Tully (2018 film)

Marlo, a mother of two, is pregnant with an unplanned third child. Jonah, her son, has a developmental disorder that doctors have been unable to diagnose; she uses the Wilbarger Protocol to brush his skin in an attempt to reduce his sensitivity. When Marlo and her husband Drew visit her wealthy brother Craig's house for dinner, he offers to pay for a night nanny as a baby shower gift, but Marlo rebuffs him.

Marlo gives birth to a daughter she names Mia and quickly becomes overwhelmed and exhausted. After Jonah's principal recommends that he be placed in a different school, Marlo breaks down, and she retrieves the contact information for the night nanny.

That night, Tully, the night nanny, arrives at the house. Despite initial awkwardness, Marlo and Tully develop a close friendship over the course of several nights. Tully proves to be an exceptional nanny, cleaning the house and baking cupcakes for Jonah's class. When Marlo mentions that Drew has a fetish for women in 1950s diner waitress uniforms, Tully puts on a uniform that Marlo had previously purchased, and they engage in a threesome with Drew.

One night, Tully arrives to work visibly distressed and says that she has fought with her roommate due to her roommate's anger over Tully, bringing home too many hook-ups. Tully impulsively suggests going into the city for a drink, to which Marlo reluctantly agrees, and the pair drive to Marlo's old neighborhood in Bushwick, Brooklyn. While at a bar, Tully suddenly tells Marlo that she can no longer work for her, explaining that she was there only to "bridge a gap" and that she feels that she is no longer needed. While driving home, Marlo falls asleep at the wheel and swerves the car into a river.

Marlo sees herself trapped underwater and envisions Tully as a mermaid coming to rescue her. She awakens at a hospital with Drew. A staff psychiatrist approaches Drew and informs him that Marlo was suffering from extreme sleep deprivation and exhaustion. When the doctor asks about their nanny, Drew tells her that he does not know much about her. A hospital clerk asks Drew for Marlo's maiden name, and he provides it: "Tully." Tully does not exist; Marlo imagined her from her past self aged 26 to cope with stress. Marlo is visited by Tully one last time in her hospital room, where they decide that they have to stop seeing each other and part amicably.

Marlo returns home, where Jonah tells her that she no longer needs to brush his skin. She goes to the kitchen to listen to music and prepare the kids' lunches for the next day. Drew comes in and shares the music with her as he helps her.

• Charlize Theron as Marlo Moreau
• Mackenzie Davis as Tully
• Mark Duplass as Craig Freehauf
• Ron Livingston as Drew Moreau
• Elaine Tan as Elyse
• Asher Miles Fallica as Jonah
• Lia Frankland as Sarah

Diablo Cody wrote the film as a way of dealing with her own difficult pregnancy. The script helped her, becoming "a glowing, soothing presence I could return to whenever I felt overwhelmed."[3] Reitman noted that that Tully fits together thematically his previous collaborations with Cody, logically concluding the unintentional trilogy, where "Juno is about being prematurely thrust into adulthood, Young Adult is about resisting adulthood, and Tully is about finding grace and acceptance in midlife.[3]

Filming began from September 22, 2016 to November 2, 2016 in Vancouver, British Columbia.[4]

Theron said she gained nearly 50 pounds (23 kg) for the role in a period of three and a half months, and ate around the clock to keep the weight on. It took her a year and a half to take the weight off after filming had wrapped.[5]

In May 2017, Focus Features acquired distribution rights to the film and set the release date for April 20, 2018;[6] however, in March 2018, the date was pushed back to May 4.[7]

Tully was released on digital download on July 17, 2018, and on Blu-ray and DVD on July 31.[8]

• Official website
• Tully at IMDb
• Tully at AllMovie
• Tully at Metacritic
• Tully at Rotten Tomatoes