Scarlett Johansson's Eleanor The Great explores grief and deception in a bold directorial debut

Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut, Eleanor The Great, arrives in cinemas on 26 September 2025. The film centres on Eleanor Morgenstein, a sharp-tongued 90-year-old played by June Squibb, who makes a shocking choice after losing her closest friend. Blending dark humour with heavy themes, the story examines grief, deception, and the blurred line between memory and fabrication.

Johansson dedicated the project to her own grandmother, also named Eleanor, shaping a narrative about ageing, Jewish identity, and the weight of the past. Set in both Los Angeles and New York, the film follows its protagonist as she navigates loss—and the unexpected consequences of a lie that spirals far beyond her control.

Eleanor shares a tiny Los Angeles flat with Bessie, her best friend of 70 years and roommate of over a decade. Their bond is deep, but Bessie's nights are haunted by nightmares of her childhood in Poland, where she barely survived the concentration camps. When Bessie dies, Eleanor's world collapses. Grieving and adrift, she moves to New York to live with her daughter, Lisa.

Struggling to connect in her new surroundings, Eleanor stumbles into a Holocaust survivors' support group. There, she begins recounting Bessie's traumatic memories as her own. The fabrication brings her unexpected warmth—particularly from Nina, a young journalism student who befriends her. But the lie grows when Nina's father, Roger, a TV producer, takes an interest in turning Eleanor's 'story' into a broadcast special.

The film traces how far Eleanor's deception spreads, questioning whether her actions stem from sorrow, loneliness, or something darker. Johansson, drawing on her roles in Black Widow and Jojo Rabbit, crafts a story that balances biting wit with raw emotion. Themes of truth in a 'fake-news' era collide with intimate portraits of ageing, Jewish heritage, and the lengths people go to for connection.

June Squibb's performance as Eleanor anchors the film, portraying a woman whose sarcasm masks vulnerability. As the lie unravels, the story forces both the character and the audience to confront uncomfortable questions: How much of ourselves do we invent to belong? And at what cost?

Eleanor The Great leaves its characters—and its viewers—grappling with the fallout of a lie that began as grief but took on a life of its own. The film does not offer easy answers about Eleanor's motives or the morality of her choices. Instead, it presents a complicated woman whose actions force a reckoning with memory, truth, and the stories we tell to survive.

With its 26 September release, the project marks Johansson's shift from actor to director, tackling weighty subjects through a lens that is both personal and provocative. The story's exploration of ageing, loss, and the Holocaust resonates long after the credits roll, grounded in Squibb's unflinching portrayal of a woman who refused to fade quietly.