I wanted to catch this one in theaters, and given how quickly movies come and go, especially smaller stories, I decided to see this one last minute and invited Deb to come see it with me. All I knew about the story was that there was an inter-generational friendship between Eleanor and a young college journalism student and a lie. I also knew that there was a Holocaust survivors group in the mix and that this was Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut. It was a very New York City story, right down to the stereotype of New Yorkers moving to Florida when they retire. Sadly, when Eleanor’s roommate passes away, Eleanor is forced to move back to New York and move in with her daughter, who would rather have her in an assisted-living community. Sounds like a fun story, right?!

This is the best way to tell a story that has a lot of serious issues behind it, like generational grief, like losing family and friends, like growing old—You have to do it with humor and more than a little bit of an attitude. Our contemporary culture is so horrible dealing with death and grief or even taking the time to listen to those wondering, “why am I still here and everyone else is gone?” When I heard a character in the movie ask that question I knew that Deb and I would probably require a post-movie conversation. The last five years has been more than a little bumpy road as far as people in our lives making their final exists. Johansson and the cast does such a great job letting the story move forward without contrived drama, none of the characters were two-dimensional and just like life, not everything gets tied together in a pretty bow in the end. Catch it in theaters before it leaves if you can and see it with others whom you care about… that’s kind of the point of the story.  JBB

[Movie viewed on 2025-09-26 at Cinemark Suncoast with Debra Aarens]

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Tags: 2025 movies, Dealing with grief, Eleanor the great, movie review, Scarlett Johansson

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