James L. Brooks’ comedy-drama film Ella McCay, starring Emma Mackey, is set during the 2008 financial crisis. The film is centered around Ella, a lieutenant governor and the third youngest woman to ever hold her office. She was extremely hardworking and deeply passionate about the welfare of the common people, and she’d dedicated her life towards framing policies that could benefit the population. While Ella’s approach didn’t always match Governor Bill Moore’s, her passion had him convinced that she was the perfect fit for interim governor if he was offered a cabinet position in the upcoming presidential administration. He’d known Ella from the time he was a mayor and she was his chief of staff. As the governor, will Ella get to follow her heart, or will she have to resort to petty politics for the sake of her career? Let’s get into the details.
Spoiler Alert
Did Ella forgive her father?
Ella shared a complex relationship with her father, Eddie. At a young age, she’d realized that her father had been cheating on her mother, Claire, and that he wasn’t a man of great character. She was ashamed of him, and she couldn’t grasp why Claire refused to leave him. She was devastated when Claire had told her that she and Eddie were planning on moving to California because he wanted to start a business there. Ella was academically focused; she figured that the shift would affect her scores and she would lose the internship she’d been working towards. Ella declined the offer to start her life afresh in California. She felt she was very close to achieving academic excellence; her teachers thought she was exceptional, she had a great chance of making it to her top colleges, and she didn’t want to ruin it all by moving away. Ella thought her mother’s love for Eddie would only bring her misfortune, but Claire couldn’t really conceive of letting Eddie go. So, she made a tough call—she decided to move to California with Eddie and leave behind Ella under the care of her own sister, Helen. Claire didn’t want Ella to suffer because of her mistakes, and this was the only way they could make it work. Although it was heartbreaking for Ella, she was glad that her mother considered her opinion.
Aunt Helen became a maternal figure in Ella’s life, and she loved her tremendously. Ella and Eddie’s relationship worsened with time, especially after her mother’s death. She was appalled when she noticed a woman flirting with her father at Claire’s wake; she figured Eddie hadn’t changed. Her father always prioritized himself over her and her brother, Casey, and naturally the distance between them widened. So, one day when her father showed up unannounced at Helen’s bar, hoping to reconcile with his daughter, Ella refused to entertain him. Perhaps a part of her hoped that her father had changed, but it soon became clear to her that he only wanted to make amends because his new girlfriend, Olympia (a psychologist), had advised him to do so. She wouldn’t marry him unless his children forgave him, and that was why he had been pestering Ella and Casey.
When Eddie stated that she was the most incredible woman (referring to Olympia) he’d ever met, Ella was furious, and she walked away. The disregard that Eddie had for his late wife made it impossible for Ella to see her father as anything beyond an opportunistic man who’d denied her mother respect and failed to be someone she could look up to. Throughout Ella McCay, Eddie tried to convince Ella and Casey to forgive him, but Ella ultimately decided that she didn’t owe her father forgiveness. Ella had asked her father if he’d cheated on her mother when she was sick and dying; her father didn’t give her a clear answer, suggesting that he did. The least he could’ve done was spend her final days with her and shower all his love and affection, but instead he chose to hurt Claire. When her father tried to imply that Ella ‘needed’ to forgive him to clear her conscience, she scoffed and responded, “Not really.” She wanted Eddie to suffer, for him to not get what he wished for, for him to realize how it felt to be rejected.
Did Ella fall out of love with Ryan?
Ryan and Ella were high school sweethearts. He wasn’t as academically bright as Ella, but he’d always been supportive of her. Aunt Helen didn’t think Ryan was the right kind of influence, but when she realized he made Ella happy, she accepted him. They eventually got married, and Ella made a decision that she wasn’t proud of to save her marriage from her demanding job. She always returned home exhausted, and that had started to affect her relationship. So when she discovered that there was a one-bedroom guest apartment under the Capitol dome, she figured she might as well use it to find a balance between her professional and her personal life. Ryan and Ella used to spend their afternoons there, and while the time that they spent together helped improve their relationship, there was a damaging repercussion. One of the security guards who worked there told a reporter about Ella and Ryan’s frequent visits, and she landed herself in trouble. Ella was completely unaware at the time that there was a law that forbade wrongful use of government property, so the reporter started essentially blackmailing her to expose her if she failed to give him some special access. Just as Ella was trying to come up with a solution to the problem, Governor Bill had informed her that he’d accepted a cabinet position, which meant Ella would have to take his place as the new governor.
