SEE HOW THE MOTHER HALF LIVES.
When Marlo (Charlize Theron) and her husband have a third child, she’s overwhelmed and reluctantly agrees to let a nanny (Mackenzie Davis) into their lives… The director and the writer reunited with Theron after Young Adult (2011) for another memorable portrait of a woman, this time a mom under a lot of pressure (not least because one of her kids has a disorder). Diablo Cody’s dramatic, clever way of addressing post-natal depression had its detractors, but she and Jason Reitman get it right; this is funny and moving. Theron is a huge reason why, but Davis is also very good as the free-spirited Tully.
2018-U.S. 95 min. Color. Produced by Diablo Cody, A.J. Dix, Helen Estabrook, Aaron L. Gilbert, Beth Kono, Mason Novick, Jason Reitman, Charlize Theron. Directed by Jason Reitman. Screenplay: Diablo Cody. Cast: Charlize Theron (Marlo Moreau), Mackenzie Davis (Tully), Mark Duplass (Craig), Ron Livingston (Drew Moreau), Asher Miles Fallica, Lia Frankland.
Last word: “I asked Diablo about [the recurring images of mermaids], and she said very often people who have postpartum refer to it as feeling as though they’re underwater, and she thought, ‘If I were underwater, who would I want to save me?’ A mermaid. For me, when I had a daughter, my life literally went from zero mermaids to mermaids everywhere from toys, cookies, cartoons, books. Also, she has a swimming tail she wears in the pool; she has a sleeping bag mermaid tale that she sleeps in in bed. It’s one of those creatures that is not in your life at all, and then overnight when you have a child, it’s suddenly everywhere. It’s a huge symbol for being a parent.” (Reitman, Slash Film)