Eleanor the Great

Thoughtful, provocative, and funny, Scarlett Johansson’s feature directorial debut is an affecting character study about storytelling as a means of understanding who we are and the perils of appropriation. Showcasing the singular charisma of 95-year-old Oscar nominee June Squibb (The Humans, TIFF ’21, Nebraska), Eleanor the Great reminds us that it's never too late to get yourself into a whole lot of trouble.

After the death of her best friend and long-time roommate Bessie (Rita Zohar), Eleanor (Squibb) leaves her Florida home for New York City, where she moves in with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) and grandson Max (Will Price). During a visit to the Manhattan Jewish Community Center, Eleanor stumbles her way into a support group for Holocaust survivors and, joining their circle, begins to tell her own story. Except, unbeknownst to everyone listening, it isn't Eleanor’s story — it’s Bessie’s.

The story snares the attention of journalism student Nina (Erin Kellyman), who wants to feature Eleanor in an article. Never one to turn away attention, Eleanor begins to forge a close bond with Nina. But how long will it take before that bond is shattered by the truth?

Written by Tory Kamen, Eleanor the Great takes on the weightiest of subjects with the lightest of touches. Compulsively chatty, ultra-opinionated, and lacking in boundaries, Eleanor is a fascinating heroine and an absolute hoot. Drawing upon her wide-ranging experience as an actor, Johansson focuses her gaze on the intricacies of Squibb’s performance, which exudes a complexity rarely afforded to elderly characters, and keeps us laughing, even through the most uncomfortable of confrontations.