The indefatigable June Squibb stars in the title role of Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut. She plays Eleanor Morgenstein, a 94-year-old American woman who lives with her best friend, and fellow Jew, Bessie (Rita Zohar) in Florida. Shortly before her death, Bessie tells Eleanor about how she escaped the Nazis but saw her brother killed in the process. Eleanor moves in with her daughter in New York and visiting a Jewish centre for the first film, she goes in the wrong room and finds herself in a holocaust survivors group.
She starts telling Bessie’s story as her own and gets the attention of 19 year old journalism student Nina Davis (Erin Kellyman) who is sitting in on the group as part of her studies. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship and Nina, for the first time, opens up about her Mum who recently passed away.
Although I knew the bare bones of the plot beforehand, I was not prepared for how moving a film this is. I was initially unsure about having Eleanor using someone else’s story rather than having her as a survivor herself, thinking it might just be to create conflict when the truth inevitably comes out. But it is integral to the film’s examination of the processing of grief.
Johansson’s unflashy direction is fine but it is Tony Kamen’s screenplay that stands out. The irascible Eleanor is a great character and there are enough funny moments to lighten what could have been a heavy story. Squibb and Kellyman are both excellent, making the warmth of their friendship very believable. Chiwetel Ejiofor impresses as Nina’s father, who has bottled up his feelings and Elaine Bromka gives a compassionate performance in her brief appearance as the group leader.
This is a gem of a small movie that will get lost amongst the Wickeds and Avatars, but it deserves to be seen.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10