"Even more glaring is the fact that its protagonist, played by Emma Mackey, becomes the de facto Anyparty governor of Anytown, USA her political party is never identified, the state she lives and serves in is never named. The revisionist non-specificity demonstrates zero interest in meeting The Moment, though plenty of other films released this year have at least attempted to engage with it more directly."
"But before seeing Ella McCay, I'd been mulling what it even means for a film to be "successful" in tackling sociopolitical issues in this climate, when each new day conjures up utterly ridiculous and dystopian realities just as bizarre as any screenwriter might possibly imagine, if not more so. Brooks' film at least makes clear what definitely doesn't work in this space: nostalgia, and a posturing of neutrality."
In 2025 James L. Brooks released a political rom-dramedy that looks back to 2008 through wistful, Obamacore-colored eyes. The film features a strong ensemble but demonstrates major flaws: anachronistic nostalgia, deliberate political vagueness, and a protagonist whose party and state are never identified. The movie's revisionist non-specificity refuses to confront contemporary sociopolitical urgency and defaults to neutrality. Other 2025 films showed a mixed response to the political moment, with some mainstream titles offering simplified anti-authoritarian catharsis while other films more directly engaged complexities. Evaluating political filmmaking remains subjective and depends on how filmmakers meet or skirt the demands of the moment.
Read at www.npr.org
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