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September 2, 2003
Tully
Tully (IMDB) is a rambling, lyrical independent film in the tradition of All the Real Girls, which I reviewed in a previous incarnation of this blog. Like Girls, Tully is a reflective film that carefully traces out its characters, allowing them the time to have real conversations.
Tully focuses on the Coates family, specifically on Tully Jr, the local heartthrob who has dated and rejected most of his small town's women. Tully's father is a taciturn, slightly morose man, who seems to have faced more than his share of tragedy (he provides locals with a broken narrative about his wife dying fifteen years earlier), and we get a sense of Tully Jr's anger when he acts rough toward his younger brother Earl. Tully eventually develops a friendship with Ella, a local girl who has returned from college where she is studying to become a veterinarian.
Like Girls, which made extensive use of its North Carolina setting, Tully drwas heavily from Nebraska's small independent farms, tiny general stores, noisy bars, and placid creeks. The rundown spaces--a junkyard, a bar restroom, all beautifully filmed by John Foster--offer a subtle suggestion of nostalgia, which I read as an attempt to sustain a sense of regionalism that is in danger of being lost.
But while one of the film's key plot points centers on a threat to foreclose the family farm, Tully avoids simple moralizing about the plight of the independent farmer. Instead, Tully focuses on the emotional distance between various members of the Coates family, which is visually conveyed through the spatial distances of the farm itself; the brothers have to drive--Tully's car, a pick-up truck, a four-wheeler--just to have a conversation. At the same time, the use of cars and pick-up trucks suggets a certain kind of restlessness. Tully never expresses a desire to leave his small town, but he is frequently in motion--going to stores, running errands, often just for the sake of movement.
I think Tully has much to recommend it: a terrific screenplay nicely directed by Hilary Birmingham; solid performances especially by lead actor Anson Mount (although his Tennesee accent crept in occasionally); and a terrific understanding of the farmland that gives the film its "atmosphere."
The DVD release has the additional bonus of the short film, The Third Date, directed by Amy Barrett (who is based in Atlanta, if I'm not mistaken).
Posted by chuck at September 2, 2003 1:23 AM
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Comments
I have no real comment on Tully, since I haven't seen it (yet), but I did want to say that I very much appreciate and enjoy your concise and salient film reviews. They make me want to rent the movies you write about - and many are films I would probably miss had you not brought them to my attention ...
Posted by: Jason at September 2, 2003 12:06 PM
Thanks for the compliment, Jason. Because few people comment on my film blogs, I often wonder if they're useful or interesting (side note: this is not intended as a self-indulgent plea for comments).
I do realize that, in some cases, few of my readers have seen the film I'm describing. Hope you get a chance to see Tully. It's definitely well worth watching.
Posted by: chuck at September 2, 2003 3:42 PM