Mother’s Day is here and just like a hot latte and clean yoga pants Tully is here just in time to help us celebrate with a thoughtful, smart and brutally honest story of modern motherhood. However, if you’re looking for a cute, uplifting, Bad Moms style barrel of laughs, Tully might not be for you
Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman, Tully continues their collaborative work telling stories of strong women facing some tough times. Here, Marlo (Charlize Theron) is a mother stretched thin and stressed over all that motherhood has handed her. Her kindergarten aged son is “quirky” and having trouble in school, her eight year old girl is growing up fast and her husband seems to only be present for a few hours in the evenings. As Marlo prepares to give birth to her third child, her brother offers her a big gift: a night-nanny to help with the newborn. Anyone who’s ever cared for a brand new baby knows it’s a lonely, 24 hour job, especially for a breastfeeding mom, but Marlo is hesitant to let someone besides herself care for her new baby.
Then Tully (Mackenzie Davis) arrives, like a breath of fresh air for Marlo. She’s young, cool, confident and seems to just get Marlo like no one else. Marlo’s world seems so much brighter and easier with Tully in it and her whole family seems to benefit. That’s the rule right, happy wife, happy life? But things aren’t as rosy as they appear and sadly most people don’t realize how much help a new mom needs until she reaches a breaking point.
As I sat in the theater on a rare kid free afternoon with my 31 week fetus kicking away, I laughed, empathized and connected with the harsh realities and parenting imbalances in Marlo’s life. Honestly, if you can’t laugh at it, you’ll cry. Night after night she’s the only one waking up with the new baby, feeding it, changing it, pumping milk. And by day she’s dealing with her kids, their school, the baby and the never-ending housework. Her husband, Drew (Ron Livingston), sleeps at night, goes to work, helps with the kids in the evenings and then plays video games on a damn headset before bed. The shot of him asleep in the middle of the day at the hospital, while Marlo entertains guests after giving birth infuriated me. Honestly, Drew’s not a bad guy, but he would get a swift punch in the nuts if he were my husband.
The little honest details sprinkled throughout the film are made for moms who clearly remember those newborn days. The anxiety of cutting a squirmy baby’s fingernails came back with one swift image. When that fresh bag of breast milk spills over, it cuts like a knife. When she bumps the baby’s car seat-carrier against the door, we feel the guilt. When her daughter asks, “Mom, what’s wrong with your body?” I laughed and looked down at my bulging belly. Been there, done that, got the mesh undies and I’m crazy enough to do it all again.
Charlize Theron lets her character be portrayed in all her raw, postpartum glory. It’s refreshing for those of us who’ve lived this chapter of life. She constantly looks exhausted, physically and emotionally, not a flowery image of motherhood we’re used to seeing. We get a shot of her in that ugly hospital gown with the mesh underwear and huge pad on, an image that might bewilder most men in their 20s. We see chapped nipples and how she’s hooked up to the breast pump. And I swear, my mother owned the exact same robe. Other films seem obligated to sell motherhood; make us marvel at some glowing dolled-up goddess of fertility, laugh at the absurdity of the pain and pretend it’s sexy. But Tully tells it like it is in all its raw, primal, painful glory and I for one am all for it.
Tully leaves the audience with several messages. Spouses and family: take care of that new mom you love. Step it up and take care of that baby, even if you don’t have the breasts to feed it. Moms: take care of yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help. It can be hard after years of spit-up, sleepless nights and mom jeans, but don’t forget who you used to be. The younger, hopeful, less stretched out you would be proud. And most importantly love yourself for who you are now.
“You’re convinced that you’re this failure, but you actually made your biggest dream come true.”
Original Score: While I’m always rooting for John Williams, I think this comes down to The Shape of Water and Phantom Thread. Coin toss: Phantom Thread
Sound Editing: Dunkirk
Original Screenplay: It’s hard for me to pick, they’re all so great. Get Out
Actor: Will the Academy award Day-Lewis in his final role or finally aknowldege Oldman? I say it’s Gary Oldman’s time
To be honest, I was not looking forward to seeing The Post, which is surprising since I am usually anxiously awaiting Steven Spielberg’s films. While I do appreciate the genre, there’s just something about films featuring hardworking, honest journalists fighting against the man that doesn’t excite me. Maybe it was Spielberg’s craftsmanship, or Streep’s intriguing character, or the way the events in the film seem to parallel recent news, but The Post has grown on me in two days in ways that All The President’s Men or Spotlight have not in years.
In the film, The Washington Post is at a crossroads. It is being led by a woman, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) a first for a major newspaper. And a huge story about how the past few presidents, including current president Nixon have been lying to the public about the war in Vietnam has just fallen on their reporters’ desks. The problem is, The New York Times published about this story earlier, and is now being barred by the president for writing more about it. Should The Post risk backlash and even collusion by running their piece? 
