“ELEANOR THE GREAT”
Award-winning actress Scarlett Johansson pours out her passion and extensive film experience through her directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great.” Taking into account her status as the highest grossing leading film actor of all time worldwide for her iconic roles such as Black Widow in the colossal Marvel sci-fi series, Johansson deviates from such theme and chooses instead a project that postures uncertainty of becoming a mega box-office hit. Teaming up with Tory Kamen for the screenplay, Johansson confidently plunges herself into the world of directing.
Eleanor the Great unravels a poignant story of a 94-year-old bubbly and cheerful woman, Eleanor Morgenstein, who tries to navigate the lonely and dark state of grief after the death of her best friend, Bessie Stern. Prior to Bessie’s demise, Eleanor would spend long night conversations with her, who, for the most part, would share emotional recollections about her life and her family as a Holocaust survivor. The absence of Bessie in her life puts Eleanor in a heap of melancholy.
In an effort to ease her sorrow, her daughter, Lisa, arranges to bring her to a support group. It turns out to be a wrong kind, landing Eleanor in the midst of a Holocaust survivor meeting. As she harbours a mixed feeling of confusion and dejection in front of strangers, she hides her vulnerability by leaning on her natural vivacity to deal with the situation. Eleanor thrusts herself into assuming the persona of Bessie and feigns the latter’s compelling Holocaust stories as her own. Because of this action, the group warmly welcomes Eleanor as a member, paving the way for her to fit in and find new friends.
Unbeknownst to Lisa, Eleanor carries on with her newfound ‘identity’ and relationship not just with the group, but with a young student journalist, Nina Davis. Her connection with Nina blossoms, putting Eleanor in a quandary to tell the truth. Nevertheless, her apprehension with her secret lie is supplanted with gladness because of her newfound friendship, further reassuring herself to continue being Bessie to Nina and everyone else.
Her pretense seems to work, up until Nina’s father, Roger Davis, becomes fascinated with Eleanor’s ’inspiring’ story, prompting him to feature her on national television. Truth is exposed, and Eleanor’s integrity is compromised. Interestingly, Johansson’s resolution is to let Davis personally deliver a moral preach about fear on national television towards the end, parallelizing his own struggle about grief with that of Eleanor’s. Davis’ words, however, are not on point in addressing the core of the problem. He overlooks Eleanor’s deep-seated sentiment and expects a magnanimous audience to forgive Eleanor because of fear.
Dishonest action is one thing; humane intention is another. Age does not factor in between. While fear may give rise to indiscreet thoughts and actions, Eleanor’s attachment to her dead friend closes the gap between her thoughts and that of Bessie’s. During those profound moments with Bessie, Eleanor imbibes each and every Holocaust narrative that inhabits in her subconscious mind. One may argue that Eleanor’s senescence may amplify the blurred lines created in her memory; but her perceived ‘dishonesty’ ironically pays homage to Bessie’s life by being one of the survivors, a manifestation of the South African principle Ubuntu: “I am because we are.”
Unintentional or not, Johansson puts a spotlight on a recurring universal appeal to the audience in committing to memory all the Holocaust survivors. Eleanor is Bessie; Bessie is all of us. As these remaining Holocaust storytellers start to fade away from this earth, the film invites the viewer to never forget the dark history of the recent past, imploring everyone to be open to the truth and not hide from secrecy and lies.
We are confronted nowadays with disquieting reality that the society we live in characterizes the elderly with passivity. Johansson underscores a young student wanting to build a special relationship with an elderly. This story is often endearing; but at the same time unsheltered to apathy and disinterest from some moviegoers. Regardless of the predictable outcome in dealing with generational issues, the heartwarming dialogue and comedic scenes manage to salvage this film, safely propping the heavy dramatic moments throughout.
The film deliberately utilizes the exact age of the lead star, June Squibb, an approach that aptly incarnates the natural personality of Eleanor. Despite her fragility, Squibb whips her role with finesse and humour. Her spontaneous acting ability speaks highly of in-depth experience that only an actor of her calibre can deliver. This film achieves its purpose if only to highlight Squibb’s talent.
The film features a great line up of actors led by 95-year-old June Squibb who plays Eleanor, supported by multi-awarded actor and director Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, Erin Kellyman, and Rita Zohar. Zohar’s acting stands out, mincing emotionally charged words as Bessie that need no visuals. Given Ejiofor’s excellence in acting, he is under-utilized in this film as Davis, appearing sporadically with only one stretched dialogue delivered towards the end.
One of the producers, Jessamine Burgum, praises Johansson for tackling this theme that resonates with the untold stories of seniors on the big screen. Burgum says that… “it’s really a bold choice for Scarlett to choose such a particular story. And I think this is a very important film because we don’t talk about the way…elderly people live…and I think she managed to catch that with great sensitivity that characterizes her as an actor…it is a courageous story to direct for a first feature…”
In one of her recent interviews, Johansson confided that she got her inspiration to direct a movie early on from the late multi-awarded actor and director Robert Redford when she worked with him in the 1998 epic, “The Horse Whisperer.” Her first crack at directing via “Eleanor the Great” may not be as enormous as that of Redford’s; but tackling a film that speaks of humaneness is certainly heading in the right direction. With Eleanor the Great now added to her own filmography, Johansson has just created her own distinct trail that may potentially lead to her own brand of cinematic greatness. ####
REEL PERSPECTIVE
by Joyne Lavides
UNMASKING SCARLETT JOHANSSON’S
“ELEANOR THE GREAT”
Award-winning actress Scarlett Johansson pours out her passion and extensive film experience through her directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great.” Taking into account her status as the highest grossing leading film actor of all time worldwide for her iconic roles such as Black Widow in the colossal Marvel sci-fi series, Johansson deviates from such theme and chooses instead a project that postures uncertainty of becoming a mega box-office hit. Teaming up with Tory Kamen for the screenplay, Johansson confidently plunges herself into the world of directing.
