THE TRUTH ABOUT TULLY

THE TRUTH ABOUT TULLY is an elegaic drama of heartland America, straight-up, bluesy and direct as a Hank Williams lament. Everyone in his Nebraska town knows and likes Tully Coates Jr., a boisterous and womanizing farm kid easing into manhood. This summer will turn his world upside-down. Tully is too busy checking out girls to get serious about any single one, but his younger brother Earl hangs out with veterinarian-in-training Ella, and Tully is instantly struck by her approachability and common sense. He could do worse than settle down with this woman. But settle down … to what? The Coates's family-run farm suddenly faces foreclosure from a collection agency, thanks to a long-term series of bills rung up out-of-state by Tully and Earl's mother. The trouble is, the pretty and flighty Mrs. Coates supposedly died a long time ago. Who is this? Confronting his careworn father, Tully learns that he has inherited a legacy of household secrets and lies. A crop of fine performances and unforced dialogue yields a rich harvest, in Hilary Birmingham's ode to men of the soil and what happens when they start to question their own roots and branches.