Tully

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.

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 His brother Earl (Glenn Fitzgerald) is withdrawn and shy with girls, a movie buff who spends his days going to the cinema or preparing his steer for the County Fair.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.

This film was like a breath of fresh air. It only played locally for a couple of weeks, if that much. Obviously, this film would have fared better had it gone to the Angelika or the Sunshine where a young crowd would have discovered it. I only caught it at the end of the run and I'm glad I did because not only it's a beautifully done, but because it's an honest account of life.

Director Hilary Birmnigham working with Matt Drake have created something rare in American cinema a well written drama with interesting and complex characters, a script that doesn't depend on special effects or the formula that most mainstream films.

The cast is superb. Anson Mount, Julianne Nicholoson, and Glenn Fitzgerald shine brightly in this film. Also Bob Burrus as the taciturn father is very effective.

I'm sure that by now it should be in DVD since it was done in 2000, you won't regret it.

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.

Was it great acting or great directing or a great script that made this film work so well? The people in the movie Tully are not one dimensional, they are real people. I loved all of them. The way the father pursed his lips.

The way Tully sometimes looked handsome, sometimes plain. The way Ella gave just the right thing at the right time. The way the clerk cheerfully bantered. The way Earl corrected Tully's misremembering. The town sleaze's greasy humor. I wish I knew any of them, even April! :) The main thing that struck me about Tully is the trueness of the dialog. It was minimal, the way people really are, shown from the outside in, without being corny. Everyone gave great performances. The movie is special. Hope I see more of every actor in this film, all of whom were new to me. All were MEMORABLE. That says a lot because I think I have early Alzheimers! Too bad this movie wasn't a hit. I wish I lived on a farm and/or had this kind of sensitive, nuanced experience everyday! Unpretentious.