US EditionScarlett Johansson, June Squibb say 'Eleanor' encourages communication
The film explores grief and human connection through June Squibb’s character, highlighting compassion and forgiveness, director Scarlett Johansson said.
- Scarlett Johansson released her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, starring June Squibb, which opens in theaters Friday, September 26, 2025.
- The film explores grief and human connection, which Johansson said moved her and combines compassion and forgiveness, while June Squibb said it promotes communication through loss.
- After Bessie's death, Eleanor Morgenstein moves to New York to live with her daughter Lisa and grandson Max, accidentally attends a Holocaust survivors meeting, and the lie grows into Bat Mitzvah plans.
- Reviewers praised June Squibb's performance, singling out her lead turn as a highlight, while Scarlett Johansson cast real Holocaust survivors invited to a New York screening.
- The screenplay debuted out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, and Scarlett Johansson says watching Robert Redford at 13 inspired her directing ambitions.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Scarlett Johansson on taking a role behind the camera
Scarlett Johansson is known the world over for major roles in close to 40 films over the past three decades and is the highest-grossing lead actor in Hollywood. Johansson is now taking on a new role as director. Her debut film, “Eleanor the Great,” is now in theaters. Amna Nawaz sat down with the filmmaker to discuss this latest chapter in her career. It's for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.
‘Eleanor the Great’ Review: Don’t Let the Feel-Good Plotline of Scarlett Johansson’s June Squibb-Starring Directorial Debut Fool You
The film follows an older woman who bonds with a college student, but that's only one part of an ambitious, deep-feeling, and often baffling film.
Scarlett Johansson was “humbled” directing Holocaust survivors
What does the title of “highest-grossing actor of all time” actually mean for a Hollywood star? For Scarlett Johansson, who currently holds that position, it means directing her first feature film without any pressure of achieving box office success. In her directorial debut, “Eleanor The Great,” there’s not an explosion or sex scene in sight, and the lead role is played by 95-year-old actor June Squibb. During this year’s Toronto International …
Friendship, grief, and June Squibb
There is a lovely story of friendship, grief and starting over at the heart of “Eleanor the Great,” but the film, directed by Scarlett Johansson in her feature debut, gets tangled in a plot contrivance that is, at best, unnecessary and at worst, loathsome. That’s the problem with the elevator pitch mentality, though. A story about a 90-something trying to make friends in a new city might sound a little too simple, a little too straightforward. W…
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