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston and Mark Duplass.
Marlo (Theron) is the mother of two children, a boy and a girl, and is about to have another baby. This is an unplanned pregnancy. She and her husband Drew (Livingston) live a modest lifestyle. Her brother Craig (Duplass) is quite wealthy and offers to pay for the services of a night nanny, so that she can get a good night's sleep after the long day of caring for her children.
Marlo has a baby girl and names her Mia. She already has her hands full and is stressed out after having the baby. She has to give her son daily brushings to calm him down. His teachers call him quirky. The school thinks he is too disruptive to continue his education there. Marlo is worn out, physically and emotionally. She is starting to show her age and feels unloved, unable to lose all the weight she gained during pregnancy.
Marlo spends her time watching mermaid cartoons and a reality show about gigolos. Her own sex life is non-existent. Mermaids seem to be a recurring theme.
Marlo decides to call the night nanny for help. Tully (Davis) arrives and sets everything amazingly at ease for Marlo. She is the perfect nanny. Marlo has only to wake up to nurse the baby. She awakes in the morning to a clean house and cupcakes for her children to bring to school. Tully is young and thin, everything Marlo wishes she could be. She and her husband have no time for intimacy. Marlo feels unloved. She and Tully become close friends. She longs for the days when she was a free spirit like Tully.
I don't feel like I should say anything further about the plot. The movie deals with themes of lost youth and the regret that can come with middle age. Marlo is tired from giving all of herself to her children. She loves her husband but there is no time for them anymore. Tully seems able to do everything perfectly.
The film is well written with comedic dialogue blurted out at times. It's a bit of a psychological character study. Entering middle age can cause regret at losing the beauty and free spirit of youth. Perhaps the mermaids symbolize that beauty and desirability that Marlo feels no longer applies to her. The children end up coming between the parents and it's a struggle to retain the love life that brought them together as a couple. Here is this perfect young woman in their home, with a body untarnished by motherhood. She's smart. She always has some bit of interesting information to share, no matter the conversation. She was hired for the baby but tends more to the mother's needs. Something might not be right.
There is a well-done scene that creatively shows the long drives endured in a large metropolitan area like New York City. Their car is shown going down a highway through the city with music playing on the radio. Each time the shot ends, one would assume the next shot would show them arriving at their destination. Instead the car is shown going down another street with a different song on the radio. This happens repeatedly. It is amusing and shows how much time must have passed on such a long ride, since clips of a number of songs played during the drive.
I enjoyed the movie. It may bear a repeat viewing but it's not one I could see revisiting often. I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
This trailer is the property of Focus Features
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