ELEANOR THE GREAT (2025)

September 25, 2025

Greetings again from the darkness. You’ve likely heard the old saying that you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Well, the same goes for a lie … and sometimes even an innocent lie takes on a life of its own and begins to wreak havoc. This happens to Eleanor, and yet we somehow empathize with her in this film that is not just the first screenplay from Tory Kamen, it’s also the first feature film directed by Scarlett Johnansson.

When we first meet Eleanor (June Squibb, fresh off her lead role in THELMA, 2024) and Bessie (Rita Zohar, AMADEUS, 1984), the two elderly ladies are best friends who have lived together for fifteen years or so in Florida. They spend their days regaling each other with stories over coffee, at the beach doing bench exercises, and at home around the kitchen table. We see how much they appreciate and value each other’s friendship. As happens with old friends, Bessie passes away, and 94-year-old Eleanor moves back to New York to live with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht, DAN IN REAL LIFE, 2007) and grandson Max (Will Price, “Goosebumps”).

Despite her age, or perhaps emboldened by it, Eleanor’s sharp tongue too often hits hard, especially when criticizing Lisa. It’s a trip to JCC that erroneously misdirects Eleanor into a support group of Holocaust survivors. Whether she’s embarrassed or just lonely for company, Eleanor doesn’t come clean and instead begins telling Bessie’s stories as if they were her own. One of the group’s observers that day is Nina (Erin Kellyman, THE GREEN KNIGHT, 2021), a university journalism student, who is so moved by Eleanor’s stories that she pesters her to sit for an interview.

Remember that whole thing about a lie taking on a life of its own? Well, Nina and Eleanor become friends, and Eleanor’s wisdom helps Nina deal with a particularly emotional period. Oh, and Nina’s dad, Roger Davies (Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, 2013), is a local TV journalist who sees the potential of taking Eleanor’s stories to a wider audience. It’s truly a mess that Eleanor finds herself in, and if/when the truth comes out, so many could be hurt from her break in trust.

It’s June Squibb’s remarkable performance that elevates this film to one that many will find emotional. Ms. Squibb turns 96 years old this year and now has a couple of strong lead roles to her credit after a terrific career as a character actor (NEBRASKA, 2013). Here, it’s Eleanor’s bond with Nina that’s the heart of the story, and a reminder that sometimes good people do bad things – and those bad things may be driven by good intentions … or even grief. Additionally, we must now recognize Scarlett Johnansson as a filmmaker who can handle complex stories and characters, and deliver entertainment for an audience.

Opens in theaters on September 26, 2025

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

THE SUNLIT NIGHT (2020)

July 16, 2020

 Greetings again from the darkness. The journey to find one’s self is not unique to artists, but for some reason, it’s more cinematically appealing when an artist is involved. In this quirky film from director David Wnendt, with a screenplay Rebecca Dinerstein Knight adapted from her own novel, artists (of varying types) are everywhere. Of course finding one’s self usually involves making peace with this quagmire we call life.

Frances (Jenny Slate, OBVIOUS CHILD, 2014) watches as three snooty art critics denigrate her latest work to the point of humiliation. Her long-time boyfriend dumps her, and she returns home to her parents, both artists. Instead of sympathy from the family, she’s bombarded with news that her sister Gaby (Elise Kibler) is engaged to a man her father loathes, and to top off the family dinner, her parents (Jessica Hecht, David Paymer) announce they are separating. Rather than deal with any of this head-on, Frances accepts an apprenticeship with an artist in north Norway. “Norway, Norway”. Where the sun never sets.

Nils (Fridtjov Saheim) is the personality opposite to talkative, upbeat Frances. He grumps around while escorting her to the trailer she’ll stay in for the summer. The project, seemingly uninspiring, is to paint a local dilapidated barn yellow – inside and out. Nils is under a tight deadline to finish the barn so it (and he) can earn a spot on the map of cultural sites. Close by is a Viking museum and community, where the folks, led by their Chief (Zach Galifianakis), re-create Viking life for tourists (or mostly themselves).

One day Yasha (Alex Sharp, HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES, 2017) shows up. He’s arranging a ceremonial Viking funeral for his beloved father (Olek Krupa). Father and son worked together daily in their bakery and developed a close bond. Sasha’s mother (Gillian Anderson), who left them years ago, unexpectedly shows up for the funeral, hoping to lure him to live with her.

Frances compares everyone she meets to subjects in famous works of art. It’s her way of connecting art to the real world, as well as helping her find a place for people in her world of art. Frances and Yasha are drawn together in their search for direction and meaning, and we are led to believe this connection, no matter how brief or random their crossing of paths might be, helps her in her personal quest.

The cinematography from Martin Ahlgren captures this rarely seen top-of-the-world wonderland, and the landscape is truly something to behold. Ms. Slate is once again top notch in her role. She’s likable and relatable, traits some actors struggle with, but which apparently come natural to her. And while we expect lives to be messy and complicated, we hope for a bit more from our movies. Frances’ home life is drawn straight out of a TV sitcom, and the whole Viking village never really makes sense. It seems Frances is short-changed on all of her relationships here, yet the trip still manages to help her discover something in her art. And that’s just about how life works – really messy right up until something clicks, and then back to messy.

Available on VOD July 17, 2020

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson

ANESTHESIA (2016)

January 7, 2016

anesthesia Greetings again from the darkness. The comparisons to Crash, the 2006 Oscar winner for Best Picture, will be numerous and understandable. However, rather than an expose’ on racial tension, writer/director/actor Tim Blake Nelson turns his pen and lens towards the somewhat less profound, though still fruitful subject matter of suburban angst amidst the educated elite.

An opening featuring a violent mugging on the stoop of a NYC brownstone grabs our attention quickly, and rather than follow the immediate aftermath, we are instead taken back in time to study the characters and events leading to that tragic moment. The tangled web of intertwined stories is made up of no fewer than fifteen different characters, each of whom is impacted by what happens in that opening sequence.

Sam Waterston plays a beloved Columbia University Philosophy Professor who is exceedingly happily married to Glenn Close. Director Tim Blake Nelson plays their son, who is married to Jessica Hecht, and together they have a teenage son and daughter (Ben Konigsberg, Hannah Marks). Michael K Williams plays a big shot attorney who forces his best friend (K Todd Freeman) into drug rehab with a renowned doctor (Yul Vazquez), while Gretchen Mol plays the mother of two daughters and wife of Corey Stoll.

All of the above might seem simple enough, but Mr. Nelson’s script jumbles things up for each character … just like what happens in real life. Waterston discovers that his prized pupil (Kristen Stewart) has psychological issues and needs professional help – just as he decides it’s time to retire from teaching. While their kids are smoking pot and exploring sexual frontiers, Hecht and Nelson are dealing with a medical dilemma. During his rehab, Freeman is quietly confronted by a nurse while being let down by his only friend; and as Ms. Mol turns to the bottle to numb her daily pain, her hubby is making plans with someone else (Mickey Sumner) … and China may or may not play a role. Whew!!

Daily life creates many opportunities. Some of these turn out good, while others seem destined to create pain. It’s that pain … sometimes quite arbitrary … and how we deal with it, which is at the core of these characters and their stories. There is also the always-present quest for truth and search for the meaning of life. We know we are in for a ride when Waterston’s character says “I used to believe in nothing. Now I believe in everything.” Worlds colliding at every turn keep the pace of the film brisk, and the familiar cast of actors allows us to easily accept each of the characters. A bit more polish on the script could have elevated this, but even as is, the film delivers a worthy punch, and has us questioning if we should be “planting cabbages” (Montaigne).

watch the trailer:

 

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Posted by David Ferguson