ELEANOR THE GREAT (TIFF 2025) – Review by Leslie Combemale
It’s probably true that at this point 95 year old actor June Squibb can do no wrong. She is not only a singular talent, she’s live goals. Just last year she starred in Thelma, in which she did all her own stunts. Now we all have the pleasure of seeing her star shine again onscreen in the title role of Eleanor the Great, Scarlett Johansson’s feature directorial debut.
When we are introduced to Eleanor Morgenstein, she seems kind of mean spirited, to be honest. Bossy and not particularly likable, she and her bestie and housemate Bessie terrorize the neighborhood as much as two ninety-somethings can. Eleanor is Jewish by marriage, but Bessie endured the horrors of the holocaust, losing nearly everyone she loved in the experience.
The worst happens, as is inevitable for 90-somethings, and her lifelong friend Bessie passes away. Eleanor, lonely and grieving, goes to live with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) in New York City. To keep her busy, Lisa signs her up for a class at the JCC. Eleanor mistakenly goes to a Holocaust survivor support group, and before she thinks too much about it, she begins to share Bessie’s holocaust stories, just as Bessie shared them with her, but in the first person. Her lies begin to compound themselves after she strikes up a friendship with aspiring journalist Nina (Erin Kellyman), who wants her to share her story more widely. Nina is grieving her own loss. Not only did she lose her mother to an accident only months before, she has also, in effect, lost her dad, too. Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is so caught up in his own pain that he can’t be present for his daughter.
The whole storyline, and Eleanor’s part in it, is like observing a train wreck happen in slow motion. We know where it’s headed, and no one will come out of it unscathed. Best credit for keeping viewers connected goes to Squibb, of course, but Rita Zohar as Bessie, who retells her stories as seen in Eleanor’s memories, is mesmerizing. Kellyman also shines, especially in her scenes with Squibb, and though Ejiofor is woefully underutilized, he is the focus of one pivotal scene, albeit one during the last part of the movie where the script falls apart a bit.
If Johansson wants to continue to work behind the camera, I hope she considers hiring more women below the line. Her one female department head, DP Hélène Louvart, made some great choices in her cinematography. It’s great that Johansson chose a story centering multiple older women onscreen, and kudos for that! As an A-list performer turning director, though, it would be nice to see her use her influence to move the needle forward by hiring more women as department heads.
3 out of 5 stars
