Have watched this 5 times. Not sure everyone loves it as much as me and my wife, because it’s a psychological puzzle about postpartum depression. It’s taboo to admit you are depressed before and after delivery of your third child. This is a cautionary tale of not knowing your emotional limits and being too subtle about asking or accepting of offers of help when you need them. Charlize Theron is a master at taking on a character, be it a lonely and abused serial killer, or in this case a depressed mother whose attempts to hide it are subtlety revealed.
Only Theron would pull off letting herself be seen as overweight and snarky. She has a convincing pregnant bulge, but her extra weight postpartum doesn’t look like prosthetics. If it’s special effects, they are amazing. But I don’t think so.

On the fifth viewing, I saw some short glimpses that helped reveal more of the understated story line.

You’ll want to listen to the sound track later. It’s perfect

There were messages here, but they were subtle and easy to miss, as evidenced by how many reviewers claimed there were no messages in this movie. *Spoiler Alert* First, the movie spotlighted postpartum psychosis. Tully was the manifestation of this. For those who missed that, re-watch the end. You'll be relieved to discover the husband did not sleep with the nanny, Tully. It was his wife, Marlo, all along. In the hospital scene, we see the husband starting to realize how much he has missed, and in the final scene of the film, he walks up and starts helping the wife chop vegetables, a subtle, and rather underwhelming, hint that he is going to be a better partner and help out more. Another message that may have missed the mark was about autism. The little boy is clearly supposed to represent a child who is on the spectrum, but apparently the parents have taken him to several specialists and all they've been told is that he is "different." Why has nobody suggested to them that they have him tested for ASD? This would be a great opportunity to spread awareness and understanding about children with ASD, but for those who are unaware of the symptoms, this may not have been a clear message.

I saw this movie once before I had a kid and I really liked it. Then after my son was born I decided to watch it again & it’s one of the more relatable and realistic movies about having a newborn. Charlize there on this lovely and plays the character beautifully. I’m removing a star because Ron Livingston‘s character is the stereo typical husband who, while not a bad guy, doesn’t seem to realize that his wife is struggling. I understand why the twist ending was controversial but I enjoyed it anyway. If you’ve just had a baby this is like a 30 movie to watch while you’re up late breast-feeding.

I love the actors in this film and was looking forward to seeing it, especially since I saw an interview with Theron touting this movie as a female empowerment after feeling rock bottom as a sleep-deprived, overwhelmed mom. Well, before the story could really develop into anything drawing or captivating or anything resembling these words, it turned gimmicky. I recently watched a childbirth documentary. This movie had more boobs in it than that did. Then, of course, lo and behold, naturally this hired woman is an innate prostitute, just willing to serve in any way she's told to serve, and, of course, the new mom, who is feeling horrible about herself and her body, is naturally up for allowing -- wait, no, not allowing, but actually promoting the situation of her husband and the very naturally willing to do anything nanny into having sex in front of her with a smile, and, of course, the husband is naturally up for that. Well, I call BS on this. This movie depleted my patience with regard to looking at boobs and then that ridiculous story twist before I could even begin to get invested into the storyline or characters to begin with. To top it off, AMazon listed this as a comedy. Um, no. This is not a comedy by any stretch. What I was looking forward to was character development, humor and triumph over feeling beaten down by life. What I got was a creepy Hollywood producer's version of what it one should do to lift up an overwhelmed, sleep-deprived mother of three and wife in a loving relationship. Couldn't finish it. Not great work.

I loved this movie! Had been wanting to see it for awhile now. Was surprised by ending!!

I didn't expect to like this movie so much. No, this is not a comedy and as a childless male I know little of the effects of postpartum (note the correct spelling fellow Amazon reviewers) depression. But I could really feel for this character (great performance Charlize Theron), for all mothers and families going through this. I hadn't read reviews before watching so I didn't know about the twist in the story - and I loved it. Since watching, I read some reviews that said the pieces don't add up and I say, seriously, who cares. It worked beautifully for me, and this movie is so different from most of the junk that gets released nowadays, such a breath of fresh air that I'm willing to forgive any quibbles. I was not a particular fan of Juno or that terrible movie where Meryl Streep sang ad nauseam, but I loved Young Adult and this movie too. Good for you, Diablo Cody!

This movie is very close to five stars. It is a movie with a very strong story and characters. The twist, although I felt fairly telegraphed, was engaging and more importantly powerful, the extremity of what you realize Theron has been through knocks you out. The film does a great job at imparting it's message, the expectations of fathers and husbands often fall short and support goes beyond breadwinning. I think it really shows the banality of failing your family and I've seen it in my family and in others. I hope this movie is able to affect others in the way it has me.

Although I don't think it was worth buying I definitely enjoyed this movie. I loved the actors, Charlize is spectacular. Ron Livingston (beloved in Office Space) played a great somewhat stereotypical husband and father who doesn't notice that Marlo, his wife, needs some support and help with raising their 3 children, especially in the first few month postpartum.
It's one of those movies where in the end you're like, oooh so that's what's going on.
I have head a lot of pushback with this movie among 'mom groups' and it's ridiculous how much criticism the movie got. The issue of needing help and being absolutely exhausted is real.
People out there have mental issues relating to life when you don't have support.