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Tully

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Tully (2002)

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Reviews Counted:51

Fresh:41

Rotten:10

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: A beautifully acted, quietly moving little film.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 1, 2002 Limited

Synopsis: "The Truth About Tully" explores a legacy of love between a family of men, and the events of one summer that change their world forever. Through the eyes of Tully Coates Jr. (Anson Mount) - the... "The Truth About Tully" explores a legacy of love between a family of men, and the events of one summer that change their world forever. Through the eyes of Tully Coates Jr. (Anson Mount) - the local hearthrob and eldest son - a world is revealed where secrets are kept close beneath wide open skies as a distant father and his two sons struggle with a past that has come back to haunt them. The loss of their mother years ago has left the Coates boys adrift, each longing for a connection to a woman they never knew. A separation has grown between Tully and his reclusive father (Bob Burrus), who lives in isolation even as he works side by side with his sons. Determined not to meet the same lonely fate, Tully runs wild with the women in town though he is careful to keep them all at a safe distance. Tully's shy younger brother Earl (Glenn Fitzgerald) is just the opposite, possessing an emotional maturity to comprehend things that Tully has yet to see or feel. In his quiet way, Earl is in Tully's shadow – but Earl knows something that Tully may not yet be able to handle. The one thing that Tully and Earl do have in common is an appreciation for Earl's straight-talking best friend Ella (Julianne Nicholson), a young woman smart enough to refuse overtures from a womanizer like Tully and strong enough to become his friend. As Earl watches warily, Tully becomes closer to Ella than anyone expected – but when devastating news pushes Tully into her arms, he runs away before he can begin to feel what might be true love. Tully's discovery of a long buried secret that now threatens his family and their farm brings him to confront his father about the ghosts of a past that have pushed them apart. When he discovers that his father's decisions were made out of love for his family, Tully begins to appreciate his father's strength. With the air cleared, Tully's own true feelings emerge and he comes to learn the delicate art of caring. The film is based on the award-winning story by Tom McNeal , with the screenplay adaptation by Matt Drake and Hilary Birmingham. "The Truth About Tully" is Birmingham's feature directing debut and is produced by Annie Sundberg. -- © TellTale Films [More]

Starring: Anson Mount, Julianne Nicholson, Glenn Fitzgerald, Catherine Kellner

Starring: Anson Mount, Julianne Nicholson, Glenn Fitzgerald, Catherine Kellner, Bob Burrus

Director: Hilary Birmingham

Director: Hilary Birmingham
Screenwriter: Matt Drake, Hilary Birmingham
Producer: Hilary Birmingham, Anne Sundberg
Studio: Small Planet

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 17, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Tully

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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The whole movie consists of talk. The characters talk about what used to happen, what's going to happen, what happened while you were looking the other way and listening to people talk.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
11/14/02
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

The revelations... are not in the plot but in the rhythm of life and the pace of days (brought to life perfectly in the crisp, bright, sunlit photography)...

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
03/27/03
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It brims with characters, incidents and dialogue that are alternately sharp and lyrical, and sometimes both at the same time.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/24/03
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Flawed but promising.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
02/13/03
Jay Boyar
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel

The movie resonates with a rare and genuine sweetness.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
03/28/03
Mary Brennan
Mary Brennan
Seattle Times

A beautifully acted and emotionally rich film set in Nebraska about the unfolding of love and the damage done to a family by a long-kept secret.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
10/31/02
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

A simple, sometimes maddeningly slow film that has just enough charm and good acting to make it interesting, but is ultimately pulled under by the pacing and lack of creativity within.

Full Review Source: Countingdown.com | comment Comment
11/11/02
Larry Carroll
Larry Carroll
Countingdown.com

quietly pulls you into its sun drenched style of American Gothic in the Heartland

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
11/17/02
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A portrait that stays with conversations as they unfold, stays with scenes as they progress naturally and stays with small moments that turn into poetry both beautiful and sad.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
11/08/02
Jonathan Curiel
Jonathan Curiel
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A very pretty after-school special. It's an effort to watch this movie, but it eventually pays off and is effective if you stick with it.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
11/27/02
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Watching Tully reminded me of a time when calling a movie 'little' was a compliment, a way of saying a director had found ways to locate his movie in a world that seemed entirely real.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
02/07/03
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A heartfelt, understated and occasionally heavy-handed slice of heartland.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
03/20/03
Duane Dudek
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Pays close and respectful attention to its characters, allowing them time to develop and deepen.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
11/08/02
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A modest but finely tuned look at small-town life under the wide-open skies of Nebraska.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/31/02
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

It's an earnest debut full of heartfelt performances, but is ultimately let down by a story that is all too predictable.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
11/01/02
Pam Grady
Pam Grady
Reel.com

Full of affecting, quiet moments.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
01/23/03
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

A small-town movie in a big-city world.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
01/02/03
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

An impressive debut; it looks and feels like life.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
10/31/02
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's certainly nothing objectionable about Tully, but there's nothing remarkable either. It resides in that cinematic middle ground of not-bad, not-great, just okay.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/24/03
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The people in this picture live and work and eat like people I once knew.

Full Review Source: New Republic | comment Comment
12/02/02
Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann
New Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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