Tully

TULLY (2002) **** Anson Mount, Julianne Nicholson, Glenn Fitzgerald, Catherine Kellner, Bob Borrus, Natalie Canerday, John Diehl, V. Craig Hedenreich. Novice filmmaker Hilary Birmingham (who co-wrote the screenplay with Matt Drake, adapting a short story by Tom McNeal) beautifully captures the visage of rural small-town America(na) in contemporary tones in this wonderfully modulated tale about a middle-aged farmer (Borrus, a truly amazing low-key yet ultimately heartbreaking performance as a man who has sacrificed so much and tenuously hanging onto what is his own: his land and family) and his two sons (Mount as the titular protagonist and Fitzgerald are equally poignant and excellent) who face a moment from their past that clearly will alter their precarious futures. Nicholson (sporting cinema's sexiest freckles) as the family's friend is sublimely perfect as a veterinarian school student who returns to town arousing the boys' one more time. Gorgeously shot by John Foster and a gentle, pensive score by Marcelo Zarvos elevates this true sleeper gem as one of the year's very best.

"Tully" is a gem of a movie! It's the first film I've seen since the beginning of August that I've put on my "Best of 2002" list. Evidently this debut feature has apparently been sitting on a shelf for two years, probably looking for distribution.

Based on a short story, it takes a simple family story and tells it beautifully visually, economically but leisurely, while avoiding cliches. It is the best evocation of small town life since "Last Picture Show," but this is much more rural. The laconic farmer family is the best portrayed since "Straight Story," but that was propelled as a road movie, not what taciturn life on the farm is like, which poses a challenge in a communicative medium.

We see the most charming and complicated relationship between two brothers since another little movie "Smiling Fish and Goats on Fire." Surprisingly, it doesn't take the simple road of competition between the titular womanizing "bad brother" and the younger, loyal "good brother". Instead, Tully (Anson Mount is quite a hunk!) is a direct descendant of the tortured, conflicted James Dean of "East of Eden" and "Giant" (including the Oedipal conflicts there), struggling in a macho environment with his impact on women, his feelings, and his responsibilities.

With completely character appropriate dialogue and body language we watch the impact of old love and falling in love on a father and son who have no words and only gradual understanding. You can't know you're heartbroken until you know you have a heart. The women can have this impact on them because they too are not cliches; they have specific personalities, needs, and even jobs. Julianne Nicholson is very credible and expressive.

Several old men in my audience yawned loudly, so maybe this is a chick flick, but I was involved and moved by the unfolding of realizations in their past and present family and romantic relationships and how Tully comes to grips with them all, like a long, silent, overhead shot of him waking up in an empty bed that manages to communicate so much loneliness and longing.

John Foster's cinematography is simply gorgeous.

The mise en scene is common in country songs, so we're lucky that the director probably couldn't afford commercial country artists on the soundtrack for the usual cliches. Instead we have Canadian alt country singers like Fred Eaglesmith and Oh Susanna (the only names I recognized), with some blues thrown in as well such that Tully even asks what radio station could that be, as they are all very sensitive to music, as it helps them all communicate with each other. And with us.

Tully investigates how the loss of a parent can mark a child and affect the adult they become.

This film earned a rare second viewing. Even with a more critical eye, the performances seemed more than genuine. The tears, glances, body language, and smiles were perfectly rendered and filmed. I blew through the still pictures shown in the opening credits during the 1st showing, but appreciated the story they told with the knowledge I had about the characters with the 2nd look.

Casting kudos for the delicious Anson Mount, the graceful Julianna Nicholson, and the sweet, wounded dad.

Yes, it's a rural-paced film. Don't be in a hurry!

A fine little family drama I had never heard of, but which I'm now completely glad that I've seen.

The title character of "Tully" is a young man struggling to come of age on the farm he works with his father and younger brother. Rebellious in spirit and darkly good looking, he's more socially and sexually experienced than his brother, and has a more contentious relationship with his dad. When a family secret surfaces, though, it becomes apparent that his bravado masks a great deal of insecurity, and proves that though he may be mature in some ways, he has a lot of maturing still to do in others.

"Tully" has a quiet, low-key quality to it that I very much liked. It has a feel for the natural rhythms of rural life and the people who inhabit it. Grand epiphanies, emotional showdowns and the other stuff of traditional family dramas are not present here; instead, turning points and realizations take place subtly and quietly. Many times it's the moments of silence that convey more than scenes filled with dialogue.

The acting is tremendous, and the actors themselves inhabit these characters naturally and flawlessly. Even Tully (Anson Mount), who's supposed to be charismatic and handsome, is charismatic and handsome in the way that someone would actually be in real life, not in the way that movie stars are.

Grade: A

Based on a short story by O. Henry prize-winning author Tom McNeal, Tully by first-time director Hilary Birmingham, is a subtle portrait, set in a sleepy farm community somewhere in Nebraska, of a family whose past shows up without warning, shattering the trust and unity that had been built over the years. Originally called The Truth About Tully, the film won praise at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival, but lost several distributors to bankruptcy and had to wait two years until it achieved a limited release last November. Its current release on DVD gives us a chance to see what we've missed.

Rancher Tully Coates, Sr. (Bob Burrus) mourns the death of his wife while struggling to raise two sons and keep up his farm. Coates keeps a lid on his feelings, and no one suspects the powerful secrets he has hidden. Burrus is perfect as the weathered old farmer who has forgotten how to enjoy life and only smiles at Claire (Natalie Canerday), the clerk at the local convenience store. His two sons are very different, but both are good hearted. Tully Jr. (Anson Mount) is a macho ladies' man who seems unwilling to make commitments, content to skim along on the surface of life. His brother Earl (Glenn Fitzgerald) is withdrawn and shy with girls, a movie buff who spends his days going to the cinema or preparing his steer for the County Fair.

Into this mix comes Ella Smalley (Julianne Nicholson), just home from college to do an internship as a veterinarian in a local hospital. She hangs out with Earl, but wants to be friends with Tully. Nicholson's performance is amazing, bringing an intense authenticity to her role. Tully, meanwhile, is pursuing April (Catherine Kellner), a stripper who refers to what she does as burlesque but senses the possibility of something more than friendship with Ella.

There is not much dialogue, but the action does not require much. When feelings become troublesome, each escapes to their own place where they can be alone. Ella goes to a swimming hole, Earl goes to the movies, and the father parks his truck and downs a six-pack. When bits and pieces of a family secret begin to be revealed and the farm is threatened with foreclosure, events force Tully to face the realities that the term "coming-of-age" implies. The film moves at a languid pace for most of the time but builds toward an emotional climax, as the lazy summer is jarred by an unexpected event, changing lives forever.

The people in Tully are not the small town yokels of movie clichés. They are smart and sensitive, and not the least bit cool or cynical. Probably too wholesome for many who prefer their role models to be a bit more jaded, these people talk to each other with dignity and respect, and I cared about them. In lesser hands, Tully could have become the stuff of soap opera, yet guided by Birmingham's sure direction, it goes straight to the heart.