Title: Eleanor the Great
MPA Rating: PG-13
Director: Scarlett Johansson
Starring: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

What It Is: Eleanor Morgenstein is 94 years old. She lives with her best friend Bessie (Rota Zohar), a Holocaust survivor. When Bessie passes, Eleanor decides to move back home to New York with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht) and grandson Max (Will Price). Lisa sets Eleanor up with a Jewish women’s choir, but instead Eleanor stumbles into a Holocaust survivors’ meeting. There, she begins to tell a story of survival. It is not her story, but one she believes needs to be told. When young journalism student Nina (Kellyman) hears it, she becomes determined to learn more about this mysterious nonagenarian.

What We Think: June Squibb has never lost it. At 96 years old, she still gives actresses a third of her age a run for their money. It has been over a decade since her Oscar-nominated role in Nebraska, and she has never let up. Speaking of actresses a third her age, this film is directed by one such talent. Scarlett Johansson has a future behind the lens, and I want to see her direct more. Erin Kellyman brings something this film desperately needed: youth. Her exuberance adds real energy and balance. First-time feature screenwriter Tory Kamen crafts a gorgeous script, one that could not really exist in 2025, at least not this version of it. The characters feel like ideals of the people we need more of. A loving daughter coming to grips with grief. A teenager realizing he does not have it all figured out. A woman of nine decades confronting hard truths about herself and her family.

Our Grade: A+, What an absolutely heartwarming and beautiful piece. Amid the hubbub of awards season, this little film may get lost and never fully find its audience, and that would be a real shame. If it does break through, I will be the first guy smiling ear to ear. If you can find this, see it. It is worth every bit of your time, and it pushed our Cry-O-Meter to 3 for the year.