After a devastating loss, witty and proudly troublesome Eleanor Morgenstein, 94, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own.
Pam says:
June Squibb (I want to be her when I grow up) stars in Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut “Eleanor the Great,” and what a remarkable vehicle this proves to be for the veteran actress. We meet Eleanor living a sweet retirement life with her best friend Bessie (Rita Zohar), whose past included surviving the Holocaust. The opening sequences establish a tender friendship between two women who have found solace in each other’s company during their golden years. Squibb brings such authenticity to Eleanor’s contentment that we immediately understand the depth of loss she’ll experience when this peaceful existence is shattered.
After Bessie’s death, Eleanor is lost, finding herself moving back to the city she loved and moves in with her daughter and grandson, both encouraging her to get out there and meet people. Well, she does – but not in the way anyone expected. Attending, inadvertently, a Holocaust survivor’s group, Eleanor takes on her best friend’s story, and Bessie’s story becomes hers. What begins as perhaps a moment of confusion or grief-induced impulse quickly transforms into something much more complex. Squibb navigates this transformation with incredible nuance, showing us a woman who isn’t malicious but rather desperately seeking connection and purpose in her loneliness.
The moral complexity deepens when Eleanor’s assumed story resonates with Nina (Erin Kellyman), a young journalism student and daughter of renowned television anchor Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Kellyman brings a beautiful earnestness to Nina, making her investment in Eleanor’s “story” feel genuine and heartbreaking. The relationship between these two women becomes the emotional core of the film, with Squibb and Kellyman creating a believable intergenerational bond that makes Eleanor’s deception all the more painful to witness.
As the story snowballs, Eleanor finds herself in an impossible moral conundrum: come clean about whose story she is telling and break Nina’s heart and trust, or keep up the ruse which we all know will catch up with her eventually. This is where Johansson’s direction truly shines, as she allows us to walk in Eleanor’s shoes completely. We find ourselves asking what we would do in the same situation, and the answer isn’t as clear-cut as we might initially think. The film doesn’t judge Eleanor harshly; instead, it presents her choices with compassion while never excusing the harm her deception might cause.
Squibb immediately understands the delicate balance required for this role, delivering a performance that’s both heartbreaking and deeply human. She makes Eleanor’s motivations understandable without making them entirely forgivable, creating a character study that lingers long after the credits roll. The supporting performances, particularly from Ejiofor as Nina’s father, add layers of authenticity to this exploration of truth, memory, and the stories we tell ourselves and others.
“Eleanor the Great” is a valiant first attempt behind the camera for Johansson, however, her trust in her actors isn’t evident based on the overwhelming musical score telling us how to feel. Silence speaks volumes and this young director will continue to grow just as her characters in her movie.
3 Stars
Chuck says:
I’m not sure why Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut “Eleanor the Great” didn’t appeal to me. The story from screenwriter Tory Kamen is competent, the cast is solid, and the premise is interesting enough. All of the elements are in place to deliver a feel-good story laced with a healthy dose of social consciousness and yet, there’s something lacking in this well-intentioned movie. (Full disclosure: I’m currently on a diet at the moment so perhaps my blood sugar was low as I watched this. Maybe…)
Eleanor (June Squibb) and Bessie (Rita Zohar) are perfectly suited for one another. The pair of widows are both in their late 80’s. One picks up the other when either is feeling low, they encourage each other to get out of bed each morning, remind one another to take their meds and go out for their morning walk together. Some mornings are earlier than others as Bessie often wakes up frantic, having dreamed of her experiences in the Nazi Concentration Camps where she and her family were held. These memories finally leave her when she dies one morning peacefully in her sleep.
With no options, Eleanor moves to New York City to live with her daughter, Lisa (Jessica Hecht) and grandson, Max (Will Price). Cantankerous and feeling out of place, she visits a Jewish Community Center and sits down in a support group, thinking it is for widows and widowers. Only when its members begin to speak does she realize it is for Holocaust survivors, each still trying to come to terms with their experiences. Unsure of what to do, Eleanor begins to recount Bessie’s experiences, presenting them as her own. Taken by her tale, an NYU journalism student, Nina (Erin Kellyman) observing the group, asks if she can write a paper about her. Lonely and with little else to do, Eleanor agrees.
Of course, her ruse will eventually be undone, but before that occurs, an unlikely friendship develops between writer and subject. Coincidentally, both are grieving, Eleanor for Bessie and Nina for her mother, who recently died. Her journalist father, Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has been too wrapped up in his own grief to recognize his daughter’s suffering. That this subplot isn’t developed more is a gaping hole in Kamen’s script.
This bit of narrative neatness is a bit much. However, the interactions between Squibb and Kellyman are genuine, while their characters are sympathetic, so you’re likely to give this a pass. The performances are fine across the board yet there’s a lack of emotional heft that ultimately undercuts the film. For a movie intent on examining the effects of grief, as well as help document the atrocities of the Holocaust while paying tribute to its victims and survivors, it fails to stick the landing. While I sympathized with all concerned, I wasn’t moved. No tears came nor a pang of conscience over my good fortune. It was simply another movie I needed to watch and share my thoughts about.
At one point, Eleanor consults a rabbi who provides her with the rationale to keep on living her lie. He tells her, “Deception isn’t always a bad thing if the intention is good.” Johannson is hardly deceptive in her approach, but I fear her timidity in pushing her cast to dig deeper emotionally is what ultimately undoes “Eleanor.” Without question, her intentions are good. It’s her delivery that’s lacking.
2 Stars
