Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut won't bust any boundaries, but it's a satisfying, thought-provoking watch
There’s a well-trodden path in Hollywood of A-list actors trying their hands at directing. Whilst plenty make the attempt, only a rare few succeed. For every Clint Eastwood and Greta Gerwig, there’s a Chris Pine or a Kevin Costner post-Dances with Wolves. Scarlett Johansson is the latest to give it a go with her directorial debut Eleanor the Great. It’s based on a script by writer Tory Kamen, originally called Eleanor, Invisible.
It’s a daring premise for a debut film. The titular Eleanor Morgenstein (played by the incredible June Squibb, still going strong at 96 years old) is an elderly Jewish woman living with her best friend Bessie (Rita Zohar) in Florida. After Bessie passes away, Eleanor moves into her daughter Lisa’s (Jessica Hecht) apartment in Manhattan. Desperately lonely, Eleanor is accidentally invited into a group meeting for Holocaust survivors. She is not a survivor, but her friend Bessie was. In a split-second decision, Eleanor decides to tell Bessie’s story, passing it off as her own. Observing the group is journalism student Nina (Erin Kellyman), still mourning the recent death of her mother. Moved by Eleanor’s tale, she reaches out and the two women begin to form a deep intergenerational friendship. Eleanor’s lie, however, starts to unravel when Nina’s father – acclaimed journalist and news anchor Roger Davis (Chiwetel Ejiofor) – becomes involved.
Setting a film around such a sensitive subject as the Holocaust makes for a tricky tightrope to walk. However, Johansson mostly succeeds in maintaining the right balance between comedy and pathos. Her directorial style is straightforward and unfussy, letting her actors do the heavy lifting. She’s helped by a wonderful central performance from Squibb, whose dynamism and comedic timing remain utterly pitch-perfect, holding the film together.
The other performances are more of a mixed bag. Hecht is good as Eleanor’s exasperated daughter Lisa, whereas Kellyman’s depiction of Nina’s grief frequently drifts into overwrought territory. Ejiofor is a brilliant actor, but his character is a confusing mish-mash of motivations. The climax of the script forces him to deliver a toe-curling, schmaltzy monologue on the nature of grief directly into the camera. Ejiofor reads the whole thing in an affected news-anchor voice, which was impossible to take seriously because it sounded so close to Will Ferrell’s Anchorman. The utterly unsubtle score is desperate to communicate the desired emotion for each scene, rather than letting the audience do the work themselves.
The film does pose interesting questions about loss and loneliness. There’s also a thought-provoking discursion on whether deception can ever be justified under certain circumstances. Eleanor’s rabbi brings up the biblical story of Jacob and Esau, which Eleanor interprets as validation for her adoption of Bessie’s story. Unfortunately, the script tries too hard to provide overly-simplistic answers and ends up feeling pat rather than profound.
It’s a shame, because there’s actually a lot to like here and, despite its limitations, Eleanor the Great offers plenty of evidence that Johansson can make the leap from superstar actor to successful director.
By Barney Pell Scholes
Eleanor the Great is out now. eleanorthegreat.com