Streeps performance as Kay Graham humanizes this film as she tries to navigate what is traditionally a man’s role. She feels out of place in her position of power because that’s what she’s been taught to feel. Yet she rises to the occasion well, even if she is secretly second guessing herself at every turn. Streep’s performance is the only other Oscar nomination The Post received besides Best Picture. 
What makes this film so important, and what truly clenched it’s Best Picture nomination, is how this true story resonates with recent news under the Trump administration. The way Nixon and journalists butt heads in the film is very much like Trump’s cries and tweets of fake news at every turn. The Post shows how the government has tried to silence the press before and lost. Spielberg knew that this is the time to make The Post so he made it very quickly. While that rapid production may not have produced one of his best or most memorable films, it has solidified a spot in film history.
There are few things that many women universally love and covet, but Phantom Thread focuses on two: beautiful things to wear and the love of a man. Both can make a woman feel lovely, wanted and desired. However, if anything comes between her and the things or person who makes her feel this way, retaliation is expected.
In 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a renowned dressmaker. When he meets Alma (Vicky Krieps), a waitress, he takes her out and before the night is over, he is making her a lovely new dress. She becomes his muse and lover, well dressed on his arm, living and working alongside him and his ever present sister, Cyril (Lesley Manville). But the novelty of Alma’s presence begins to wane, and she can sense it wearing on Reynold’s and straining his lifestyle.
The relationship between Alma and Reynolds is very odd. It’s romantic, gothically romantic, but not seem very loving. It can be very professional at times, with Alma helping to make and model dresses. And there is some intangible bond between the two, something that connects Alma’s strong will and Reynold’s fastidiousness in a way that can only work for them. It can leave many baffled.
The opening credits of Call Me By Your Name feature images of ancient Greek and Roman statues. They are various depictions of young men, their naked likeness preserved smooth in stone with sensual curves. Anyone who’s seen Michelangelo’s David understands the concept. Throughout the film, our stars seem to take on the likeness of these statues. They often walk around clad in only thin shorts under the Italian summer sun and apricot trees. It isn’t meant to be arousing or explicit, but a natural depiction of life in its prime. 
In 1983, Elio (Timothée Chalamet) is seventeen and spending the summer with his parents in northern Italy. There isn’t much to do besides lounge, swim in the river, bike into town and read. Life here seems like an idyllic paradise away from the rest of the world. Elio’s father is a professor, studying and cataloging unearthed statues. For this task, a student comes to live with the family, Oliver (Armie Hammer). After a rocky start, Elio and Oliver strike up a friendship that slowly becomes more and more intimate and eventually sexual. 
Right now, Call Me By Your Name is nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Timothée Chalamet is nominated for best actor in a leading role, his first ever nomination at just twenty-two years old. The film is also nominated for best adapted screenplay and for its best original song, Mystery of Love. 
Darkest Hour puts the first few weeks of Winston Churchill’s time as Prime Minister under a microscope. It is May 1940, and England’s politics are shaky as Neville Chamberlain is voted out as Prime Minister. Churchill is not the first choice, and has his political enemies, but is appointed next. With the fall of France, it looks as though Hitler and his Nazi army will take over all of Europe. Just across the channel, the entire British army is stranded at Dunkirk and surrounded by the invading German army. If nothing is done, the British army will be completely lost within days. Meanwhile, Churchill’s advisers are pushing for him to surrender to Hitler and attempt to negotiate peace, before it’s too late. How will Churchill pull his country up by its bootstraps, save their army and stand up in the face of doom and tyranny? 
Gary Oldman becomes completely immersed in his transformation into Winston Churchill. The flawless makeup done on him makes Oldman completely unrecognizable, I expect that award to be given easily. But just as impressive is Oldman’s acting, fleshing out Churchill not only as a historical figure, but as a man who seems larger than life at times. The fact that Oldman studied Churchill and his mannerisms over a year to prepare for this role shows his dedication to getting it right. I’ve also heard that he tried not to be influenced by other actor’s portrayals of the man and I think it has worked out well. While Oldman’s performance feels authentic, it is also unique compared to other films and shows about Churchill. 
A favorite scene of mine was towards the end when Churchill decides to ride the underground to Parliament. He escapes out of his personal car without his driver noticing and immerses himself within the bustling streets and busy people of London. A young woman helps him navigate the underground map and as he enters the train, a once hum-drum commute is suddenly shaken by his presence. But Churchill doesn’t lord his power and prestige over the people he serves, but rather strikes up conversations with everyone around him. He shakes hands, takes names and asks them all, children included, if they should consider negotiating peace with Hitler, or stand and fight. Thankfully, the people of London are much more influential on Churchill than his advisers.
