Eleanor (June Squibb) has a best friend. In fact, she's had one for the past seven decades of her life. With their husbands long dead and their children far from the nest, the lives of Eleanor and Bessie (Rita Zohar) don't just revolve around each other—they're intertwined. They share not just an apartment in Florida, but a room, with its two twin beds side by side and matching headboards. They do everything together: they check bills, clip coupons, go for walks, and, in the dark of certain nights, they tell each other the worst memories of their lives.
Suffice it to say, this relationship has worked. So what happens when the inevitable happens? That's the premise of Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, "Eleanor the Great," which tenderly, yet erratically, examines what happens after losing the most important person in our lives and taking hesitant steps to find someone, if not as important, but equally special, to help fill the void left behind. All of this fits perfectly into the film's overarching (and widely reported) plot, which follows Eleanor as she moves to New York and forms a new friendship with the adorable college student Nina (the delightful Erin Kellyman).
Director: Scarlett Johansson
Writer: Tory Kamen
Stars: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor
But that's not really what "Eleanor the Great" is about.
Written by Tory Kamen, "Eleanor the Great" builds on the initial charm of its relatively optimistic premise—friendship between people of different ages, what a concept!—before adding unexpected and increasingly dark twists. That's not to say the film isn't funny or tender, but there's something much deeper and more uncomfortable at its core, a complex challenge for first-time filmmakers Johansson and Kamen. It doesn't always work, but the attempts to navigate the film's central complications are just as compelling when they don't work, perhaps even more so.
This is what the sassy Eleanor discovers upon returning to New York to live with her adult daughter, Lisa (a delightful Jessica Hecht), and her kind-hearted grandson, Max (Will Price, in a very underdeveloped role): trying something new at any age is difficult, even impossible when you're heartbroken. So, while Eleanor is willing to indulge Lisa and go to the local Jewish community center to sign up for a singing class, she's also going to roll her eyes and probably walk right away, pretending she's not afraid to try anymore.
And when another kind lady, about Eleanor's age, tries to guide her to one of the rooms at the Youth Community Center (JCC), Eleanor feels both curious and confused enough to go with her. It's not singing class. It's a support group for Holocaust survivors, and as we saw from the beginning, Eleanor isn't a Holocaust survivor. But Bessie was, so when Eleanor pretends to be one, simply flippantly assuming Bessie's memories to share with the group (Johansson cast many Holocaust survivors in these roles), she isn't malicious. And when bright-eyed journalism student Nina, present at the group to write an article about them, instantly takes a shine to the obvious star Eleanor, the lonely newcomer lets herself believe her own stories. What harm could it do? We'll find out, and so will Eleanor and Nina.
At first, Eleanor's lie is, well, pretty funny. We can see, through Kamen's sharp writing, Johnasson's precise direction, and Squibb's complex performance, how this could happen. It's harder to see how it could turn out, especially as her bond with Nina strengthens. And what looms over every interaction between Eleanor and Nina? A double whammy: the threat of Eleanor's deception being revealed and the certainty that these two would have been able to connect even without Eleanor's lie.
Both Eleanor and Nina are defined (and confined) by the worst thing that's ever happened to them: well, Nina by the worst thing that's ever happened to her (the still-recent death of her mother), and Eleanor by the worst thing that's ever happened to the person she loves most in the world (and, arguably, the entire world). If you can see how similar those two positions are, you'll probably enjoy the thornier aspects of "Eleanor the Great" and the bigger questions Johansson and Kamen pose in a seemingly gentle adventure.
As Eleanor and Nina venture through the city (Hélène Louvart's warm, natural photography gives the entire film a cozy glow, like a mid-budget studio film of yesteryear), Eleanor's lies grow and soon involve more people, like Nina's father, Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a local news anchor with whom Eleanor has long been in love.
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