Directed by Scarlett Johansson | Written by Tony Kamen | 98 min | ▲▲ | Crave
It’s 2025. Fewer and fewer people are still alive who hold first-hand memories of the Second World War and the atrocities of the Holocaust. A lot of good work has gone in to document the testimonials of the survivors, and incredibly moving places like Yad Vashem serve as memorials. The way Hollywood has used the Holocaust as an emotional hook has vacillated widely from effective and meaningful to cheap and exploitative — The Zone of Interest felt like the last word on the whole genre of Holocaust movies, but apparently not. I’ve no doubt Johansson and Kamen’s hearts are in the right place, but their story falls somewhere in the middle of those polarities.
Eleanor (the fantastic June Squibb) had a best friend her whole life, Bessie (Rita Zohar) and they live together in Florida. When Bessie dies, Eleanor moves back to New York and in with her daughter, Lisa (Jessica Hecht), who she treats terribly. By accident, Eleanor finds herself in a support group for Holocaust survivors and tells her story — except it isn’t her story, it’s Bessie’s story. Eleanor isn’t a Holocaust survivor. Eleanor was just lonely and looking for community, she figured it wouldn’t be a big deal if she shared what Bessie told her.
A journalism student Nina (the amazing Erin Kellyman), who is grieving her mother’s recent death, wants to tell Eleanor’s story for a school assignment. No harm in that. You can see where this is going, can’t you? It’s uncomfortable as it is predictable.
The intergenerational friendship is the heart of this thing, along with themes around how people manage grief. Johansson was recently in My Mother’s Wedding, the first feature by actor Kristin Scott Thomas, which also manages the legacy of familial grief — It’s easy to see why Johansson chose now to step behind the camera — and she’s Jewish, so you can also understand the personal appeal of this story. Eleanor’s lie, however, doesn’t work in any way that feels like it does justice to the drama it’s trying to deliver, and the sentiment in the screenplay and the plinky-plink score feels manipulative and disingenuous.
But like Scott Thomas, and so many actors-turned-directors, the excellence here Johansson is able to deliver is in the performances of her cast. Squibb, Kellyman, Hecht, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Nina’s father, they’re all terrific, and the finale, which is largely about forgiveness, earns a tear or two.
