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Tallulah(film)

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Tallulah
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySian Heder
Written bySian Heder
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPaula Huidobro
Edited byDarrin Navarro
Music byMichael Brook
Production
companies
  • Route One Entertainment
  • Ocean Blue Entertainment
Distributed byNetflix
Release dates
  • January 23, 2016(2016-01-23)(Sundance)
  • July 29, 2016(2016-07-29)(United States)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[1]

Tallulahis a 2016 Americancomedy-drama filmwritten and directed bySian Heder(in her feature directorial debut) and starringElliot Page,Allison Janney,andTammy Blanchard.The film revolves around a young woman who unexpectedly takes a baby from her irresponsible mother and pretends the child is her own. Without a place to stay, the woman asks for help from her ex-boyfriend's mother, telling her the baby is her granddaughter.[2]

Tallulahhad its world premiere at the2016 Sundance Film Festivalon January 23, 2016 and was released onNetflixon July 29, 2016. It received positive reviews, and the performances of Page and Janney were praised. The film marked the third collaboration between Page and Janney, having last worked together inJuno(2007) andTouchy Feely(2013).[3]

Plot[edit]

Living in her rundown van while travelling around America, homeless teenager Tallulah and her boyfriend Nico survive the streets by stealing credit cards.

When Nico decides it is time to go home to his mother, Tallulah expresses her dismay and argues with Nico about how she will not change her lifestyle. Tallulah is devastated to discover the next morning that Nico has left without saying goodbye.

Desperate to be with him again, Tallulah drives toNew York City,where Nico's mother Margo lives, and finds her at her apartment. After informing Tallulah that she has not seen Nico in two years, Margo tells Tallulah to leave.

With nowhere else to go, Tallulah steals from guests at a nearby hotel, only for the strange natured and intoxicated mother, Carolyn, to mistake Tallulah as housekeeping staff. To Tallulah's confusion, Carolyn lets her child wander around naked and play with dangerous objects and admits that she is not invested in being a mother. Carolyn leaves her toddler, Maddy, in Tallulah's care, while she goes on a date with a man who is not her husband. Tallulah bonds with the young Maddy, bathing her and playing games, before a devastated Carolyn arrives back at the hotel, distraught that the man did not want her.

After Carolyn drunkenly passes out, Tallulah prepares to leave, but impulsively decides to take a crying Maddy back to her van to spend the night until further notice. When Tallulah returns to the hotel with Maddy, she flees upon seeing the police, summoned by a panicked Carolyn, and goes to Margo's apartment. After Tallulah claims that the child is Nico's and that she is Margo's granddaughter, "Maggie," Margo reluctantly agrees to let them stay for one night.

Unknown to Tallulah, Margo is struggling with her own marital problems after her ex-husband Stephen has left her for a man, Andreas, and is pressing Margo to finalize their divorce. While Tallulah and Maddy stay with Margo, the three of them bond; Tallulah reveals her fears of forming relationships and Margo admits to having trouble letting go. However, Tallulah becomes increasingly aware that the authorities are looking for her and Maddy.

Meanwhile, a distressed Carolyn is questioned by a social worker, who notes that Carolyn has only expressed concern for herself so far instead of her missing child. Frustrated with their questioning, Carolyn leaves the hotel to distract herself and discovers that her husband has cancelled all her credit cards, much to her fury.

During a lunch with Stephen and Andreas, Margo defends Tallulah when Stephen begins to aggressively question Tallulah's relationships with Nico and Maddy. Margo lashes out at Stephen about their marriage and the deceit involved, pointing out that when all their friends supported Stephen, Margo had been left alone to reconcile the changes in her life and losing the family she loved.

On their way back to Margo's apartment, Tallulah and Carolyn notice one another as the latter goes by in a cab. Just before Carolyn catches up to them, Tallulah narrowly escapes with Maddy and Margo via the subway.

When Margo demands to know why Tallulah ran, an argument ensues and Tallulah runs off with a feverish Maddy to a pier that Nico had once told Tallulah was his favorite place. Nico arrives, having finally returned to his mother in New York City.

Taking Maddy to the hospital, Nico devises a plan to allow Tallulah to escape. At Margo's apartment, Carolyn and the police arrive after a tip from Stephen and Andreas, who recognized Lu from a newspaper article reporting Maddy's abduction.

Carolyn admits to Margo that she did not want to be a mother and feels no maternal instinct, despite loving her daughter; Margo comforts her. At a subway station, Tallulah calls Margo to apologize for involving her, and the police trace the call. Tallulah tries to get on the subway in order to flee, but instead returns to Maddy and Nico at the hospital. The police, Carolyn, and Margo arrive at the hospital, where an emotional Tallulah accuses Carolyn of not wanting Maddy.

After a tearful Carolyn tells her that she does want her child, Tallulah reluctantly hands Maddy back to her and is arrested by the police. As Tallulah is taken away, Margo promises to help her however she can. When Detective Richards facetiously asks Tallulah if she has a habit of taking children into protective custody, Tallulah says nothing and smiles ruefully.

