Marlo (Charlize Theron) is expecting her third child and struggling with the daily juggle of family life. When her rich brother suggests a night nanny as a gift she is initially sceptical, but finds Tully (Mackenzie Davis) to be a free spirit that gives her a revelatory new lease of life.
My initial thoughts in the opening half of this film is that parents, especially recent ones will really connect with the messages on display. In fact, non parents might find the idea of becoming parents rather off putting when the less savoury aspects are put on show. (There is a particularly accurate portrayal of sleep deprived nights early on). But as the film concludes I think there is a message that is universal to everyone, that is worth watching for.
When Tully arrives to help out she comes across as a Mary Poppins crossed with a new age hippie. Perfect in every domestic way and able to dish out useless facts. Theron and Davis do a really good job of showing their relationship build and the connection between their characters. The transformation in Marlo is great to watch.
As with all Jason Reitman films there are some quirky moments and initially odd story decisions. If you’ve seen his other films (Juno, Up in the Air, Young Adult, Labor Day) you may be used to that. And whilst there is one incredibly jarring scene in here, it does come together at the end.
Worth seeing for a great performance from Theron and an accurate portrayal of parenthood, but might lose you at a key moment in the plot.
Phil the Bear's Film Reviews 
Hi Phil. Liked the film too and definitely brought back memories! I agree, the relatiomship between MacKenzie and Theron worked really well, but what was the jarring moment for you?
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Trying to avoid spoilers, I will say it is the scene with Marlo, her husband and Tully.
It really threw me out of the film as it doesn’t seem to fit with what has happened before. It does all fall into place and make sense by the end, but it had me trying to reevaluate what I was watching.
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I went to see Tully with the rest of the “At the Flicks” guys on bank holiday Monday. We had a really good discussion/argument in the pub afterward. It certainly divided opinions. I really enjoyed it and like you, it brought back memories of sleep depravation, endless nappy changing, interspersed by sanity restoring audio books at 3:00 in the morning.
I like Jason Reitman’s work and was on the look out for the unusual or general “weirdness” of his other movies. With a script by Diablo Cody, I knew this could not be a straight forward, Mother and Mary Poppins character interaction movie. Because, I was looking for it, I got the twist quite early on and the only scene that confused me was the diner uniform, husband fantasy one.
This is one of those movies that keeps coming back to me. The first time we meet Tully was wonderfully played. The ‘and so to bed” phrase Samuel Pepys used to end his daily diary entry, kept me thinking, is this in the past, a diary of her life! Will we suddenly shoot forward to the present day with some dreadful event having taken place?
The structure of the movie was excellent. All these little structural details take on so much more significance now that I have had time to think about them. The intimate sharing scenes in the empty hot tub and Marlo’s confession, brilliant played by Theron and Davis. The trashy reality TV playing every time Tully arrives, Tully being constantly hungry.
This movie is owned by the two leading actresses! There are other people in the movie, but they are just light support. It is Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis who own every scene. Both actresses are wonderful and the chemistry between them really works. This closeness is important if the final scenes are to work as a believable scenario?
During the movie I was annoyed that the parents and the school were in denial about the Son’s condition, as it was obvious that he was on the Autistic spectrum. However later I resolved this, as people often don’t want to confront something as major as a lifelong condition in their children. Denial being the second of the five stages of grief.
Yikes! That went on a bit longer than planned, but in summary, loved it, loved both the leading ladies performances. Can’t wait to sit down and watch it with my wife and listen to her comments after!
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Just the fact that your post talks about so many facets of it really shows how much it struck a chord with you I think.
I completely agree with you about the two female leads. I think the way their relationship builds does make it believable.
I wonder whether second viewings would help pick up more cues on their relationship. Even the initial awkward meeting with an old friend in the coffee shop at the beginning is quite a crucial link to understanding Tully.
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I am the reason Graham posted the “argument” comment. Normally I am a huge fan of the work of writer Diablo Cody – Juno and Ricki And The Flash being examples of that. However I couldn’t engage with the characters or the journey they went on. Very disappointing for me even though I concede it was well acted.
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