A courageous research of lies and belonging [Exclusive]

Introduction to Eleanor the Great

As part of Collider’s exclusive preview event for autumn films, a deeper look is being taken at the film Eleanor the Great, presented by Scarlett Johansson in her brave and disturbing directorial debut based on a script by Tory Came. The film stars June Squibb as a 94-year-old woman who tells a life-changing lie, not to deceive the world, but to have the feeling that she is one of them.

The Story Behind Eleanor the Great

When Tory Came started writing Eleanor, she thought about the different ways people feel like they don’t fit in. She recalled doing this as a child, fabricating stories about cooler friends or pretending to like a terrible band to impress a guy. Ideally, self-confidence occurs, and eventually, you stop bending to the will of others due to a lack of authenticity. This impulse follows us into adulthood, and the need to be accepted can overwrite authenticity.

What is Eleanor the Great About?

The story takes place in New York and follows Eleanor Morgenstein, a sharp pensioner in Florida who moves back in with her daughter and grandson after the death of her best friend, Bessie. Eleanor is encouraged to make connections and stumbles into a trauma survivor group at a local Jewish center, where she pretends to be one of them. As her lie snowballs, she connects with Nina, a young woman dealing with the sudden loss of her mother.

The Complexity of Eleanor’s Character

The role of Eleanor could easily collapse under its own contradictions, but June Squibb makes the impossible intimate. Her performance is layered with default, loneliness, wit, and vulnerability, making Eleanor’s illusions not excusable but heartbreakingly human. When the film references a bat-Mizwa portion about Jacob and Esau, a story of stolen identity, the metaphor ends up feeling like a belly punch.

The Moral Border of the Film

The central imagination of the film, a wife who co-opted the story of a Holocaust survivor, is a minefield. In a time of fake news and misinformation on social media, such a story could easily collapse under its own weight. But Scarlett Johansson and Tory Came do not ask us to forgive Eleanor; they ask us to look closely. The point is not that Eleanor’s actions are forgivable, but that they are understandable, like all human contradictions. It is a moral border that the film carefully navigates.

The Urgent Question of Eleanor the Great

Ultimately, Eleanor the Great is about what happens when the need for acceptance overwrites authenticity. It is an urgent question, and the film does not let you forget it. Eleanor the Great premiered in Cannes this spring and will be on screens at TIFF next month, on September 26, 2025.

Film Details

• Publication Date: September 26, 2025
• Duration: 98 minutes
• Writer: Tory Came
• Producers: Celine Rattray, Charlotte Dauphin, Jessamine Burgum, Jonathan Lia, Kara Durrett, Keenan Flynn, Scarlett Johansson, Trudie Styler