Movie Review: ‘Eleanor the Great’

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Initial Thoughts

(L to R) June Squibb as Eleanor, Rita Zohar as Bessie in ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Like many actors before her, Scarlett Johansson moves from in front of the camera to behind it for her directorial debut, ‘Eleanor the Great.’ And there is talent there: Johansson’s direction is mostly unfussy and she largely stays out of her own way in laying out this intimate comedy-drama.

She’s also aided immensely by another tremendous performance from 95-year-old June Squibb, who’s as irascible and steadfast as she was in her knockout 2024 starring vehicle, ‘Thelma.’ But both the director and her leading lady are let down in part by a script that makes a fatal Hollywood mistake – and all in service about what is occasionally a profound story of loss and remembrance, told in the shadow of the Holocaust but dangerously coming close to undermining it.

Story and Direction

Scarlett Johansson, June Squibb on the set of ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

Eleanor Morgenstern (June Squibb), 94 years old, is widowed yet living contentedly in Florida with her best friend, Bessie (Rita Zohar). But an abrupt change in circumstances forces Eleanor to move to New York City, where she initially moves in with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) and her grandson (Will Price), a scenario with which no one is particularly comfortable.

Feeling adrift and distant from her family, Eleanor wanders into a support group for Holocaust survivors – and begins to tell the story of Bessie, herself a survivor who never shared her experience with anyone but Eleanor, as if it was her own. She attracts the attention of a young journalism student named Nina (Erin Kellyman), who is making a film about the survivors, and soon becomes a friend and mentor to Nina and even meets her father, a local New York news anchor (Chiwetel Ejiofor) – all while her ill-conceived lie takes on a life of its own.

Scarlett Johansson on the set of ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

And that is where Tory Kamen’s script goes wrong: in pretending to have lived Bessie’s life, Eleanor creates a terrible problem that didn’t need to happen. She could easily walk into that survivors’ group, apologize for being in the wrong room, but still offer to talk about her friend Bessie – and perhaps even be welcomed. There’s another version of this movie in which she does that. But her mistake – lying that she herself is the survivor — feels less organic than contrived for the purposes of making this movie, which gives the movie an air of being deliberately manipulative even as it struggles with its tone.

That’s not to say that Johansson and her actors don’t get a number of good moments out of this material. They do, particularly in Eleanor and Bessie’s early scenes together, and later when Eleanor is desperate to salvage the relationships she fosters in New York. The film does also have some poignant meditations on grief and the role of family, and it’s also a nicely realized New York City movie in a year that’s seen some good ones already. But the seriousness of Eleanor’s mistake, and the needlessness of it, clashes with both the darkness of Bessie’s story and the more lighthearted aspects of the film.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) June Squibb as Eleanor, Erin Kellyman as Nina, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Roger in ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Jojo Whilden. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

The cast here is quite strong – and Johansson adds a note of real gravitas by casting real survivors as part of the support group – but this is June Squibb’s show all the way. Despite the script’s problems, which threaten our empathy with Eleanor, Squibb overcomes that with her wit, her candor, and her mix of compassion, heartbreak, and stubbornness, giving this actor another impressive notch in her incredible career renaissance.

Ejiofor and Hecht are good in somewhat underwritten roles, but the other standout is Erin Kellyman as Nina, who is dealing with her own sense of loss and trying to find her way in the world as a young woman. Her intelligence and charisma shine through.

Final Thoughts

(L to R) June Squibb as Eleanor, Erin Kellyman as Nina in ‘Eleanor the Great’. Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

We’ll certainly give Scarlett Johansson kudos for tackling difficult material as a first-time director, and for the inarguable decision to cast June Squibb. But the weight of the subject matter is at odds with the film’s overall tone and aesthetic, plus there are other aspects of the story – like whether Eleanor can rightly be left on her own – that are glossed over. ‘Eleanor the Great’ has its moments, and might even produce some laughs or a lump in the throat, but great it’s not.

‘Eleanor the Great’ receives a score of 65 out of 100.

June Squibb as Eleanor in ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

What is the plot of ‘Eleanor the Great’?

Witty and troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein moves from Florida to New York City following a devastating loss. She soon tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own, while befriending a 19-year-old journalism student.

Who is in the cast of ‘Eleanor the Great’?

• June Squibb as Eleanor Morgenstein
• Erin Kellyman as Nina
• Jessica Hecht as Lisa
• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Roger
• Rita Zohar as Bessie
• Will Price as Max

(L to R) Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb on the set of ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

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