94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.3/10
IMDb: 6.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.37/5
Metacritic: 52
TMDB: 6.9/10
Director
Scarlett Johansson
Production
Pinky Promise, Maven Screen Media, These Pictures, Wayfarer Studios, Content Engineers, MacPac Entertainment
Cast
June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, Rita Zohar, Will Price, Lia Lando, Greg Kaston, Michael Everett Johnson, Marcha Kia, Cole Tristan Murphy, Stephen Singer, Vince Edgehill, Luis Castro de Leon, Jacob Flekier, Kathryn Mayer, Cole Ragsdale, Zach Fike Hodges, Jenna Kray, Lauren Klein
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A tender, performance-led grief drama with real warmth and some sharp comic beats, but it sounds uneven in how it handles its more serious material. June Squibb is the main draw, and the film seems to work best as a moving showcase for her presence rather than as a fully seamless whole.
Best for
Viewers who like character-driven dramas about grief and reinvention
Fans of late-in-life lead performances
Audiences open to a bittersweet mix of comedy and emotion
People interested in New York-set stories about found connection
Skip if
You want a tightly controlled or tonally consistent drama
You’re sensitive to awkward or heavy-handed handling of Holocaust-related material
You prefer plot-driven films over performance pieces
You dislike movies that lean into crowd-pleasing sentiment
Overview
Eleanor the Great appears built around a very specific pleasure: watching June Squibb command every scene with wit, bite, and vulnerability. The film’s emotional center is clear enough — a woman in advanced age trying to rebuild a life after loss — and the reviews suggest it can be genuinely funny as well as affecting.
Worth noting
What keeps it from a stronger recommendation is the sense of tonal imbalance. The grief story and the more serious historical material don’t always seem to sit together cleanly, even if the film’s intentions are sincere. That can make it feel a little lopsided, but not without impact.
Bottom line
If you’re drawn to intimate dramas that hinge on a single great performance, this is likely worth your time. If you need the writing to be as precise as the acting, it may land more as a promising debut than a fully satisfying one.
Top Letterboxd reviews
davidehrlich (2★) · 825 likes
still recovering from the bemused shock of realizing what this seemingly cute little June Squibb movie is actually about.
hayden2727 (3★) · 763 likes
June Squibb at 95 years old is out acting most working actors today
jackblimmymon (5★) · 627 likes
my girlfriend wrote this and she made so many people cry so hard :)
leahonfilmm (3★) · 540 likes
i want to be 95 year old june squibb drinking a starbucks frappe on a park bench one day
dede ♡ (3.5★) · 493 likes
i think bessie died peacefully knowing someone knew her story and i think that’s beautiful.
2013 · Drama, Adventure · 1h 55m · R · Curator 8.5/10 (234.6K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, MGM Plus
A wry, humane road movie built around an older protagonist and the dignity of stubbornness.
1981 · Drama, Romance · 1h 49m · PG · Curator 6.6/10 (60.5K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Fandor, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Peacock Premium Plus
A foundational late-life family drama about aging, resentment, and reconciliation.