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By Hanna Rantala
May 21, 2025 – 10:53 AM PDT
CANNES, France (Reuters) – Award-winning actor Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival is a story she hopes will challenge audiences to reconsider their perspectives on forgiveness and empathy, she told Reuters on Wednesday.
“Eleanor the Great”, which is competing in the second-tier ‘Un Certain Regard’ category at Cannes, stars 95-year-old June Squibb as the titular Eleanor, who, due to a case of mistaken identity, tries to pass as a Holocaust survivor as she seeks to make new friends after moving to New York City.
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“It seems to be a theme in today’s world that we’re just very quick to judge and kind of cement our feelings about someone or some event,” said twice Oscar-nominated Johansson.
“It’s limiting.”
The “Black Widow” star’s transition to directing was not planned but came at what she said was the right time.
The script, which she described as “a little gem”, resonated with her immediately, and with Squibb also enthusiastic about its layered humour Johansson felt they had to seize the moment.
“When I began to read the script, I felt the way Scarlett did – that this is something I had to do,” said Squibb, known for 2002’s “About Schmidt” and 2013’s “Nebraska”.
This year’s ‘Un Certain Regard’ category is particularly strong and will pit “Eleanor the Great” against debut films from fellow actors Harris Dickinson and Kristen Stewart, among others.
Critics, however, were tough.
The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars for seriously misjudging the seriousness of the story’s premise, while Variety called the movie, which received a five-minute ovation at its premiere, an unconvincing crowd-pleaser.
Reporting by Hanna Rantala, Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Ed Osmond