"When the Norris family meets up with T.L. before the funeral, we get a glimpse of the charmer he once was. Or maybe that's just the power of Sam Elliott, whose palpable charisma rubs off on his screen partners. He's full of praise for Angela, Ainsley, and especially Ariana, with whom he forms a quick kinship based on a shared history of loss."
"T.L. is much more visibly emotional about Dorothy's death than Tommy, but he also feels a little distanced from those feelings. After all, he lost the Dottie he knew long ago; it's finally his time to say goodbye. He's still not very comfortable talking publicly about how he feels and what their marriage was like, though. He doesn't speak at the (very brief) funeral, and it takes a question from the openly confused Ariana for him and Tommy to start opening up about Dottie."
"As you may have expected, the history is pretty dark. The last time Tommy saw his mother was at 14 years old, when he gave her CPR after finding her facedown in the bathtub. She returned the favor by kicking him in the face and making herself another drink, prompting him to pack his things and take off. T.L. dealt with similar types of emotional and possibly physical abuse,"
The Norris family meets T.L. before the funeral; he displays charm and praises Angela, Ainsley, and Ariana, forming a quick kinship with Ariana. T.L. withholds warmth from Tommy, who refuses to admit love or grief, which angers T.L. T.L. feels more emotional but also distanced, having lost the Dottie he once knew; he does not speak at the funeral. A question from Ariana prompts both men to open up about Dorothy. Tommy last saw his mother at 14 after giving her CPR; she assaulted him and he left home. T.L. endured similar abuse and stayed, hoping she would change.
Read at Vulture
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