Tully

Rating:
Summary: A Gem
Review: The acting in this movie is excellent. Understated but poignant. It is one of those "first" movies that reveal the exceptional talent of the director. Julianne Nicholson and Anson Mount give particularly heartfelt performances. It is about feelings that lie below the surface in relationships. It is about people learning and growing. It is slow paced but so is the life it depicts. But when the secrets start to unravel you feel a rush of emotion along with the characters.

Don't let this small movie get lost in the shuffle. Watch it and cherish its beautiful simplicity.

Rating:
Summary: Better Luck Next Time
Review: This indie movie about two brothers in a rural landscape has a couple of interesting elements (competent acting, solid direction, worthwhile characters) but ultimately it suffers from an average and rushed plot that doesn`t make this cinematic experience work all that well. I still think that Hilary Birmingham is a director to watch, since her first film is still a decent and meritory effort, yet one hopes that her next work will show a bit more energy and courage.

Worth watching but doesn`t rise above average.

Rating:
Summary: Unknown Gem
Review: This tale of two brothers and their father on a farm in the summer is deceptively simple. Their relationships with each other and others in the small town work themselves out as they should, but with a number of surprises along the way. Cast with total unknowns, each says far more with a facial expression or shoulder than with words. I cared about these people and their lives and I think you would too. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Quiet Midwestern Life (And One of 2002's Best Films)
Review: Tully (Anson Mount) and his brother Earl (Glenn Fitzgerald) live and work on their family farm with their Father (Bob Burrus), their Mother having died when the boys were children. While Tully is an outgoing, sometimes overbearing, ladies' man, Earl is introverted, shy and often the object of his brother's teasing. When their Father receives a foreclosure notice from a collection agency over money that he didn't know that he owed, a series of events are set into motion that change the relationship between Father and sons and bring the family's past into the forefront of their present lives. The tension created by old secrets and new problems causes Tully to abandon his womanizing ways and puerile demeanor and seek the friendship of Ella (Julianne Nicholson), a young woman who is a good friend of Earl's. Ella's friends fear for her feelings when she becomes friendly with Tully, and Tully himself tries to drive Ella away when he realizes that he has strong feelings for her at the same time he must deal with family crises. But Ella and Tully fall in love in spite of these things and cope together when an unexpected tragedy brings an end to the family's crisis.

"Tully"'s quiet tone and measured pace beautifully reflect the midwestern landscape which is not only the setting for this film, but often seems to be a character in it as well. It would be accurate to say that the pace of this film is slow. But its leisurely pace is deliberately and meticulously crafted, and it never drags or bores. The family crises in "Tully" could easily be construed as the stuff of melodramas, but there isn't a bit of melodrama in this film. The characters seem so real that you might think to reach out and touch them, and they cope with revelations that strike at the heart of their self-images the way that level-headed people do: Mostly privately, quietly and effectively. I cannot praise director Hilary Birmingham, cinematographer John Foster, and the principal actors enough for being able to sustain "Tully"'s even, quiet lyricism throughout the film. Impeccable pacing, exquisite cinematography, an excellent script, and great understated performances, so rarely seen together, combine to make "Tully" a true gem of a film. I expected this to be a decent midwestern drama, which inspires limited enthusiasm. But it turned out to be one of the best films of 2002. (It was actually made in 2000.) "Tully" isn't a movie for those who like their films frenetically-paced, but it is a beautiful film with astonishingly good and touchingly subdued performances. I look forward to future projects from director Hilary Birmingham and this excellent cast.

Note: On the VHS version of this film, there is a short film entitled "The Third Date" that precedes the main feature. It takes place on Coney Island, features a cameo appearance by Sandra Bernhard and has no relation to "Tully". Don't think that you have the wrong tape if, at first, you see "The Third Date".

Rating:
Summary: Why we watch small films
Review: Tully is the kind of small film that makes it worth slogging through all the other small films. The story takes place in the vast flatness of the Midwest, but this one actually feels true to that landscape, not just an excuse for small-town existential crisis. Cunningly acted, powerfully written, and full of the kinds of genuine character epiphanies that make us want to watch movies in the first place, Tully represents the beginning of a great career for its young director, Hilary Birmingham.

Rating:
Summary: Great Little Film
Review: Wonderful story. So nice to see a story about rural America where the charachters are NOT trying to escape, but instead shown as real people. The cinematography was strong and I thought the landscape was used to great advantage to show the relation between the people and the land.

This movie will not knock your socks off, but at the end you will say you had a good experience.

Rating:
Summary: Great Little Film
Review: Wonderful story. So nice to see a story about rural America where the charachters are NOT trying to escape, but instead shown as real people. The cinematography was strong and I thought the landscape was used to great advantage to show the relation between the people and the land.

This movie will not knock your socks off, but at the end you will say you had a good experience.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time...
Review: Wow, I can't believe there are positive reviews of this movie. I rented it because of the good reviews I read on the case at the video store, so I was expecting a really good movie. I'd have to agree with one of the reviewers who said it was long and boring. The story wasn't that interesting and the film moved so slowly I could barely stand to watch it until the end. Tully and Ella's realationship was the only thing that kept me watching, and it wasn't even that great.