Eleanor the Great unravels a poignant story of a 94-year-old bubbly and cheerful woman, Eleanor Morgenstein, who tries to navigate the lonely and dark state of grief after the death of her best friend, Bessie Stern. Prior to Bessie’s demise, Eleanor would spend long night conversations with her, who, for the most part, would share emotional recollections about her life and her family as a Holocaust survivor. The absence of Bessie in her life puts Eleanor in a heap of melancholy.
In an effort to ease her sorrow, her daughter, Lisa, arranges to bring her to a support group. It turns out to be a wrong kind, landing Eleanor in the midst of a Holocaust survivor meeting. As she harbours a mixed feeling of confusion and dejection in front of strangers, she hides her vulnerability by leaning on her natural vivacity to deal with the situation. Eleanor thrusts herself into assuming the persona of Bessie and feigns the latter’s compelling Holocaust stories as her own. Because of this action, the group warmly welcomes Eleanor as a member, paving the way for her to fit in and find new friends.
Unbeknownst to Lisa, Eleanor carries on with her newfound ‘identity’ and relationship not just with the group, but with a young student journalist, Nina Davis. Her connection with Nina blossoms, putting Eleanor in a quandary to tell the truth. Nevertheless, her apprehension with her secret lie is supplanted with gladness because of her newfound friendship, further reassuring herself to continue being Bessie to Nina and everyone else.
Her pretense seems to work, up until Nina’s father, Roger Davis, becomes fascinated with Eleanor’s ’inspiring’ story, prompting him to feature her on national television. Truth is exposed, and Eleanor’s integrity is compromised. Interestingly, Johansson’s resolution is to let Davis personally deliver a moral preach about fear on national television towards the end, parallelizing his own struggle about grief with that of Eleanor’s. Davis’ words, however, are not on point in addressing the core of the problem. He overlooks Eleanor’s deep-seated sentiment and expects a magnanimous audience to forgive Eleanor because of fear.
Dishonest action is one thing; humane intention is another. Age does not factor in between. While fear may give rise to indiscreet thoughts and actions, Eleanor’s attachment to her dead friend closes the gap between her thoughts and that of Bessie’s. During those profound moments with Bessie, Eleanor imbibes each and every Holocaust narrative that inhabits in her subconscious mind. One may argue that Eleanor’s senescence may amplify the blurred lines created in her memory; but her perceived ‘dishonesty’ ironically pays homage to Bessie’s life by being one of the survivors, a manifestation of the South African principle Ubuntu: “I am because we are.”
Unintentional or not, Johansson puts a spotlight on a recurring universal appeal to the audience in committing to memory all the Holocaust survivors. Eleanor is Bessie; Bessie is all of us. As these remaining Holocaust storytellers start to fade away from this earth, the film invites the viewer to never forget the dark history of the recent past, imploring everyone to be open to the truth and not hide from secrecy and lies.
We are confronted nowadays with disquieting reality that the society we live in characterizes the elderly with passivity. Johansson underscores a young student wanting to build a special relationship with an elderly. This story is often endearing; but at the same time unsheltered to apathy and disinterest from some moviegoers. Regardless of the predictable outcome in dealing with generational issues, the heartwarming dialogue and comedic scenes manage to salvage this film, safely propping the heavy dramatic moments throughout.
The film deliberately utilizes the exact age of the lead star, June Squibb, an approach that aptly incarnates the natural personality of Eleanor. Despite her fragility, Squibb whips her role with finesse and humour. Her spontaneous acting ability speaks highly of in-depth experience that only an actor of her calibre can deliver. This film achieves its purpose if only to highlight Squibb’s talent.
The film features a great line up of actors led by 95-year-old June Squibb who plays Eleanor, supported by multi-awarded actor and director Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, Erin Kellyman, and Rita Zohar. Zohar’s acting stands out, mincing emotionally charged words as Bessie that need no visuals. Given Ejiofor’s excellence in acting, he is under-utilized in this film as Davis, appearing sporadically with only one stretched dialogue delivered towards the end.
One of the producers, Jessamine Burgum, praises Johansson for tackling this theme that resonates with the untold stories of seniors on the big screen. Burgum says that… “it’s really a bold choice for Scarlett to choose such a particular story. And I think this is a very important film because we don’t talk about the way…elderly people live…and I think she managed to catch that with great sensitivity that characterizes her as an actor…it is a courageous story to direct for a first feature…”
In one of her recent interviews, Johansson confided that she got her inspiration to direct a movie early on from the late multi-awarded actor and director Robert Redford when she worked with him in the 1998 epic, “The Horse Whisperer.” Her first crack at directing via “Eleanor the Great” may not be as enormous as that of Redford’s; but tackling a film that speaks of humaneness is certainly heading in the right direction. With Eleanor the Great now added to her own filmography, Johansson has just created her own distinct trail that may potentially lead to her own brand of cinematic greatness. ####