Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 55 minutes, Director – James L. Brooks
Ella McCay (Emma Mackey) is promoted to state Governor, however familial tensions and pushes from party members cause immediate trouble.
Set in 2008, described as a far less divided time; and seemingly one much easier to base a film in the world of politics, Ella McCay feels somewhat like a film from that era. It also feels like it could be among writer-director James L. Brooks’ 80s work, and the 50s with the slightly unnatural tone to some of its dialogue. The scenes of conversation, and there are a great many in what is an undoubtedly dialogue-led film, are largely what create the jumbled and over-busy feel that weighs down both the film and titular characters life.
Ella (Emma Mackey) is promoted to state Governor when current position holder Bill Moore (Albert Brooks) is offered a place in the incoming cabinet. However, with a report seemingly imminent about her use of government spaces for “marital relations” with her husband (Jack Lowden) and many party officials prepared to push back against her at every turn, Ella’s time in the role is launched with a rocky start. Her personal life, too, sees struggles with family as her distant father (Woody Harrelson) – who had multiple affairs against her mother (a very briefly seen Rebecca Hall) when Ella was young – seeks forgiveness, and her younger brother, Casey (Spike Fearn) isolates himself after a bad not-quite-break-up; leading to a set of very awkward late-in-the-day scenes with Ayo Edebiri.
Brooks jumps back and forth from one idea to the other never really giving anything time to breathe as Mackey’s character races back and forth across town seemingly pausing conversations only to return later after resuming those with other characters. When starting to come together in some way, largely sparked by the tension growing in her marriage, the film truly shows just how busy it is in its struggle to do so in a way that feels brief. The most pace to be found here is that which characters do back and forth around a room or through the corridors of the state Capitol.
Points are often so drawn out and tangential that the handful of gags dotted throughout feel drawn out to the point that they blend in with everything else and often don’t seem to be gags until a few beats later. There are one or two amusing moments and light chuckles to be found throughout, but they’re very spread out in the near two-hour run-time, which itself is certainly felt. From looking at trailers after having seen the film it seems that the intended push is Ella trying to not go under the sea of familial problems she’s facing, where much of her stresses stem. However, they never feel united enough to be summed up in this way.
Everything plays out separately for so long, with the addition of pressures from her political colleagues who don’t all share the views she expresses in amusingly lengthy speeches, that the events playing out all feel so distanced. Even still needing individual moments when being brought together. A key sequence bringing Ella’s future into question has to feature multiple conversations inside, then a step outside, the back in for an announcement which instead of cutting to the next moment leads to more of this particular scene. Meanwhile, a scene involving her security detail (led by Kumail Nanjiani) bickering about overtime pay feels completely unnecessary for the eventually rushed, almost nothing, conclusion. Much like the central character of the same name, concise isn’t quite in Ella McCay’s dictionary. A shame for a film that could otherwise be a light, enjoyable dramedy.
Despite some amusing moments, Ella McCay feel weighed down by a great many characters and narrative strands, with a run-time drawn out by jumbled dialogue and scenes which jump back and forth between largely disconnected dramas.
Just A Little Bit Random 