Eleanor The Great – Review

Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 38 minutes, Director – Scarlett Johansson

94-year-old Eleanor (June Squibb) moves in with her family in New York after her Holocaust survivor best friend (Rita Zohar) passes away, however she finds attention, and friendship, when telling Bessie’s story as her own.

I don’t entirely know what it is that the trio of screenwriter Tory Kamen, director Scarlett Johansson (in her directorial debut) and star June Squibb bring to Eleanor The Great that doesn’t bring an air thick with dislike to the titular character, but somehow in her Dear Evan Hansen-esque journey there’s some form of interest and emotional engagement, if not entirely forgiveness, for her. 94-year-old Eleanor (Squibb) has just moved from Florida to New York after the passing of her best friend, Holocaust survivor Bessie (Rita Zohar). While trying to put her in an assisted living space, her daughter, Lisa (Jessica Hecht), signs her up to a Broadway song group at the nearby Jewish Community Centre. However, a friendly interaction outside the wrong room leads her to a Holocaust survivors group.

From here Eleanor tells not her own story, having grown up in Iowa and The Bronx, but that of Bessie’s – told to her in private after a dream taking her back to the trauma of her youth one night. Soon, Eleanor becomes a notable figure for journalism student Nina (Erin Kellyman) – grieving the loss of her mother six months prior which creates a lack of conversation with her newsreader father, Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor) – who wants to write about what she believes to be the nonagenarian’s life.

While scenes between Squibb and Zohar have an emotionally striking nature, as Bessie describes the trauma she faced and relives regularly in her mind, Kellyman often appears as the real heart of the film. Delivering a strong, affecting performance that’s in tune with the until-now held-in grief Nina is holding on to. Often having to excuse herself to find a space to cry at the mention of her mother, Kellyman’s performance is one that grows in person emotional handling as the film goes on and the friendship with Eleanor grows.

When focusing on Eleanor, especially as Roger learns about her and wants to put a story about her on TV, the film certainly has its familiar beats. Despite the surroundings there are occasional scenes which feel somewhat sedate and conventional in their approach to lightness, a tone which itself is no bad thing and in some way helps the film along, especially between heavier moments. Eleanor decides, when attending services at the nearby synagogue, to finally have her Bat Mitzvah, although without telling her family, with the film following the various stands of her recently-started New York life/ lives coming together around this point.

I may not have found myself quite reaching forgiveness for Eleanor and her continuations of telling her best friend’s trauma as her own, uncertainty was the more dominant feeling for good portions of certain scenes. What keeps interest and engagement is perhaps down to Squibb’s central performance which is filled with good-natured compassion and hints of fear of loneliness as a part of aging, even if she is irritatingly patronising to service staff. The relationship that forms with Nina is kind and displays the aforementioned compassion and you genuinely believe the bond between the pair.

Also down to Kellyman’s great performance which might steal the show, especially when given her own moments in the spotlight, but never distracts from who the main character is. One who may conflict every now and then, but is treated in a way that doesn’t make her wholly unlikable, perhaps because of knowing when to show other characters and details of stories so as to still capture the pain and trauma of some of the subject matter at hand without as much sense of deception.

While not unlikable there’s not complete forgiveness towards Eleanor The Great’s lead character. Certain scenes might feel a bit too familiar, but there’s an overall interesting and emotionally engaging course to the film, especially when involving Erin Kellyman’s wonderful supporting turn.