A Stressed-Out Mom Receives Help from an Unconventional Nanny

Charlize Theron in "Tully"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com 

Jason Reitman’s a filmmaker who excels in finding the comedy and drama in the topics on which he focuses, offering realistic looks at these subjects.  He did this with teen pregnancy in “Juno,” the Great Recession in “Up in the Air,” and arrested development in “Young Adult.” 

He accomplishes this once again for his new film, “Tully,” where he re-teams with his “Young Adult” star, Charlize Theron, and his “Young Adult” and “Juno” scribe, Diablo Cody, to bring audiences a story about modern motherhood.  And, with the help of endearing performances from Theron and Mackenzie Davis and a wonderful screenplay, Reitman’s latest film is a detailed look at the challenges and rewards of being a parent.

Marlo (Theron) lives in the suburbs with her husband (Ron Livingston) and two children, and has another on the way.  Once her third child is born, Marlo reaches her limit of restlessness.  At the suggestion of her brother (Mark Duplass), Marlo decides to hire a night nanny so she can get some sleep and time to herself.  When Marlo’s nanny, Tully (Davis), comes into her life, she won’t only help with the childcare and housework, but also will develop a friendship with Marlo that will provide the latter with a new perspective on life and what it means to be a mother.

Theron does superb work in showing the exhaustion and anxiety that her character is facing, which give you a sense of the mental fragility that has been caused by years of parenting.  But, once Tully arrives on Marlo’s doorstep, we see her slowly turn into a whole new person, and Theron’s transition from tired to rejuvenated brings to life another side of her character where Theron glows with a sense of happiness in Marlo that’s been begging to come out.  While Theron is terrific throughout the film, some of her best moments come in the delivery of her comedic dialogue, offering plenty of laughs that, from time to time, help loosen the tension that her character experiences every day.

Davis offers an enchanting performance as Tully, a character who’s something of a modern, bohemian Mary Poppins.  As soon as Davis’ makes her first appearance, with her kind eyes, warm smile, and soothing voice, you know that her work in this film is going to be special.  With all of those factors combined, you’re almost tempted to breathe a sigh of relief because of how well her persona exhibits the tremendous help that she’ll be to Marlo.  Davis’ character strikes a balance between being a free spirit and a responsible guardian, never letting one overshadow the other, but being able to display traces of both of these at the same time.

Cody’s screenplay can almost be seen as a companion piece to both “Young Adult” and “Juno” because “Tully” shares thematic qualities with both films.  However, it still tells its own story without being repetitive of those other two films.  Just as Cody did in her previous collaborations with Reitman, her work does well in providing dialogue that can make you laugh, even if the scene that’s unfolding has a bit of tension.  What has made her a great pairing with Reitman all of these years is how well she’s able to balance both humor and drama, which is what we see in Reitman’s filmmaking talents.  While the dialogue for “Juno” was a little too quirky for its own good at times, Cody was able to tone it down for “Young Adult” and does the same for “Tully,” while still being able to offer witty dialogue for her characters without having them sound like hipsters.

Cody offers an examination of Marlo’s psyche and details of her past to provide us with an idea of who Marlo was before motherhood, and who she is during it.  And Tully, besides being an engaging character, also serves as an outlet for Marlo as she explains to Tully (and the audience) who she is, while Tully helps her become the mom, wife, and woman whom she wishes to be.

Although the ending is something that we’ve seen many times before, the way it’s handled to emphasize the themes of the film makes up for that.  It all enhances Marlo and Tully’s characters and makes you look at them in a different way once the movie concludes.

Reitman has a talent for working with small casts for some of his films, usually with no more than seven or eight notable main/supporting roles, and this helps to develop greater intimacy between the characters.  With this intimacy, he allows us to see how the characters are impacted by the real-world problems on which his films focus, offering viewers a look at what’s occurring in modern America.  He’s one of our most-efficient directors to do so, and “Tully” is another piece of evidence as to why.

Final grade: A-