Tully

Marlo (Charlize Theron) loves her family, no question about it. But after the birth of her third child, she's just completely overwhelmed. Nerves are on edge and acute sleep deprivation isn't making things any easier either. Her husband Drew (Ron Livingston) tries to support her as best he can, but his job doesn't always allow it. That's when Marlo's brother (Mark Duplass) gives her a special gift: a "night nanny" who takes over at night and looks after the kids and the household. Marlo is initially skeptical of the idea of having a stranger live in her house at night and take care of her children. But when she meets the young, smart and engaging Tully (Mackanzie Davis), not only is she finally able to let herself go. A very special friendship also develops between the two women that could change Marlo's life forever.

Following Juno, director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody have teamed up again for Tully. Cody was inspired by her own experiences as a mother of three - and the thoughts that, despite all the love and happiness, come with the resulting stresses like acute sleep deprivation. However, it wasn't meant to be too heavy a story about a woman with postnatal depression. Rather, it was to be about the unexpected friendship of two women and the resulting rediscovered joy in self, but ultimately in family.

This story seems to follow all conventions. Everything seems quite predictable - until it comes to a twist that you don't see coming. This will not be revealed here, of course. Only this much can be said: In the end, Tully isn't the movie you thought you'd see. And that's exactly where it gets its strength from. Staging, script and especially the acting of Charlize Theron are very good. But in the end, despite their quality, somehow a bit arbitrary. The film leaves a real impression only through its unexpected twist, which certainly gives viewers who are parents themselves something to think about.

Tully is a film that you really should give a chance until the end. Sure, some of it feels a bit contrived or arguably cliched. But there is justification in the end for all that you might have initially criticized - or at least for most of those points. Yes, despite its fairly short running time, there are some lengths. And yes, this is not Jason Reitman's strongest film. But the bottom line is that it's a strong and thoroughly relevant drama, laced with light comedy, that cleverly pulls the wool over the viewer's eyes. And for that, it definitely gets a: Worth Seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp