When CultureMap Dallas published an investigative story about accused murderer Michele Williams, it got the attention of CBS news magazine show 48 Hours. Correspondent Peter Van Sant and a team of producers flew down to Texas to report in-depth on the case, but they never imagined they'd become a part of it as well.
Williams, dubbed the "Keller Black Widow," is accused of killing her husband, Greg, in cold blood as their daughter slept in the next room. During the course of Van Sant's two-and-a-half-hour jailhouse interview with Williams, she told her side of the story for the first time.
"The Michele Williams case is a succotash of envy, jealousy, hatred and revenge," Peter Van Sant says.
And when she took the stand during her own sentencing hearing a few days later, she withdrew her guilty plea in favor of a jury trial. The Tarrant County DA's office specifically mentioned 48 Hours in its motion to remove her plea deal.
"The Michele Williams case is a succotash of envy, jealousy, hatred and revenge," Van Sant says. "It's unlike any story I have dealt with in years."
The case has taken a number of bizarre twists and turns since CultureMap's first report, and although police have never really considered anyone but Michele as a suspect in Greg's murder, there are several intriguing storylines.
"All the people involved have fascinating back stories. Some might have a motive for murder, and all are spell-binding storytellers. Every one is credible and every one has an important piece of this murder mystery," Van Sant says. "It's like a screenwriter has put this together."
Here's a sneak peek of "Temptation in Texas," airing Saturday May 3 at 9 p.m. on CBS.
Peter Van Sant of CBS news magazine show 48 Hours.
Photo courtesy of 48 Hours
Peter Van Sant of CBS news magazine show 48 Hours.
The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.
The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).
Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.
Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).
Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.
What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.
Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.
Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.
