DVD Review: Tully

Hilary Birmingham's independent drama "Tully" is a small, wonderful film, which owes its success to the performances of its actors. Tully Coates, Jr. (Anson Mount) the local playboy of a small Nebraska town, works on the family farm with shy younger brother Earl (Glenn Fitzgerald) and his father (Bob Burrus), a taciturn man who never laughs. Cautious flirting begins when smart, freckled, and lovely Ella Smalley (Julianne Nicholson) returns home after college. Though the melodrama gets poured on thick towards the end, the nuanced performances and the surprisingly uncliched depiction of midwestern life makes "Tully" an engrossing film.