Scarlett Johansson’s Directorial Debut is a Heartfelt Dramehed with June Squibb

AFTER SPEING DECADES IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, Scarlett Johansson is Stepping Back. The actor has made her director debut with Eleanor the GreatA Heartfelt Dramehedy About a fascinating character that recently Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. IT’S A STUDY, Conventional Project, But It Still Strikes A Chord.

The titular Eleanor is played by june squibb, who continues to prove she has deserted to be a leading lady for years now. Eleanor Lives with Her Best Friend BESSIE (Rita Zohar), and the two so close that they just share a bedroom, going through bit of their days.

That’s why, be bessie wickedly Passes Away, Eleanor is unmoored. It is with Just a Few Short Scene BetWeen, we Still Feel the Deph of their Friendship and the full extent of Eleanor’s Loss. Be Makes Her Next Actions A tiny Bit More Understandable.

Eleanor Moves to New York to be with Her Daughter (Jessica Hecht), Who Loves Her Mother But Wauld Rather and Live in A Retirement Community. Lonely and Looking for a Place to Belong, Eleanor Finds Herself Invited to A Support Group, and Only realis late that it is for Holocaust survivors. She’s Jewish, but was Also Born and Raised in the Midwest.

June Squibb Elevates every part of Eleanor the Great

Johansson has picked a thorny premise for her debut, with a script penned by Tory Kamen. ITH’S PROBABLY TO THE FIL’S ADANTAGE THAT SQUIBB is the person posing this horrible lie, SINCE HER NATURAL Charisma Makes Eleanor Incredibly Endearing. We can see that She, Like so many of us, is just looking for a new Connectionand that she can Also use this as a way to keep bessie’s Memory Alive, Since she was a survivor.

Of coursse, tan being geneerous about her intensities, iTi”s still a horrible lie, and elenor’s hand in it only gets wors you strokes up a Friendship with nina (Erin Kellyman), A Journalism Student Writing an Article Holocaust survivors. Inspired by Eleanor’s (WHICH IS REALLY BESSIE’S) Story, Nina Further Confides in Her Brings Her Attention to Her Newscaster Father (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

Eleanor the Great Has a lightness that it gives it the impression of Being a Straightforward Comedy, but there’s an undercurrent of melancholy. Grief is something virtually all the characters experience, Including nina and her dad. It adds a somber not to the filmbut also an uplifting one. The Heart of this Story is ultimately about connection in the face of trying times.

The inherent optimism in the story is somewhat challenged by the severity of the subject matter. Johansson Smartly Stages IBSIE’s Story is Always Conveyed by Her, Cutting Back to the Night One She Shared All of Experiences with Eleanor. Though the tail end of the each monologue coma from eleant, this is still bessie’s story told in her voice.

Her anecdotes are, naturally, Very Dark, and they do Mark a Strong Tonal Shift That’s a Bit Jarring. Howver, It Also Gives Zohar an Excellent Showcase As She Tearphully Recounts What Happened to Her and Her Family. Kamen’s Script Includes Several Strike Lines that Hit with HardIncluding One Where BESSIE realities she’s the only person alive who knew her Brother.

Eleanor the Great is a well -ononstruted movie and a solid directing for Johansson. It hits all the beats it needs to and tells an impactful story that will not doubt resonate with a good many People; I heard plenty of sniffling at my screening. It is the Kind of Movie You’ve Seen a Thousand Times before, and Will Also Happy Watch a thusand Times.

The Biggest Seling Point Is Squibb. With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she shoots off wisecracks and plenty of Grandmotherly affection, and you almost you are coulued with Eleanor Too. The ending of the film is prety kind to her, all things consider, but consider how well-developed she is, you’re happy to forgive her too.

Eleanor the Great is in theaters on September 26 and Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Release Date

September 26, 2025

Runtime

98 minutes

Wriers

Tory Kamen

Producers

Celine Rattray, Charlotte Dauphin, Jessamine Burgum, Jonathan Lia, Kara Durrett, Keenan Flynn, Scarlett Johansson, Trudie Styler

Pros & Cons

• Scarlett Johansson’s Directing Debut is a Solid, Well-Constructed Project.
• June Squibb Solidifies Her Leading Lady Status with a Wonderful Performance.
• The underlying Message About Grief and Connection is Very Impactful.

• The Darker Tonal Shifts Can Be Hard to Adjust to.
• There isn’t much to make the story truly stand out from oters we’ve before before.