Tully

An intriguing yet not-entirely-successful drama, Tully follows Charlize Theron’s Marlo as she attempts to solve her various domestic problems by hiring a night nanny (Mackenzie Davis’ Tully) – with the movie detailing the bond that quickly begins to form between the disparate women. Filmmaker Jason Reitman delivers an almost astonishingly grim opening stretch that admittedly does feel quite authentic, as Reitman, along with scripter Diablo Cody, emphasizes the myriad of day-to-day issues faced by Theron’s sympathetic central character – including an impending third child, a son with developmental issues, and a disconnected, disaffected husband (Ron Livingston’s Drew). It’s somber stuff that’s elevated by Theron’s consistently impressive performance, and yet Tully‘s ongoing inability to wholeheartedly grip the viewer is compounded by an absence of standout sequences (ie there’s never a point at which the picture becomes more than just passable entertainment). The character-study bent of the film’s midsection certainly perpetuates the arms-length atmosphere, although the agreeable chemistry between Theron and Davis’ respective characters admittedly does keep things interesting – with the decidedly familiar bent of Marlo’s character arc ultimately not as problematic as one might’ve feared. By the time the surprising yet silly twist ending rolls around, Tully has surely confirmed its place as a relatively disappointing effort from Reitman and Cody that’s hardly in the same realm as their last collaboration, 2011’s superlative Young Adult.

**1/2 out of ****