The news soon reached the media, and Ella found herself surrounded by reporters and cameras. As she was trying to make her first unofficial speech, Ryan stormed in and performed an impromptu dance with her that Ella thought was quite inappropriate. Ryan didn’t like her reaction, especially since everyone else appreciated their romantic dance, and they couldn’t get enough of the couple. While Ella loved Ryan’s enthusiasm, she didn’t believe in stunts; she’d always been focused on serving the people, and now that she was finally governor, that was all that she wanted to do.
When Ryan sensed that Ella was worried about the reporter, he promised that he would sort out the problem. She was glad at first, but soon Ryan revealed that when the reporter had asked him about the apartment, he’d told him all about their afternoon romantic lovemaking because he wanted to ‘humanize’ Ella. She was infuriated, and she asked Aunt Helen for her opinion of the situation. Helen didn’t hold back, and told her that Ryan was a ‘ticking time bomb’ in her life. Helen had lost respect for Ryan when, four years ago, he got drunk and bragged at a party that he’d watered down the tomato sauce that he sold and that helped his business make $300,000. Ella had tried not to think much about it then because Ryan was also the guy who’d dropped out of college to provide his younger brother with higher education. She felt conflicted at the time, but now she wasn’t so sure; every day she found him a little more difficult to love.
Ryan’s enthusiasm about staying at the governor’s mansion bothered Ella, because she didn’t want her personal life to change at all. Things took a turn for the worse when Ella didn’t mention Ryan during her first speech. Ella was busy discussing the plans she had for the state, and when she criticized how lawmakers spend most of their time raising campaign money and not having enough time to go through the bills that they pass, Governor Bill passed on a note saying, ‘Do not thank me.’ Well, he was pretty much the kind of lawmaker Ella had just described, and he figured Ella would face some internal backlash, and he didn’t wish to get involved. Since Ella didn’t/couldn’t thank Governor Bill, she thought thanking anyone else would seem disrespectful of her. She later acknowledged that she’d overthought the situation, and she promised to mention Ryan in her speech the next day. Ryan was satisfied with the proposal, but that was before his mother suggested that instead of a mere mention in one of her speeches, she must give him a title fancy enough to make him seem important. Meanwhile, Ella decided to conduct a press conference and admit the offense she’d committed; she believed in transparency, so she knew she had to do it. She was ready to pay the price for it, and she hoped the problem would finally be resolved. But just before her meeting with her staff, Ryan stormed into her office. Ryan was offended that Ella didn’t consult him before discussing their personal life in public, and he thought she made him look powerless. Ella made it very clear that she wasn’t ready to have this conversation during her work hours, but Ryan obviously refused to listen to her. The conversation escalated into an argument, and Ryan stated that the marriage wasn’t working for him. He expected Ella to beg him to stay, but she was calm.
Why did Ryan sabotage Ella?
Ella sensed that Ryan had done something that he shouldn’t have; that was why he was so worked up. Well, it turned out she was right. Ryan had already paid the reporter to kill the story, and he was dumb enough to pay him in check instead of cash, leaving a perfect trail to prove that Ella too was a corrupt lawmaker. Ella thought she’d already heard the worst, but then came Ryan’s proposal. He established that she could make their marriage work if she made him the co-governor and announced in public that from henceforth they would be jointly working for the welfare of the people of the state. Ella couldn’t believe it. She’d always assumed that Ryan understood her, but he was clearly completely driven by self-interest. Instead of realizing how overwhelmed Ella was with her new responsibilities or how frustrated she was with her father, he was busy being self-serving. All Ella wanted from him was to be a supportive husband, but that ‘title’ alone wasn’t good enough for him. He needed the world to know that he was the decision-maker, the ‘man’ in their relationship, and he expected Ella to keep up with the madness out of her fear of losing him. Ella refused to do it; he reminded her that unlike her father, he was a loyal man, and he expected to be rewarded for it. When Ella refused to budge, he threatened her with a messy divorce. After seeing his worst side, Ella wasn’t ready to put up with him anymore, and she didn’t care about the mess.
