Tully

Tully is a film at the midpoint between the best and the worst of which Jason Reitman is capable. Charlize Theron excels in the role of an exhausted mother of three children whose life has been reduced to mechanically repeated diaper changes and breastfeeding. Thanks to her performance, situations experienced and measured direction, we experience her fatigue, we understand her postpartum depression, and we feel tremendously relieved when Tully appears at the door. The magical nanny answers the (never-posed) question of what Mary Poppins would look like if she were a millennial and changes the film’s genre from a social tragicomedy that is clearly targeted in terms of narrative into an ambitious magical-realistic statement on losing faith in your sense of you are and what you are doing. As in the appalling satire Men, Women and Children, Reitman succumbed to the temptation to offer us grand, timeless ideas in addition to the minor dramas of ordinary people. In his concept, however, these are comically simplified and sugar-coated for easier digestibility (“A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down”) and their presence in the story is justified by a terribly shaky narrative structure, the overbearing revelation of a predictable plot twist to the satisfying resolution of all other problems (the heroine’s unfulfilled career ambitions, lack of funds, her son’s autism). The end of the film, whose creators got a bit lost on the way from point A to point B, then offers a resolution, albeit through something that has not been presented as a problem so far (the involvement of the husband in taking care of the household). With its utilitarian approach to the characters, Tully is actually a terribly cynical and insincere film, despite its authentic beginning. 55% (19.07.2018)

The moment it came to Jonah's first car tantrum, it dawned on me I had chosen the wrong film. I was hoping that Marlo would have a meltdown and brutally murder her son, or step on the gas and take the children to see a bridge pillar up close. Gradually, I started increasingly enjoying the film, even though it was mostly about raising kids. The film was not a masterpiece, and I would give a maximum of three stars, but I had to add one for Charlize Theron’s performance and for her sacrifice. It must have been fun packing on those pounds, but losing all that weight must have been a different story. (08.09.2018)

A very smoothly flowing story about motherhood and the everyday cycle of life with the amazing Charlize Theron in the role of a tired mother of three children. Without her, this film would only be half as good. She outshined the entire cast with incredible grace and basically stole the film for herself. I also applaud her for her willingness to put on the necessary pounds to be as physically authentic as possible. I would also like to point out that I am one of those who liked the ending with the unexpected denouement. (80%) (27.04.2021)