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!

Never heard of this film and had no idea about the actors or just what this film story would reveal. The story is about two grown young men and their father who own a large farm out in the middle of the Heartland where their was a small town where farm people had their entertainment and shopping areas. Glenn Fitzgerald, (Earl Coates) and Anson Mount,(Tully Coates Jr.) are the two brothers who both give outstanding performances along with Julianne Nicholson,(Ella Smalley). Tully Coates is a good looking young man who has all the girls running after him and he seems to have more sex than he can handle. However, when he meets up with Ella his life takes a different change. This story has some very deep secrets that are eventually revealed much to everyone's surprise and if you like to see the wide open spaces with cattle close by and plenty of corn fields, this is the film for you.

Anyone who knows somebody from a Kansas farm and has been to Kansas will get homesick for them just looking at the movie. Tully touched me so much I cried, which is normal for me when I watch a heart warming story but this time when I was crying I didn't realize it until I had salt water running down my cheeks and I was like what is that? When you don't know your crying somebody is doing something right. At first I was like what's up with all the ice cream until you see the very end of the movie then you know....it really just hurts the heart but you know if you were in the same position you just might do the same thing.