Brief thoughts on Tully.

Our mothers: The most significant people in our lives. The most unconditionally loving souls imaginable. But also often the most undervalued. The life of a mother is rewarding, but it is also a very rough ride paved with exhaustion. Through each splinter, changes in schools, balancing work and home life, and every individual quirk in the household, our mothers are forced to don those brave faces for the benefit of their children, never letting the cracks that come with the territory show. It can be a frustrating, joyous, but also uneventful experience, one captured superbly by the Young Adult trio of Jason Reitman, Diablo Cody, and Charlize Theron in Tully.

Uneventful may actually be the best word to describe the events of Tully, but not in any sort of bad way. Jason Reitman has proven to have a knack for the low-key and reserved in films such as Up in the Air, and such an understated style really suits Tully. The film is very truthful to that sense of mundanity that comes with parenthood, and the repetition and frustration of catering to so many needs.

Key among this is Charlize Theron, who is absolutely brilliant. Between Young Adult and Tully, I think Reitman really brings the best out in her, and transitioning so effortlessly from the spoiled arrested development of Mavis, to the utter exhaustion of Marlo certainly showcases great versatility to her acting abilities. At this point in her life, Marlo has practically devolved to perpetual sleepwalking, with depression and an overwhelming work load continually hanging over her head, and even that attempt to hide behind her brave face can't mask that fragility. Theron manages to craft a painfully accurate portrayal of a woman on the verge of collapse, almost as if she's held up by the invisible strings of a puppeteer, as she progresses through the sleepless motions.

Upon the arrival of her new night nurse, Tully played by Mackenzie Davis, a new fire finally lights under her. Having grown so tired through the daily needs of her children, Tully comes to restore that naive enthusiasm she had for becoming a parent, when the full reality of what it would demand of her hadn't yet hit. As brilliant as Theron is, it's because of that natural chemistry and kindred connection shared with Davis, approaching the role with a blind but irrepressible tenderness, acting as a bridge for Marlo to rediscover her love of motherhood and reconnect with her foolish and free-spirited youth, that the film really starts firing on all cylinders. They both come out as some of the finest, most authentic performances extracted by Reitman, practically carrying the admittedly wayward film, and making the bitter realism that much easier to digest.


**** / *****