Is there anyone who doesn’t love June Squibb? The 95-year-old Oscar nominee charmed audiences last year with the action-comedy Thelma, and now she’s back and earning early awards buzz for her performance in Eleanor the Great, the directorial debut by someone named…Scarlett Johansson? What’s she ever done?
Eleanor the Great had its world premiere recently at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. Directed by Johansson and written by Tory Kamen, the film stars Squibb as a mischievous woman in her 90s who, following a tragedy, moves to New York and strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 19-year-old student.
Squibb is joined in the cast by Jessica Hecht, Erin Kellyman, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Reviews have been good but unspectacular since it premiered. One can only imagine how difficult this was to get made, a small indie movie directed by but not featuring Johansson. Instead, the lead actress is in her 90s. That said, the tiny-budgeted Thelma made $13M last year, more than quadruple its budget. Like i said, everyone loves June Squibb!
SYNOPSIS: In Eleanor The Great, June Squibb brings to vivid life the witty and proudly troublesome 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein, who after a devastating loss, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own. Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut is a comically poignant exploration of how the stories we hear become the stories we tell.
Eleanor the Great will screen at TIFF next month before hitting theaters on September 26th from Sony Pictures Classics.
