Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Tully Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 13, 2018

Tully is a film about an overstressed, overworked, and overtired mother of three, including a special needs son and a newborn baby girl. The film explores the weight of her burdens, physical, emotional, and psychological alike. What begins as a straight film concerned with a woman breaking and seeking a little help becomes something much more involved, complex, and satisfying: a film of identity, doubt, fear, and, ultimately, acceptance. To dive further would be to do a disservice to the film's true intent and revelations, but suffice it to say this is an evolving story with an ever-changing perspective on its overwhelmed central character and how she handles the realities of her increasingly stressful and fatiguing place in life. Written by Diablo Cody and Directed by Jason Reitman, who previously collaborated on both Juno and Young Adult (the latter also starring Charlize Theron), Tully explores motherhood in the sort of raw, unforgiving light that has heretofore been absent in movies, be they more humorous looks at the child raising process or more focused dramas centered around the same subject.

Marlo (Theron) is a mother of two, including a young special needs son, who is deep into her third pregnancy. Her husband Drew (Ron Livingston) loves her and his family, but he's not much help around the house, preferring to spend his downtime away from work playing his Xbox. When Marlo and Drew visit her wealthy brother Craig (Mark Duplass), he offers to hire her a "night nanny," someone who will come to the house and watch over the baby at night, allowing mother to get some much-needed rest. She brushes the idea off at first, but weeks after the baby has been born, as she's struggling to keep up with her new daughter, never mind her two other children, she cracks under the pressure and hires the nanny. She soon meets Tully (Mackenzie Davis), someone who is everything Marlo no longer is: a spunky and spirited younger woman with boundless energy, a perfect body, and plenty of know-how around babies, even though it's obvious she herself has never birthed her own. As Tully takes charge and allows Marlo to get some much needed rest, the two form a bond and quickly become friends, but a wrinkle in the relationship hides under the surface.

Tully isn’t a story about raising a baby. It's instead about rebuilding a mother. Certainly the movie does a wonderful job of depicting not only the stress of new motherhood but also the emotional baggage that comes with it, compounded by raising two other children, one of whom is a handful, to say the least. But the film is not just a collection of scenes of 3AM feedings and a burned-out and overtired mommy struggling to get through her day. Those are the springboards for the larger story, and while they’re familiar refrains to anyone who has experienced the joys, and burdens and sacrifices, of raising a child, the film’s primary focus evolves over its runtime.

Tully’s second half is a tonal departure and sometimes seemingly a mismatch for the first, transitioning from a tale of a tired mama to the story of a burgeoning friendship between two very different individuals, different in terms of age, energy level, body image, and confidence. Tully is everything Marlo is not, or at least everything Marlo perhaps once was: young, spunky, spirited, athletic, blessed with a toned body and endless energy. But she’s also not everything she appears to be. Tully’s second half may not appear to be a natural extension of its first half, but it’s actually a more complimentary and revealing continuation than anything else the film might have depicted, including just staying the course and leading Marlo to a generic and predictable state of motherly bliss and balanced living. The film has a remarkable twist to reveal that may not be novel but that does play as a genuine, natural extension of Marlo’s life as it is.

And the reveal, and everything leading to it, demands a perfectly tuned performance, which Theron provides with faultless excellence. It’s a transformative work. Not only did the actress reportedly pack on 50 pounds for the role, she also embraces and dives headfirst and unapologetically to several very dark places that may not flatter motherhood but that do reveal it in a harshly true light. Indeed, the physical aspect pales to the inner workings and emotional wear and psychological complexities that define the character from the beginning and evolve over time, as she births her third child, surrenders to the idea of hiring the night nanny, and begins what becomes a fairly intimate and revealing relationship with Tully. Mackenzie Davis is terrific as the title character, a perfect counterbalance to her older, more physically fatigued, and emotionally drained companion. She reveals character intricacies throughout that only in hindsight lead the viewer to the masked truth about her, including a scene in which she reveals her growing fatigue with her roommate, with whom she is “meshed,” a scene that takes on much greater meaning by film’s end. Ron Livingston is terrific as the loving but somewhat obtuse father.

Tully Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tully's 1080p transfer is another in a seemingly endless supply of "just fine, not spectacular" Blu-ray releases. The movie was digitally captured but rarely yields any intensive noise, even in low light. Textural qualities are fine, even in the movie's often lower and warmer light conditions. Facial features are well rounded and serviceably intimate, ditto clothes, and various environments -- from Craig's exotic in-house bar to a graffiti covered bathroom wall -- present odds and ends details and larger, more sweeping elements with commendable sharpness and clarity. Colors are nicely balanced, whether in the aforementioned lower and warmer light or in many scenes where lighting is more even (even if it's artificial) such as in Jonah's school. The palette never struggles with nuance or saturation, and each hue presents with a positive neutrality that never aches for additional punch or intensity. Black levels, critical particularly later in the movie during low-light and nighttime exterior scenes, are well balanced and deep. Flesh tones appear true. No significant source or encode flaws are apparent. While the image doesn't dazzle it does handle well and never leaves the viewer wanting more.

Tully Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Tully features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Dialogue struggles with a bit of shallowness, at least early on. It's a little hard to hear at times at normal reference levels, though things seem to even out farther into the movie. A few support effects dot the movie's landscape, such as pelting rain on a car, underwater depth in a few dream sequences, or intense crowd and music din in a packed bar in chapter 17. All of these sound elements present with admirable clarity and stage presentation, usually taking good advantage of the 5.1 channels at their disposal. Bursts of several popular songs during a short road trip in the third act enjoy rich vigor and vitality, followed minutes later with some hard-edged metal that features sharp riffs and a solid low end pronouncement. The track's early dialogue struggles aside, this is a very positive all-around listening experience.

Tully Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Tully contains one extra. The Relationships of 'Tully' (1080p, 10:00) explores the writing, performances and cast chemistry, the complexities of the part and the importance of nailing the character subtleties, and more. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. The release ships with an embossed slipcover.

Tully Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tully is an amazing little film that may be Diablo Cody's best work yet. It's relatable but beautifully complex, dour yet hopeful in its depiction of motherhood and all of the challenges -- physical, emotional, and psychological -- that come with the territory. It's nicely directed and terrifically performed. It's not to be missed. Universal's Blu-ray release of Tully features solid video, more than capable audio, and one extra. Highly recommended.