leaves, “you’ll do what you have to do, and then you’ll do it again.” This ending, incongruent as it is with the feminism of the first two acts of the film, constitutes a further plot twist – essentially re-framing everything that went before as The Taming of a Mother.

While the Feminist Hero ending would have been Marlo awakening her husband to the fact that he needs to accommodate her whole identity, rather than just the parts that fit well with his, the ending we are left with has Marlo disconnect from parts of herself in order to keep everyone else happy. And that turns Tully from a compelling drama, to a disconcerting horror.

And maybe that’s the point.

...

Please subscribe to keep reading.