Motherhood exposed - Tully (2018) - written by Diablo Cody, starring Charlize Theron

I've not had the privilege of bearing a child. And after watching Tully, I am pretty sure that I made the right decision.


Want a non-mother to understand motherhood? Tully should be mandatory watching.

Most movies today invoke what seems to be mandatory montage to demonstrate the passage of time. Tully implements it as well, but to a most shattering effect.

We watch a mother after the birth of her third child deal with the relentless feeding of a newborn. It's shockingly real and Charlize Theron exposes a less-than-perfect self to near the same scale as she did in Monster, for which she won an Oscar.

The writer Diablo Cody and the director Jason Reitman impeccably portray a middle-class woman's  aspirations for a better life for her children.

I credit Diablo Cody, who also wrote Juno and Young Adult (Charlize appeared in this one as well), for capturing the truth of motherhood.

Eighth Grade (2018) - Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton - Directed by Bo Burnham

In her head. I don't know how Bo Burnham got so in an eighth grade girl's head. But he did.

He and Elsie Fisher captured the anxious, fumbling ambitions of an eighth grader and project them onto a screen to pair with my prepubescent mind.

Then to have the dad moment in the backyard was the antidote that we could all use.

Sweet and honest, like God looking down on our humanity and telling us that we're doing just fine.

A lovely film.

I couldn't recommend it more.