Scarlett Johansson, a cinematic powerhouse known for her roles in Marvel blockbusters and indie gems, steps behind the camera for her directorial debut, Eleanor The Great, which premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, per deadline.com. Johansson was moved to tears upon reading the script for the film, a poignant character study starring 94-year-old June Squibb, a rare emotional response she attributes to its themes of forgiveness and human connection.
“It’s about forgiveness,” Johansson told Deadline, reflecting on the story of a lonely woman navigating loss and rediscovery in New York.
Johansson’s journey to directing began at age 12 on the set of Robert Redford’s The Horse Whisperer. Watching Redford’s meticulous craft, she envisioned herself one day calling the shots. Nearly three decades later, that vision materialised with Eleanor The Great, a deeply personal project that premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The film, backed by Johansson’s production company These Pictures, marks her first feature as a director, following a prolific acting career that includes two Oscar nominations, a Tony Award, and collaborations with auteurs like Christopher Nolan, Sofia Coppola, and Wes Anderson.
The script, penned by Tory Kamen, had been languishing for eight years until Johansson’s friend Celine Rattray of Maven Screen Media passed it along. Centred on Eleanor, a nonagenarian grappling with loneliness after her best friend’s death, the story resonated deeply with Johansson. “When I read it, I cried,” she admitted, likening its emotional weight to Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit. The narrative, evoking the intimate indie films of the ‘90s like Crossing Delancey and Living Out Loud, felt like a natural fit for Johansson, who grew up immersed in that era’s independent cinema.
June Squibb, the Oscar-nominated star of Nebraska, anchors the film as Eleanor, joined by Erin Kellyman as Nina, a young student who forms an unlikely bond with her, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jessica Hecht. Shot in New York, the production faced challenges, from paparazzi camped near Taylor Swift’s residence to the physical demands on Squibb, who used a cane to imbue Eleanor with a subtle frailty. Johansson’s decisive leadership—honed through years of navigating Hollywood’s complexities—kept the project on track.
Johansson’s commitment to Eleanor The Great reflects her broader career ethos: defying expectations. From her bold lawsuit against Disney over Black Widow’s release to her public rebuke of OpenAI for mimicking her voice, Johansson has consistently asserted her principles. This resolve carried into her directorial debut, where she championed a small, character-driven story about an elderly woman—a rarity in today’s blockbuster-driven industry. “Scarlett used her capital to make this type of movie,” Kamen noted, highlighting the film’s quiet power.
The story’s emotional core, rooted in themes of forgiveness and Holocaust survivor narratives, struck a personal chord for Johansson, whose Jewish heritage includes family lost to the Holocaust. Collaborating with the USC Shoah Foundation, the film honours the fading stories of a generation. For Squibb, the role mirrored her own late-life move from New York to L.A., while Ejiofor found the script’s exploration of grief and hope profoundly moving.
Premiering at Cannes, Eleanor The Great fulfills Johansson’s dream of seeing Squibb walk the red carpet. •Featured image by Andrew Zaeh for Deadline
