Scarlett Johansson makes her directorial debut with Eleanor the Great, a poignant comedy about an elderly widow who inadvertently claims to be a Holocaust survivor. Eleanor, a nonagenarian from Florida, relocates to New York following the death of her lifelong friend Bessie, a real Holocaust survivor. Mistakenly entering a support group for survivors, Eleanor begins to adopt Bessie’s traumatic memories as her own, leading to unexpected complications.
The film’s production faced challenges when a major financial backer objected to the Holocaust element, requesting Johansson change the story’s premise. Refusing to compromise the film’s core, Johansson lost a significant portion of the $9 million budget. Fortunately, Sony Pictures Classics stepped in, allowing filming to proceed with limited time, particularly as lead actress June Squibb, who had just turned 94, had a narrow availability window.
Johansson drew on her Jewish heritage and personal family history-learning that relatives perished in the Warsaw Ghetto-to approach the material with authenticity. The film includes real Holocaust survivors in key roles, with improvised dialogue reflecting their lived experiences, ensuring both respect and emotional weight.
Johansson has previously acted in Woody Allen films, including Match Point and Scoop, and says her experience working with Allen influenced her confidence behind the camera. While ultimately uplifting, Eleanor the Great explores memory, identity, and the fading eyewitness legacy of the Holocaust, marking a distinctive, deeply personal debut.