Tully (film)
Encyclopedia
Tully is a 2000 drama film written and directed by Hilary Birmingham. It was screened at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival
on April 14, 2000 and received a limited release in the United States on November 1, 2002. The film is based on a O. Henry Prize-winning short story by author Tom McNeal.
Originally titled The Truth About Tully, the film changed its name to avoid confusion with Jonathan Demme
's The Truth About Charlie
.
) and Earl (Glenn Fitzgerald
), who live on their father's (Bob Burrus) ranch in rural Nebraska
. Their mother abandoned the family at a young age. Tully is very outgoing and has relationships with many women, including a stripper
, April (Catherine Kellner
). Earl is more of an introvert.
Ella (Julianne Nicholson
), a childhood friend comes back to town to start a veterinarian practice. She is friends with both of the Coates brothers. Initially, it appears that Ella has more in common with Earl, as she is reserved and not the typical woman that Tully dates. However, they start a relationship.
The elder Coates clearly misses his wife, and as the film develops, his financial problems worsen. It is eventually shown that his financial problems are due to his wife's medical bills (he never got a divorce). Tully Sr. commits suicide. The film's climax is how the brothers and Ella react to this tragic event.
from 52 reviews counted.
The film develops with a very slow pace, and New York Times critic Stephen Holden
praises this in his review:
Holden also compliments the acting, particularly Nicholson, who he describes as "luminous in an utterly natural way". Kenneth Turan
of the Los Angeles Times
also commends the film's pace, stating that the "deliberate speed goes hand in hand with its unmistakable sense of place, its attraction to the rhythms of farm life and the unhurried sensibility of its small-town Nebraska setting".
Lisa Schwarzbaum
of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ rating, and writes, "the believable young people growing on this plot of soil are never predictable; neither are the unmannered, affecting performances".
Los Angeles Film Festival
The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...
on April 14, 2000 and received a limited release in the United States on November 1, 2002. The film is based on a O. Henry Prize-winning short story by author Tom McNeal.
Originally titled The Truth About Tully, the film changed its name to avoid confusion with Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
's The Truth About Charlie
The Truth About Charlie
The Truth About Charlie is a 2002 remake of the 1963 film Charade. It is also an homage to François Truffaut's 1960 film Shoot the Piano Player complete with that film's star, Charles Aznavour, making two surreal appearances singing his song "Quand tu m'aimes" .The Truth About Charlie was produced,...
.
Plot summary
The story centers around the Coates brothers, Tully (Anson MountAnson Mount
Anson Adams Mount IV is an American actor who has appeared in both movies and television shows. Mount has also played Jim Steele on the short-lived NBC series Conviction and appeared in the independent movie Tully with Julianne Nicholson, as the title character Tully Coates, a playboy whose ways...
) and Earl (Glenn Fitzgerald
Glenn Fitzgerald
Glenn Fitzgerald is an American actor who has had over 30 roles in movies or television series. He played the character of Sean in The Sixth Sense...
), who live on their father's (Bob Burrus) ranch in rural Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
. Their mother abandoned the family at a young age. Tully is very outgoing and has relationships with many women, including a stripper
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
, April (Catherine Kellner
Catherine Kellner
Catherine Kellner is an American character actress.Kellner was born in Manhattan, New York to a psychologist/photographer mother and a squash player/Greek classics scholar father who was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant...
). Earl is more of an introvert.
Ella (Julianne Nicholson
Julianne Nicholson
Julianne Nicholson is an American actress. She is known for having played Det. Megan Wheeler on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Early life:...
), a childhood friend comes back to town to start a veterinarian practice. She is friends with both of the Coates brothers. Initially, it appears that Ella has more in common with Earl, as she is reserved and not the typical woman that Tully dates. However, they start a relationship.
The elder Coates clearly misses his wife, and as the film develops, his financial problems worsen. It is eventually shown that his financial problems are due to his wife's medical bills (he never got a divorce). Tully Sr. commits suicide. The film's climax is how the brothers and Ella react to this tragic event.
Critical reception
Tully has an approval rating of 80% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
from 52 reviews counted.
The film develops with a very slow pace, and New York Times critic Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden is an American writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963...
praises this in his review:
As deliberately paced as a late-afternoon amble around a homestead, the movie occasionally stops in its tracks to take a deep breath and soak in more of the rural atmosphere. Although this tendency to dawdle may frustrate viewers accustomed to a barrage of visual stimulation, the movie's unhurried rhythm eventually works a quiet spell, and after a while you find yourself settling back, adjusting to the film's bucolic metabolism and appreciating its eye and ear for detail.
Holden also compliments the acting, particularly Nicholson, who he describes as "luminous in an utterly natural way". Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan is an American film critic and Lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.-Background:...
of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
also commends the film's pace, stating that the "deliberate speed goes hand in hand with its unmistakable sense of place, its attraction to the rhythms of farm life and the unhurried sensibility of its small-town Nebraska setting".
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum is an American film critic. She joined Entertainment Weekly as film critic in the 1990s. She has been featured on CNN, co-host on Siskel & Ebert At the Movies as well as a cultural, theater and television reviewer....
of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+ rating, and writes, "the believable young people growing on this plot of soil are never predictable; neither are the unmannered, affecting performances".
Awards and nominations
| Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Name | Results |
| Independent Spirit Award | Best Debut Performance | Bob Burrus | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Award | Best Feature | Hilary Birmingham | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Award | Best Feature | Hilary Birmingham, Anne Sundberg | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Award | Best Screenplay | Hilary Birmingham, Matt Drake | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Award | Best Supporting Female | Julianne Nicholson | Nominated |
| Chlotrudis Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Nicholson | Nominated |
| Chlotrudis Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Glenn Fitzgerald | Nominated |
| Newport International Film Festival | Audience Award, Best Drama | Hilary Birmingham | Won |
| Gen Art Film Festival | Audience Award, Best Feature Film | Hilary Birmingham | Won |
Cast
- Glenn FitzgeraldGlenn FitzgeraldGlenn Fitzgerald is an American actor who has had over 30 roles in movies or television series. He played the character of Sean in The Sixth Sense...
... Earl Coates - Anson MountAnson MountAnson Adams Mount IV is an American actor who has appeared in both movies and television shows. Mount has also played Jim Steele on the short-lived NBC series Conviction and appeared in the independent movie Tully with Julianne Nicholson, as the title character Tully Coates, a playboy whose ways...
... Tully Coates Jr. - Bob Burrus ... Tully Russell Coates Sr.
- Julianne NicholsonJulianne NicholsonJulianne Nicholson is an American actress. She is known for having played Det. Megan Wheeler on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Early life:...
... Ella Smalley - Catherine KellnerCatherine KellnerCatherine Kellner is an American character actress.Kellner was born in Manhattan, New York to a psychologist/photographer mother and a squash player/Greek classics scholar father who was a Hungarian Jewish immigrant...
... April Reece