Review: Tully

Directed by: Jason Reitman

Written by: Diablo Cody

Starring: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Ron Livingston, Mark Duplass, Asher Miles Fallica

Rating: [4.5/5]

The plight of motherhood gets spoken about aplenty with flowery language about their importance along with the level of sacrifice inherent to making things work. Just ask any mother about it and they could tell you about the exhaustion and anxiety that comes with rearing a child. Tully displays this experience with a brutal and uncomfortable honesty that will take some aback but leaves such an incredible impact of understanding and appreciation. 

Having her third child, Marlo (Charlize Theron) has found it overwhelming to balance the newborn along with her two existing kids. At the suggestion of her brother-in-law, she gets a night nanny named Tully (Mackenzie Davis) who arrives during the night hours to take care of the child while the parents get some sleep and can recover. 

The work mothers put into raising a child will never get the proper recognition it deserves as it involves so many elements and actions that go under the radar. This occurs not only in the things they physically do but what they put their bodies through when giving birth to the child. In this area, Tully holds absolutely nothing back. While pregnant women get the compliments of having this glow and carrying this beauty the harsh reality of what this process does to the human body leaves quite the mark. We see this with Marlo and how she slowly recovers from it. Doing simple tasks like breastfeeding takes all of this effort and pain that does not receive the proper recognition other than the individuals who have gone through it themselves. We see this all with Marlo’s experience and some shots have not left my mind since watching this film that I, as a man have not known but mothers do very well. 

This all plays into the honesty screenwriter Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman wish to weave into this narrative. Cody wrote this film as her way to reckon with her own experience with pregnancy and how much she struggled with the process. It makes sense as this feature comes drenched with empathy for what Marlo goes through and how no one around her can fully understand the consistent exhaustion and pain running through her body. The film refuses to hold anything back in its depiction making it such a unique viewing experience compared to other films trying to broach the same subject matter. 

With the introduction of Tully into the story we reach an interesting dynamic where we have Marlo put in a place where she must cede some control and accept help from another person. Mothers typically have to do it all and have this sense of gratefulness that never gets let down as set by our societal standards, which makes it difficult for Marlo to genuinely receive help from others. Having Tully enter her life shows just how impactful having someone else present to help lighten the load and the impact it has on her cannot be understated. It only makes it more impactful seeing as Marlo stays here as a mother and does not have to endure the added pressure of the workplace on top of everything else happening to her. It only further gives appreciation to those mothers who can truly do it all. 

This dynamic between Tully and Marlo works wonders for the film, especially in the way it captures all of the tender moments between them. Their conversations allow for this safe space of vulnerability where these two women can open up to each other in ways they simply cannot do with others. Additionally, their difference in ages allows for Marlo to impart some wisdom on Tully about the realities of being a woman in their 20s as compared to when the next decade strikes. In a sense, Marlo sees a younger version of herself in Tully and what they can learn from each other helps bring them closer together. 

For all of the seriousness of this story, it contains many moments of levity showing the humorous side of motherhood even in all of its ridiculousness. It would not be a Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman collaboration without it. Different montages show the nonsense a mother has to go through with babies and young children such as the spills they make and how they inevitably end up on her or even the moment when she’s on her phone and accidentally drops it on her baby. These moments happen and you just have to laugh through it or you’ll just go insane, which this feature just inelegantly goes through making it feel all the more real. 

It goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway, Charlize Theron in this feature is amazing. She puts on the weight to give the appearance of a mother who had just given birth but what she manages to capture in displaying the exhaustion constantly on on her face sells the experience of walking around as Marlo. She always delivers when called upon, especially when she works with Jason Reitman and this performance is no exception. 

Motherhood exists as one of the most rewarding and exhausting experiences life can throw at anyone and Tully refuses to provide some sanitizing presentation of it all where all of the issues get washed away by the love she has for her children. It sits right in the reality that sometimes the experience just simply stinks and it makes you want to be mad with the expectations placed upon women. Everything about this feature works including a certain reveal that makes its way into the narrative that had the potential to completely blow up the entire movie but instead further adds another wrinkle to this beautiful story.