--Written by Guest Reviewer Ashley Green
PAUSE!!!!!
THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!!!!!
HOWEVER!!!!!
THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY SPOIL THE MOVIE. IN FACT, I BELIEVE THEY ENHANCE THE MOVIE-GOING EXPERIENCE.
BUT!!!!!!!!!!!
IF YOU PREFER NOT TO SPOIL THE FILM FOR YOURSELF... JUST READ THE FIRST TWO PARAGRAPHS.
I'm not a mom, but I thought I'd like to be one someday. After seeing Tully, that day... is... far, far, far away... beyond sight... if it even still exists.
Tully is not a feel-good movie. Tully will gut punch you with the realness of motherhood and then laugh at you because you were dumb enough to think it's all cute baby clothes and an occasional shitty diaper. Tully will make you feel bad for all the moms ever.
Marlo (m-fing Charlize Theron-- God bless everyone) is an overwhelmed, totally exhausted mother of three... well, two in the first twenty minutes of the movie. Her husband, Drew (Ron Livingston, who is aging decently if you were wondering), is an aloof and absent dude. Not a terrible guy, but definitely not in the top percentile of husbands or fathers. The two have been drained by life. The film opens with Marlo brushing (with an actual brush) the body of her son Jonah, a therapy technique she discovered, meant to help with his "quirkiness". This "quirkiness" is arguably Asperger's, but it's never confirmed in the film. Also, I'm not a doctor. But I'm like 85% sure it's Asperger's. I was raised by a childhood behavioral therapist. Not because I was in a facility or anything, that was just my aunt's job. Whatever. I'm pretty sure I'm right.
Marlo's day-to-day life is stressful. Even sitting in the audience, knowing what I was watching was just an effing movie, my anxiety was on par with hers. She is constantly going. Whether it's getting her kids from point A to point B, breaking down over Jonah's meltdowns, or listening to Jonah's principal telling her that he needs an aide or needs to leave the school. Marlo is consistently at a 10. Or rather, life around Marlo is consistently at a 10. And she's pregnant.
Even the time she tries to take for herself is sad. There's a scene with Marlo at a coffee shop, trying to order a decaf coffee and some asshole lady informs her that there are "trace amounts of caffeine, even in decaf", but Marlo doesn't care. Then, the asshole lady is outraged that Marlo ordered it anyway. THEN Marlo's ex, the totally hot Violet, bumps into her and is clearly horrified by what has become of Marlo. And Marlo is clearly horrified of what she's become as well. Side note, I AM LIVING FOR BISEXUAL CHARLIZE THERON.
After visiting her extremely wealthy brother (Mark Duplass) and his we're-better-than-you-guys-and-we-know-it family, we find out that Marlo and Drew weren't planning on having a third kid and Marlo's brother can see that she's not particularly overjoyed about it. So, he gives her the number of a "night nanny", a person to take care of the newborn overnight so she can actually get some sleep. He tells her that he'll pay for it, and that she needs to take care of herself. Marlo stares at him and I want to give all of the awards to the person who painted on those dark circles under her eyes.
CUT TO: the birth of her third child.
It's a quick montage of what some movies draw out. Her water breaks, she and Drew go to the hospital, she's in the designated birthing room, she's screaming because she's having a baby, etc. The thing is, throughout all of these quick scenes, Marlo doesn't say anything, and Drew really doesn't either. It feels like, to them, this is just another thing to get done. When we see Marlo after she's given birth, she's indifferent to the baby next to her and Drew has fallen asleep in the chair. She gets out of the hospital bed and walks toward the bathroom, her adult diaper the main focus of the shot. I could feel my own vagina sewing itself shut.
After countless nights of taking care of her newborn and dealing with her two very young children, Marlo caves. She's no longer above her hoity-toity brother's night nanny gift.
Enter Tully.
Tully (Mackenzie Davis who is so cute I want to SCREAM) is basically an overbearing hipster, but she's sweet and she's kind and she makes everything better. Marlo's life changes drastically. She's laughing again. She's having fun. She's playing with her kids and enjoying life and dressing up Tully in an old school diner waitress outfit and then letting Tully bang the shit out of her husband, but it's fine! Marlo's there too and she's giving direction! Everyone is happy! Tully's existence in Marlo's life is actually really beautiful to watch. Mackenzie Davis and Charlize Theron have such good chemistry that it's like seeing a genuine and real friendship unfold. While Davis' character isn't very dimensional, she pulls depths from Theron's and helps to create a fleshed out, whole version of Marlo.
Of course, whatever happiness we're given in this movie is quickly taken away because duh. Tully arrives one night riled and upset. She convinces Marlo to out with her and party. They spend the night in New York, driving through Marlo's old neighborhood, drinking, and attempting to drunkenly visit Marlo's ex, Violet. It's a whirlwind of drunk emotion centered on the life Marlo lived before getting married and having kids. After some sad and destructive moments between the two, it's revealed that Marlo's maiden name is, in fact... Tully.
We were Palahniuk'd, people! It's Tyler Durden all over again. Although it isn't very surprising, it doesn't feel cheap. It actually works for the movie. Without Tully, we wouldn't really know Marlo. We would have been stuck in a ceaseless, mundane insanity without ever getting to understand what is beneath Marlo's Postpartum depression and why her depression exists in the first place. What Tully brings to the table is an intimate and heartbreaking look into mental health. It enhances the moviegoing experience, which is why it's a spoiler, but not like a, you know, Avengers-spoiler.
This movie was good. It was really, really sad, but it was good. Charlize Theron is such an incredible actor and your heart will be all kinds of broken when you leave the theater. I think any and all types of moms will like watching it because it probably captures the loneliness of motherhood. I think anyone who wants to be a mom should watch it because we are all naïve and dumb and know nothing of motherhood. I think expectant mothers should maybe not watch it because if I had a kid in my gut and saw that life play out in front of me... needless to say, I'd be really stressed out.
B
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