THE NEW YORK OBSERVER, September 25, 2000
TOP-TIER TORONTO: 15 FILMS TO SEE
TULLY

"Even better [than You Can Count on Me, reviewed immediately before] is The Truth About Tully, a breathtaking independent film of sublime understatement that establishes Hilary Birmingham as a new director of exceptional naturalism and skill.

Set in the cornfields of Nebraska, it's based on a prize winning O. Henry Award story by Tom McNeal about a serious, hardworking, widowed farmer with two sons - a bored, restless, hell-raising stud named Tully and his earnest, shy, serious younger brother, Earl - whose strength, loyalty and affection for each other are severely tested when a terrible secret about their mother's past suddenly threatens to destroy their farm and wreck their lives.

Gorgeous cinematography, an uncommonly intelligent script and moment-to-moment work by three phenomenal actors who deserve to be major stars - Anson Mount as Tully, Glenn Fitzgerald as Earl and Julianne Nicholson as Ella, the freckled neighbor who teaches them how to love - add creative fuel to this lyrical American tone poem of hidden passions, subverted emotions and thrilling subtlety. The Truth About Tully is a work of irresistible homespun artistry reminiscent of Elia Kazan's East of Eden.

– Rex Reed