How did Ella deal with the scandal?
Ryan held a press conference, and he implicated Ella by stating that she was the one who’d asked him to pay off the reporter and that she was the one who’d decided to end their marriage, implying that she’d ‘used’ him and now that she was the governor, she didn’t want him in her life anymore. He’d decided to destroy his relationship for his ‘two minutes to fame.’ Ryan had assumed it would damage Ella’s career, and while it did leave Ella shaken, she managed to come out of it with only a few scratches. The majority leader and the members of the party didn’t think Ella was suitable to be the governor anymore after the stunt Ryan pulled. Bill sat down with Ella and explained how the public perception was that if Ella couldn’t make her personal life work, then there was no way she was qualified to govern. The majority leader, Maggie, asked her to resign immediately, and if she didn’t, they would censure her for general incompetence, which meant that she would only retain her title without any actual power for the next 14 months. Ella decided to have a word with Bill before making a decision. She asked him for genuine advice as a friend, and he suggested that she must accept the reality of the situation and get out before things got any worse. But if she chose not to comply, then he believed the politicians would make her life hell, since she was pretty much their worst nightmare. But Ella refused to resign simply because she’d always wanted this, and she couldn’t even consider letting go of the job.
During Ella McCay’s ending, Ella decided to negotiate with Maggie. She wasn’t interested in having a long political career; she was more inclined to doing something meaningful in the short time he had. So, Ella proposed that they pass the bills she’d been working on, and she promised she wouldn’t run as an independent contestant. If they didn’t agree to her proposal, then she would stand for elections, and it was quite evident that the majority leader feared that Ella had some fans who would vote for her. Ella knew she wouldn’t win, but if the votes got divided, the party would end up losing. Maggie agreed to the deal, and although she lasted for only three days as a governor, she left a mark.
Did Ella uphold her beliefs?
Ella wanted to provide free dental health care to kids, and the dental association supported her mission, so with Maggie’s help, she got it approved. She’d discovered that in rural areas, the dental health of kids was a concern, especially because of the large amount of soda they consumed. Her cost-free program involved appointing tooth tutors, aka local volunteers, to go door to door and provide free tooth care kits sponsored by toothpaste companies. Three times a year, dentists showed up in these areas to conduct free dental checkups. According to Ella’s data, it was believed that such a program could help individuals become confident and it could result in an increased graduation rate. The Moms Bill was also passed, aiming to provide support to moms-to-be and offer a meaningful preschool experience for children. While phone rooms were usually where elected government officials asked for contributions from potential targets, Ella had set up something similar to a phone room, but instead of asking for money, they would provide legal aid and tenant aid to those who needed it. Ella had a room full of individuals who believed in her vision and did their part to bring a change.
Remember the security person, Nash, who’d always been supportive of Ella? Well, he joined her team, and in the end, he passed on the news to her that they’d prevented over three thousand evictions. Ella and her team celebrated the news; after everything she’d been through, she finally saw a ray of hope. So, what happened to Ryan? Well, Aunt Helen figured he deserved to be punished, so she used her connections, and a government official showed up at Ryan’s store and put up a notice stating that the place had violated sanitation regulations and was marked ‘unfit.’ Ryan protested and removed the notice, resulting in his immediate arrest. By the time he apologized for his mistake, it was a little late. Perhaps Ryan will get away with a strict warning, but the little harassment he faced was nothing compared to what he’d put Ella through. Ryan had it coming! It is safe to assume that Ella and Ryan parted ways, and Ella was completely focused on making the world a better place to live in, and who knows she might fall in love again, maybe with Nash? Well, you never know!
