Is Tully Really a Mermaid, or Is It Marlo’s Imagination?

Is Tully a Mermaid or Does Marlo Imagine Her

Is Tully a Mermaid or Does Marlo Imagine Her? – ‘Tully,’ directed by Jason Reitman, is a heartwarming comedy-drama film. It follows Marlo, a woman who has recently given birth to her third kid and is struggling to strike a balance between her obligations and her wants. Just as she’s about to burn out, she hires Tully, a night nanny who comes every night to look after the baby.

The new mom is relieved to have found a new source of assistance and begins to reconnect with Tully and the things she used to enjoy. However, Marlo’s already worsening mental state is harmed by the newfound connection, and she is involved in a car accident. Tully comes to her rescue in the form of a mermaid as she is submerged underwater.

Is the night nanny, however, a genuine creature or a creation of Marlo’s imagination? Let’s have a look.

Must Read: Tully (2018) Movie Ending Explained

Is Tully a Mermaid

Is Tully Really a Mermaid or Not?

The mermaid and Tully are both creations of Marlo’s mind. She has postpartum depression after the birth of her baby Jonah. Marlo is overburdened with obligations at home and at work, despite the fact that it is progressively cured. Jonah’s mother takes extra precautions to ensure that he adjusts properly to his surroundings because he has an undiagnosed developmental issue that produces nervous reactions to external stimuli.

When Marlo and her husband, Drew, discover they expect a child, their workload increases. She begins to feel alienated from herself and her family as she struggles without much of his assistance. She seeks solace in watching erotica and mermaid videos on television.

Craig, Marlo’s brother, is sympathetic to her predicament and offers to hire a night nanny for her once the baby is born. But she refuses, stating that she does not want to entrust her child’s care to a stranger.

Marlo, on the other hand, becomes overwhelmed a few days after the birth of her third child, Mia, due to exhaustion and lack of sleep. She contacts Tully, the night nanny Craig recommended because she is unable to perform even simple functions properly. Marlo finds her visit to be a blessing, and she eventually returns to her life and passions. Furthermore, the two ladies become good friends, and she begins to confide in Tully about everything.

Meanwhile, Marlo begins to have recurrent dreams of an unknown mermaid approaching her underwater, which she rejects. As time passes, her relationship with Drew develops, and she begins to reflect on her previous life as a young lady. Everything is fine until Tully recommends a night out in the city on the spur of the moment.

Marlo grudgingly agrees, and the two women set out for Brooklyn, where Marlo had shared a room with her roommate. Tully announces her resignation from the job since her goal of bridging a gap in Marlo’s life has been achieved. Unfortunately, she panics and refuses to let go of her because she has become such an important part of her life.

Tully, on the other hand, helps her relax and persuades her to return home. Marlo falls asleep behind the wheel and, in order to avoid an approaching vehicle, drives the car into the river. She drops unconscious while submerged underwater and sees Tully coming to her rescue in the form of a mermaid.

Tully is revealed to be Marlo’s imagination of her 26-year-old self at the hospital, as she seeks solace from her current state in recollections of her childhood. When Marlo relapses into postpartum depression following Mia’s birth, she fears that her younger days are slipping away, and this issue, combined with stress and lack of sleep, takes its toll on her mind.

As a result, she mentally conjures Tully as a youthful distraction from her troubles. The mermaid figure is another facet of her fantasy, and she frequently watches mermaid movies to escape her mundane life.

Is Tully Really a Mermaid or Not

When Marlo begins having strange mermaid dreams when the night nanny arrives, both figments of her imagination collide. She had a near-death experience during the crash, and it is then that she witnesses Tully and the mermaid merge into one to save her life. Later, at the hospital, she recognises that she must let go of Tully because he is causing her to suffer in her current life, and she bids her farewell.

Marlo stops seeing Tully or the mermaid as she recovers and returns to her normal life, showing that she is gradually recovering from her mental anguish and no longer need an imaginary escape.