'Tully' Is Weird

Tully revolves around Marlo (Charlize Theron), a struggling mother of three, one of which has an undiagnosed developmental disorder and another is just a newborn.  Her husband Drew (Ron Livingston) is loving and a good provider, but is ignorant of the tremendous strain that motherhood is putting on his wife.  Marlo’s wealthy brother Craig (Mark Duplass) observes that Marlo may have too much on her plate, so he offers to pay for a night nanny to help with the baby.  Marlo is unsure and awkward at first, but the night nanny Tully (Mackenzie Davis) proves to be charming, dedicated, and industrious – easing Marlo’s domestic burden significantly.  Soon, the two women form a special bond.

Charlize Theron compellingly portrays a mother who is perpetually exhausted and stressed out, who is likely at the edge of breaking down but is doing her best to keep herself together, earnestly performing her motherly duties regardless.  Though there is some humor involved in depicting this, it is nonetheless realistic that it should be enough to make the audience appreciate their mothers and wives more.  In addition, though a large part of the movie is all about how motherhood can be a nightmare, it also ends with what I think is a sweet, optimistic note about how it can also be very rewarding.

On top of that, Tully is a weird movie.  It’s because the eponymous character is weird.  Tully is like a Mary Poppins who pops up and fixes everything.  A large part of watching the film involves trying to figure out what’s her deal is.  She’s like one of those enigmatic, “too perfect” characters that end up getting revealed as psychopaths in psychological thrillers.  Thus, for a while, I was somewhat expecting for the movie to take a dark turn.  There was even this certain happening involving Marlo, Tully, and Drew that was so shocking and bizarre.

Then a plot twist occurs in the end that should make sense of all the weirdness – which, by itself, is also pretty weird.  It works in the context of the movie, I guess.  But it does put tension on one’s suspension of disbelief a bit.  I thought it was partly brilliant, partly dumb.

In the end, Tully is a good watch.  It’s witty, absorbing, and unique.  I enjoyed how it is slightly cynical and messed up, but ultimately hopeful and fairly insightful.