Honestly, walking into a theater for Eleanor the Great feels a bit like a setup. You see the poster—a radiant, 94-year-old June Squibb—and you think you’re in for a cozy, "grandma find her groove" New York City romp. But Scarlett Johansson, making her directorial debut here, isn't interested in playing it safe.
She takes the "quirky senior" trope and basically throws it off a skyscraper.
The movie follows Eleanor Morgenstein, a woman who has just lost her best friend of seventy years, Bessie. Grief does weird things to people. For Eleanor, it leads her to move from the humid retirement-trap of Florida back to the chaos of Manhattan to live with her daughter, Lisa (played by a wonderfully frazzled Jessica Hecht). But New York is lonely. It’s loud. And when you’re 94, you’re basically a ghost to everyone under the age of forty.
Then comes the "big lie."
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What Really Happens in Eleanor the Great
While looking for a singing group at a Jewish Community Center, Eleanor wanders into the wrong room. It’s a support group for Holocaust survivors. Instead of correcting the mistake, she starts telling Bessie’s stories as if they were her own.
It’s messy. It’s morally "fucked up," as the screenwriter Tory Kamen has bluntly put it. But in Eleanor’s mind, she’s not stealing a legacy; she’s keeping her dead friend alive. This lie becomes the bridge to an unlikely friendship with Nina (Erin Kellyman), a 19-year-old journalism student who is drowning in her own grief after losing her mother.
The Cast and the Vision
- June Squibb: She is the engine. After Thelma, you’d think we’d seen her range, but here she balances "impish delight" with "gut-wrenching panic."
- Chiwetel Ejiofor: He plays Roger, Nina's father and a news anchor. He’s the one who inadvertently turns Eleanor’s private lie into a public spectacle.
- Scarlett Johansson: Behind the camera, she’s surprisingly restrained. She relies on Hélène Louvart’s cinematography to make NYC feel both intimate and overwhelming.
The Controversy You Might Have Missed
The film has sparked some heated debates. Some critics, like Sarah G. Vincent, have called the central lie "cinematic malpractice." There’s a valid argument there. Using the trauma of the Holocaust as a plot device for a "coming-of-age at 90" story is a massive risk.
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But others argue that’s exactly the point.
The movie isn't trying to say Eleanor is a hero. It’s a character study of a woman so desperate for connection that she commits an unforgivable act. It asks a hard question: Can we find grace for someone who does something truly terrible out of pure, unadulterated loneliness?
Real Facts vs. Movie Fiction
- Directorial Debut: This is indeed Scarlett Johansson's first feature film as a director.
- Original Title: It was originally called Eleanor, Invisible.
- The Writer's Inspiration: Tory Kamen based the character on her real grandmother, Elinore, who moved to NYC at 95. However, the real Elinore never lied about being a survivor. That was a fictional choice to add "grit" and conflict.
Why This Movie Still Matters in 2026
We’re living in an era where intergenerational loneliness is a legitimate epidemic. Eleanor the Great doesn't give you a Hallmark ending where everything is tied up with a bow. The lie comes out. People get hurt.
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But the relationship between Nina and Eleanor is real. The grief they share is real.
If you're planning to watch it, prepare for the tonal shifts. It’ll make you laugh—Squibb’s timing is still lethal—and then it’ll make you deeply uncomfortable. It’s a movie that trusts the audience to handle "shades of gray," which is a rare thing these days.
Actionable Insights for Viewers
- Check the Rating: It’s PG-13, mostly for the heavy themes and some language.
- Look for the Monologue: Pay close attention to the scene where we finally hear the actual story of Bessie (Rita Zohar). It’s the moral anchor of the film.
- Awards Season: Keep an eye on the Best Actress categories. June Squibb is already picking up nominations, including at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards.
Whether you find Eleanor’s actions reprehensible or deeply human, the film is a masterclass in performance. It reminds us that getting older doesn't mean you stop making mistakes. Sometimes, the mistakes just get bigger.