Tully
"They wanted to know why I did what I did
'Well sir I guess there's just a meanness in this world' "
Tully is the story of four lives intersecting. They don't have to go far to intersect, three are kin.
Mr. Coates [Bob Burrus] is from that generation of hard work and leave the tenderness buried deep within. The kind of people that do what they have to do to make everything work out for their young 'uns. That generation's past, and doesn't look likely to repeat anytime soon. Most people my age aren't that grounded. They're still walking around trying to figure out where they stand. Mr. Coates seems to look at both boys with love and frustration. Frustration that Tully isn't taking farming seriously. He knows that his time will come, and seems to have an inner struggle about how the boys will do when he's gone. The entire film this battle within is warn plainly on his face.
Tully Coates [Anson Mount] is the typical small town lothario, constantly going around with the burden of running the family farm weighing heavily on his shoulders. There are moments where you see that he doesn't really long to understand the working of his father's farm, he just has to know. It's his place in life to take over after his father passes. This seems to drive him into the arms of the ladies. He fusses about no one wanting to have any fun, works hard, and plays even harder. In the beginning Tully's picture is painted with a heavy brush of his brash, rebellious ways. He seems to be aimlessly drifting, tired of the boredom that so often drags down those that live in small towns. Life can be very repetitious. Tully seems to know that his life will be spent on his family farm, but what that life will be he's yet to figure out. The future looks bleak, and the past is too difficult to think about. For now, his youth, he just wants to have a good time.
Earl Coates [Glenn Fitzgerald] is the salt of the earth son. The good child that dutifully does what his father, Mr. Coates, asks. He's a prototypical farm boy, raising a cow to be a prize winner. Being the little brother, his father is consistently fussing at Tully for picking on Earl. Earl seems to be content with his place in life. He's an adult, yet still pretty young. He seems to have already thought about the future, wife and kids, before he's really sowed his wild oats. His life being mapped out doesn't cause him as much confliction as his older brother. He's just happy with the small things that come up in farm life.
Ella [Julianne Nicholson] is the somewhat geeky girl next door. The one good enough to be friends with, but never to go out with. She's more reserved than April [Catherine Kellner], who just oozes sluttiness. In the beginning Ella doesn't unabashedly vie for Tully's eye, she just can't figure out why Tully would go for April. Any guy can see why instantly. April is walking sex appeal. She's slutty, sure. Most guys in their early 20's gravitate towards those women that look to be an easy lay. Hell, most any man will go for the easy gal. Level headed women take too much work. For most men that is, not me of course.
Tully is a film about moments. Moments of understanding, in time, and in one's life. It's not for everyone. It's slow. Methodical. Layered. Deep. It has a certain quality that most people rushing through life wouldn't pick up on. It's a film that's best viewed more than once. Hell, I didn't fully "get" the film first go 'round. The moments are intervals when the characters either come to grand realization, or to the infamous crossroads. Where a significant decision needs to be made. Life will go on, but down which path?
In the end we realize that just like in the big city, life always seems to have secrets. Some revelatory truths come out about the boys heritage, and what really happened to their mother. With his back to the proverbial wall, Mr. Coates has to make a decision to secure Tully and Earl provisions for the future. What happens is shocking and heartbreaking. But that heartbreak is cast aside in favor of a great respect for doing what had to be done for the sake of his sons.
In the face of life unfolding before him, Tully's decision is made. Unlike in the beginning of the film where he seems to be struggling with the prospect of a future of farming in the sleepy Nebraska town, he accepts what happened. It took an act of complete sacrifice to make Tully realize how great of a man Mr. Coates was. At that point love and life make sense to Tully. All is not right in the Tully's world, but life makes sense. He must cast aside his wild ways, and become a man. Try to become a man like his father was, and hope to find a love as strong as his father felt for his mother.
Until next time:
"The openness of rural Nebraska certainly influenced me. That openness, in a way, fosters the imagination. But growing up, Lincoln wasn't a small town. It was a college town. It had record stores and was a liberal place." - Matthew Sweet
'Well sir I guess there's just a meanness in this world' "
Tully is the story of four lives intersecting. They don't have to go far to intersect, three are kin.