Some time later, Margo wanders throughCentral Parkbefore lying in the grass, recalling her conversation with Tallulah about letting go. Margo starts floating away happily, but then appears frightened and grabs a tree branch.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Tallulahwas written and directed bySian Hederas a spin-off of her 2006 short filmMother,[4]about a homeless woman who is forced to babysit a toddler with an irresponsible mother at a hotel. By the time thatMotherwas released in May 2006, Heder had completed the feature-length screenplay forTallulah,based on her perception of women who "probably know they shouldn't have kids, but then they do it anyway".[5]

The story was inspired by her experience of working as a babysitter for hotel guests inLos Angeles,when she was once required to babysit a toddler whose neglectful mother had come to aBeverly Hillshotel in order to have an extramarital affair. She said that, after the incident, "I left the hotel, got in my car and cried the whole way home, and I thought, I should have taken that kid."[5]

In May 2015, it was announced thatElliot Page[a]andAllison Janneywould star in the film's lead roles, after working together previously onJuno(2007) andTouchy Feely(2013).[3]Filming began in June 2015 inNew York City,primarily in the borough ofManhattan.[4]The film was produced by Heather Rae, Russell Levine, Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus and Todd Traina, and financed by Route One Entertainment and Ocean Blue Entertainment.[3]

Michael Lloydand Cutting Edge Group produced the soundtrack of songs inspired by the film's screenplay.[8]Michael Brookcomposed the film's score.[9]

Release[edit]

Tallulahhad its world premiere at the2016 Sundance Film Festivalon January 23, 2016.[10]Prior to the film's premiere at the festival,Netflixacquired distribution rights to the film.[11]The film was released on July 29, 2016.[12]

Reception[edit]

Tallulahreceived positive reviews from critics, who praised the two lead performances. OnRotten Tomatoes,the film has a rating of 85%, based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Tallulah's narrative insight, thoughtfully written characters, and talented cast add up to an absorbing family drama that transcends genre tropes and capably overcomes its flirtations withmelodrama."[13]OnMetacritic,the film holds a score of 63 out of 100, based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

Nigel M. Smith ofThe Guardiangave the film 4 out of 5 stars, wrote that "Yes, the story has the makings of aLifetimemovie; what grounds it are the terrific performances and Heder's rich direction and screenplay ", and he praised Page's and Janney's performances.[15]Geoff Berkshire ofVarietyalso praised the two leads and stated "Heder's script likely won't please those who prefer their indie dramas naturalistic and event-free. But the freewheeling storytelling enacted here has an excellent anchor in the grounded work of the ensemble cast."[16]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abcInitially credited as Ellen Page,Netflixupdated the onscreen credits, from Ellen within a week (by December 8, 2020) of Page announcing his name change, as well as credits on other Page's works in its exclusive library of streaming products,[6]including the filmFlatliners(2017), the television seriesThe Umbrella Academy(first two seasons, 2019–2020), and the television miniseriesTales of the City(2019).[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^Meek, Tom (July 26, 2016)."Sian Heder's 'Tallulah' Pulls From 'Surreal Experiences With Bad Moms'".Wbur.org.RetrievedJuly 26,2016.
  2. ^"'Juno's' Ellen Page, Allison Janney to Reteam for Dramatic Comedy 'Tallulah'".20 May 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 24 February 2020.Retrieved25 January2017.
  3. ^abcHughes, William (May 21, 2015)."Ellen Page and Allison Janney to reunite (again) for Tallulah".The A.V. Club.RetrievedJune 17,2015.
  4. ^abGillette, Sam (June 16, 2015)."Ju-never-no When You'll Run into Ellen Page and Allison Janney".Bedford + Bowery.Archived fromthe originalon June 20, 2018.RetrievedJune 17,2015.
  5. ^abWelkos, Robert W. (May 26, 2006)."A nanny's insight".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedJune 17,2015.
  6. ^Lang, Brent; Donnelly, Matt (December 1, 2020)."Elliot Page Will Continue to Star in 'Umbrella Academy,' Netflix Changes Credits on His Past Films".Variety.RetrievedDecember 26,2021.
  7. ^"Netflix amends Elliot Page's name on all past credits".Special Broadcasting Service.2020-12-08.Retrieved2021-12-26.
  8. ^McNary, Dave (June 23, 2015)."Tammy Blanchard, Evan Jonigkeit Join Ellen Page's 'Tallulah'".Variety.RetrievedSeptember 28,2015.
  9. ^"Michael Brook to Score 'Tallulah'".Film Music Reporter.December 15, 2015.RetrievedJune 2,2016.
  10. ^Sneider, Jeff (December 2, 2015)."Sundance: James Franco's 'Goat,' Ellen Page's 'Tallulah' Highlight Dramatic Competition".TheWrap.RetrievedDecember 8,2015.
  11. ^Berger, Laura (January 13, 2016)."Netflix Buys Sian Heder's 'Tallulah,' Starring Ellen Page and Allison Janney".Indiewire.Archived fromthe originalon January 17, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 13,2016.
  12. ^Van-Syckle, Katie (April 27, 2016)."Movies About Women Nearly Impossible to Finance, Say Indie Producers".Variety.RetrievedApril 28,2016.
  13. ^"Tallulah (2016)".Rotten Tomatoes.RetrievedMarch 8,2023.
  14. ^"Tallulah Reviews".Metacritic.RetrievedFebruary 3,2016.
  15. ^Smith, Nigel (January 23, 2016)."Tallulah review – Ellen Page and Allison Janney make magic in baby drama".The Guardian.RetrievedJanuary 25,2016.
  16. ^Berkshire, Geoff (January 23, 2016)."Sundance Film Review: Ellen Page in 'Tallulah'".Variety.RetrievedJanuary 25,2016.

External links[edit]

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