Reviews

James L. Brooks, the writer and director best known for Terms of Endearment, As Good As It Gets and The Simpsons, has made his first movie in 15 years with Ella McCay.

The political drama stars Emma Mackey, best known for the Netflix TV show Sex Education, as the title character, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor with a list of hopes and dreams to achieve on behalf of her (unidentified) U.S. state.

When her mentor and the state’s long-time incumbent governor, Bill (Albert Brooks), accepts a cabinet position in the federal administration, she becomes his successor as governor.

This should be a cause for celebration for Ella, but it comes at a terrible time in her personal life.

She is trying to figure out how to navigate a scandal over her marriage to Ryan (Jack Lowden), but that’s not all, as her estranged father (Woody Harrelson) wants to reconcile, and she is constantly worried about her agoraphobic younger brother Casey (Spike Fearn).

Ella McCay, set in 2008, is a straightforward, earnest drama about a fictional woman’s life, and it feels nostalgic because movies like this don’t get made for the cinema anymore.

Unfortunately, Brooks overcompensates for the story’s simplicity by adding in too many characters and subplots, causing the film to feel unfocused and overstuffed.

There is way too much going on, and Brooks cannot do every character and storyline justice, which is a shame because there are a lot of great ideas in here and well-known actors with little to do.

Ella is a compelling and complicated character, but she rarely drives the story forward herself as opposed to reacting to all the forces going on around her.

By the same token, Mackey delivers a fine performance that deserves to make her a bigger star, but she is often outshone by her bigger and louder co-stars, such as Jamie Lee Curtis as Ella’s mother figure Aunt Helen.

Mackey and Curtis have a wonderful on-screen partnership, but Curtis steals every scene with her feisty personality, OTT facial expressions and interesting line readings.

The most exciting and shocking narrative revolves around Ella’s marriage to Ryan, and some of the other storylines should have been streamlined to give this more screentime.

The dynamic is rarely seen in film, where the woman has the power and the man is trying to use it to his own advantage, and this should have been explored more, or at least followed through in a more satisfying way.

Ella McCay is engaging and solid, with many enjoyable elements, but it is ultimately uneven, unfocused and a bit of a narrative mess.

In cinemas from Friday 12th December

By Hannah Wales

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