Eleanor The Great: Scarlett Johansson’s Directorial Debut Film in Cannes
Scarlett Johansson has already appeared at Cannes a number of times as an actress, but this year she will walk the Red Carpet as a director. Eleanor the Great , her first feature film, is being presented in the Un Certain Regard selection, and is a tender and humorous depiction of intergenerational female friendship.
At the age of 94, Eleanor Morgenstein leaves Florida to settle in New York, where she befriends a 19-year-old student. This odd duo is reminiscent of Sean Baker’s Starlet and, more recently, Die, My Love by Lynne Ramsay, in their subtle portrayal of a friendship between two women who are polar opposites—or so it seems. The film also explores, through Eleanor, the idea of how a story we’ve heard gradually becomes the story we tell… to the point where it sometimes takes on a life of its own.
The two main characters are played by June Squibb (Nebraska) and Erin Kellyman (Solo: A Star Wars Story), and both give very moving performances.
Scarlett Johansson also directed the 2009 short film These Vagabond Shoes, where Kevin Bacon scours New York City in search of a hot dog from Nathan’s Famous. The two films share a common thread: the filmmaker’s hometown serves as the backdrop, and is almost a character in its own right.
The cast of Eleanor the Great also includes Israeli actress Rita Zohar, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Twelve Years a Slave, Love Actually), and Jessica Hecht (Friends).
Scarlett Johansson, with four actress nominations at Cannes — twice with Woody Allen (Match Point in 2005 and Vicky Cristina Barcelona in 2008), and twice with Wes Anderson (Asteroid City in 2023 and this year in The Phoenician Scheme) — returns to the Croisette to share her own vision in a touching, witty film.
Editor in Chief of Ikon London Magazine, journalist, film producer and founder of The DAFTA Film Awards (The DAFTAs).
