Thoughtful, heartfelt, and genuine, those are three words that can be used to describe Scarlett Johansson’s Eleanor the Great (2025).
Films help deliver messages to their audiences, and they help preserve memories as well. In Eleanor the Great, both the memory of the holocaust is reminisced and the idea of moving on after losing a loved one, a forever friend. The idea of being able to function after the loss of someone near and dear to your heart, that’s the film's true purpose.
Written by Hailey Passmore
They do everything together, Eleanor (June Squibb) and Bessie (Rita Zohar). Ever since meeting back at the end of the war, they’ve been inseparable. After both their partners passed, the two have lived together and created a daily routine. Waking each other up, eating breakfast, harassing grocery store employees, or sitting by the beach and enjoying the moment they are in. Nothing could go wrong. That is, until one day, Bessie passes away, leaving Eleanor all alone, lost in the world. When her world changes forever, Eleanor moves back to New York City to be with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) and grandson Max (Will Price). Living in Florida for decades and then up and moving to New York City is hard, but what makes it harder is a separation from your family and no longer having your best friend.
This heartfelt feature directorial debut by Scarlett Johansson is filled with love and compassion. It is a lens into the world of memory. In the most sincere way, Johansson brings a feminine touch to Eleanor the Great, which allows the story to feel gentle and less sorrowful. With Academy Award nominee June Squibb at the helm of the project, Eleanor is a compassionate and sarcastic woman who hides after this tremendous loss. Even in her 90s, she is still learning about the world, and the way in which this is portrayed in Eleanor the Great develops empathy in the viewer.
There is rarely a moment in Eleanor the Great that feels unnecessary. Tory Kamen’s script allows the actors to play with their characters and the scenes to be set. Beautiful flashbacks are carefully threaded through the film, which allow the audience to relive the memories Eleanor is recalling. From taking the script and creating the visuals, Johansson’s directorial decisions do not disappoint.
Settling down in New York after so many years away is difficult for anyone, but when you are so far along in life, it makes it even harder. When her daughter signs her up for a choir group, she enters the building and meets Vera (Lauren Klein) and ends up in a holocaust survivors group. There she feels at home, as close to Bessie as she can be now that she’s gone. Eleanor does not know how to deal with the grief of her friend, nor the experiences Bessie faced as a holocaust survivor. Through her grief, she takes on the life of Bessie and shares her story with the group. Young journalist Nina (Erin Kellyman) is inspired by her story and wants to interview her more personally. Confused and alone, Eleanor takes her up on this offer and sets down a path she cannot see the end of. As the truth fades and she gets deeper into the story, Nina and Eleanor deal with grief together. Nina’s father, Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is distant, but when he hears this story, he wants to help his daughter succeed. Their relationships develop, but to what extent can Eleanor keep this story, this lie, at bay?
Touching performances from Kellyman and Ejiofor as their two characters deal with the loss of a mother and wife. Yet it is the effectiveness of Squibb that remains the most empowering and further examines how talented this woman is. Eleanor commands every room she enters, from her sarcastic remarks to the comedic jokes she slips in, she keeps the audience on their toes and the laughter rupturing in the room. As Eleanor goes deeper into this lie, Squibb’s emotions come front and centre. So late in life, she shows the audience that you never stop learning, and the lesson learned here is the experience of grief and new beginnings combined.
How bad is it to deceive someone? “…if the intentions are pure” is how the film is summarized by its end. Eleanor does not mean to hurt people; she is figuring out how to live in this world, feeling completely alone and isolated. People deal with their grief in mysterious ways. All Eleanor wanted to do was “fill the hole that [Bessie] left,” and that truly is grief, is it not? There is no assigned way to move on, and we never know how we will react when we experience it.
Eleanor the Great is truly a beautiful film at its core, reminiscing about the holocaust while preserving its memory and dealing with difficult human emotions. After its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, it had its Canadian premiere at TIFF on September 8, 2025. It will soon be released in cinemas worldwide, beginning September 26. If you’ve just dealt with a loss or are a fan of June Squibb, be sure to catch Scarlett Johansson’s Eleanor the Great as soon as you can.
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