Based on the footage released, so far, James L. Brooks\u2019 \u201cElla McCay\u201d looks tonally messy, but I can\u2019t help wanting to see it. There\u2019s a pull of nostalgia I can\u2019t ignore\u2014I\u2019ve been a lifelong admirer of Brooks\u2019. A part of me still longs to revisit the emotional space of his best films.<\/p>\n
Yes, Brooks\u2019 recent output hasn\u2019t exactly lit the world on fire (\u201cHow Do You Know\u201d), there\u2019s still a genuine sense of curiosity around his return to the director\u2019s chair. <\/p>\n
And rightly so. This is the man behind \u201cTerms of Endearment,\u201d \u201cBroadcast News,\u201d and \u201cAs Good As It Gets,\u201d three great films. After a 15-year absence, Brooks is back with \u201cElla McCay,\u201d which has just released a new trailer<\/a>. It looks very milquetoast. It feels like this film is DOA, even before having been screened anywhere. I hope I\u2019m wrong, because I really do want a Brooks comeback.<\/p>\n So why did 20th Century give the go-ahead to James L. Brooks\u2019 \u201cElla McCay\u201d? Brooks hasn\u2019t been a box-office draw in years \u2014 his last film, 2010\u2019s \u201cHow Do You Know,\u201d was a flop \u2014 and while Emma Mackey leads this new project, she isn\u2019t exactly a household name. Turns out, industry chatter<\/a> suggests 20th Century may have had another motive: in exchange for moving forward on \u201cElla McCay,\u201d the studio wanted Brooks to commit to developing a sequel to 2007\u2019s \u201cThe Simpsons Movie.\u201d In other words, a classic case of \u201cwe\u2019ll scratch your back if you scratch ours.\u201d<\/p>\n Mackey stars as the titular Ella, a young, idealistic politician juggling personal responsibilities with a rapidly accelerating career as she prepares to succeed her mentor, an aging, long-serving governor. The cast is filled with talent: Emma Mackey, Rebecca Hall, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Ayo Edebiri, Albert Brooks, Kumail Nanjiani, Jack Lowden, and Spike Fearn. However, let\u2019s keep our expectations in check. Brooks hasn\u2019t really made a worthy film in almost thirty years.<\/p>\n Behind the camera is Robert Elswit, the Oscar-winning cinematographer known for his gorgeous black-and-white work on Netflix\u2019s \u201cRipley.\u201d Elswit was once Paul Thomas Anderson\u2019s go-to DP (\u201cThere Will Be Blood,\u201d \u201cPunch-Drunk Love\u201d), until a well-documented falling out during the making of \u201cInherent Vice\u201d ended their longtime collaboration. <\/p>\n