Mr. Coates [Bob Burrus] is from that generation of hard work and leave the tenderness buried deep within. The kind of people that do what they have to do to make everything work out for their young 'uns. That generation's past, and doesn't look likely to repeat anytime soon. Most people my age aren't that grounded. They're still walking around trying to figure out where they stand. Mr. Coates seems to look at both boys with love and frustration. Frustration that Tully isn't taking farming seriously. He knows that his time will come, and seems to have an inner struggle about how the boys will do when he's gone. The entire film this battle within is warn plainly on his face.
Tully Coates [Anson Mount] is the typical small town lothario, constantly going around with the burden of running the family farm weighing heavily on his shoulders. There are moments where you see that he doesn't really long to understand the working of his father's farm, he just has to know. It's his place in life to take over after his father passes. This seems to drive him into the arms of the ladies. He fusses about no one wanting to have any fun, works hard, and plays even harder. In the beginning Tully's picture is painted with a heavy brush of his brash, rebellious ways. He seems to be aimlessly drifting, tired of the boredom that so often drags down those that live in small towns. Life can be very repetitious. Tully seems to know that his life will be spent on his family farm, but what that life will be he's yet to figure out. The future looks bleak, and the past is too difficult to think about. For now, his youth, he just wants to have a good time.
Earl Coates [Glenn Fitzgerald] is the salt of the earth son. The good child that dutifully does what his father, Mr. Coates, asks. He's a prototypical farm boy, raising a cow to be a prize winner. Being the little brother, his father is consistently fussing at Tully for picking on Earl. Earl seems to be content with his place in life. He's an adult, yet still pretty young. He seems to have already thought about the future, wife and kids, before he's really sowed his wild oats. His life being mapped out doesn't cause him as much confliction as his older brother. He's just happy with the small things that come up in farm life.
Ella [Julianne Nicholson] is the somewhat geeky girl next door. The one good enough to be friends with, but never to go out with. She's more reserved than April [Catherine Kellner], who just oozes sluttiness. In the beginning Ella doesn't unabashedly vie for Tully's eye, she just can't figure out why Tully would go for April. Any guy can see why instantly. April is walking sex appeal. She's slutty, sure. Most guys in their early 20's gravitate towards those women that look to be an easy lay. Hell, most any man will go for the easy gal. Level headed women take too much work. For most men that is, not me of course.
Tully is a film about moments. Moments of understanding, in time, and in one's life. It's not for everyone. It's slow. Methodical. Layered. Deep. It has a certain quality that most people rushing through life wouldn't pick up on. It's a film that's best viewed more than once. Hell, I didn't fully "get" the film first go 'round. The moments are intervals when the characters either come to grand realization, or to the infamous crossroads. Where a significant decision needs to be made. Life will go on, but down which path?
In the end we realize that just like in the big city, life always seems to have secrets. Some revelatory truths come out about the boys heritage, and what really happened to their mother. With his back to the proverbial wall, Mr. Coates has to make a decision to secure Tully and Earl provisions for the future. What happens is shocking and heartbreaking. But that heartbreak is cast aside in favor of a great respect for doing what had to be done for the sake of his sons.
In the face of life unfolding before him, Tully's decision is made. Unlike in the beginning of the film where he seems to be struggling with the prospect of a future of farming in the sleepy Nebraska town, he accepts what happened. It took an act of complete sacrifice to make Tully realize how great of a man Mr. Coates was. At that point love and life make sense to Tully. All is not right in the Tully's world, but life makes sense. He must cast aside his wild ways, and become a man. Try to become a man like his father was, and hope to find a love as strong as his father felt for his mother.
Until next time:
"The openness of rural Nebraska certainly influenced me. That openness, in a way, fosters the imagination. But growing up, Lincoln wasn't a small town. It was a college town. It had record stores and was a liberal place." - Matthew Sweet
posted by The Big Man | 10/04/2006 09:40:00 AM
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