CANNES, France (AP) 鈥� directorial debut, 鈥淓leanor the Great,鈥� stars as a 94-year-old woman who, out of grief and loneliness, does a terrible thing.
After her best friend (Rita Zohar) dies, Eleanor (Squibb) moves to New York and, after accidentally joining the wrong meeting at the Jewish Community Center, adopts her friend鈥檚 story of Holocaust survival. The film builds toward a moment where Eleanor could be harshly condemned in a public forum, or not.
For Johansson, her movie speaks to the moment.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lack of empathy in the zeitgeist. It鈥檚 obviously a reaction to a lot of things,鈥� says Johansson. 鈥淚t feels to me like forgiveness feels less possible in the environment we鈥檙e in.鈥�
Johansson brought 鈥淓leanor the Great鈥� to the Un Certain Regard sidebar of the this week, unveiling a funny and tender, character-driven, New York-set indie that launches her as a filmmaker. For the 40-year-old star, it's the humble culmination of a dream that's always bounced around in her mind.
鈥淚t has been for most of my career,鈥� Johansson says, meeting at a hotel on the Croisette after a day of junket interviews. 鈥淲hether it was reading something and thinking, 鈥業 can envision this in my mind,鈥� or even being on a production and thinking, 鈥業 am directing some elements of this out of necessity.鈥欌��
Johansson came to Cannes just days after hosting the making for a fairly head-spinning week. 鈥淚t鈥檚 adding to the surrealistic element of the experience,鈥� Johansson says with a smile.
In just over a month鈥檚 time, she'll be back in a 鈥淛urassic World Rebirth.鈥� But even that gig is a product of her own interests. Johansson had been a fan of the 鈥淛urassic Park鈥� movies for years, and simply wanted to be a part of it.
Following her own instincts, and her willingness to fight for them, has been a regular feature of her career recently. She confronted The Walt Disney Co. over pay during the pandemic release of 鈥淏lack Widow,鈥� and won a settlement. When OpenAI launched a voice system called 鈥淪ky鈥� for ChatGPT 4.0 she got the company to take it down.
She's increasingly produced films, including 鈥淓leanor the Great,鈥� 鈥淏lack Widow鈥� and 鈥淔ly Me to the Moon.鈥� After working with an enviable string of directors such as Jonathan Glazer (鈥淯nder the Skin鈥�), Spike Jonze (鈥淗er鈥�), the Coen brothers (鈥淗ail, Caesar!鈥�) and Noah Baumbach (鈥淢arriage Story鈥�), she's become a part of Wes Anderson's troupe. After a standout performance in 鈥淎steroid City,鈥� she appears in 鈥淭he Phoenician Scheme,鈥� which premiered shortly before 鈥淓leanor the Great鈥� in Cannes.
鈥淎t some point, I worked enough that I stopped worrying about not working, or not being relevant 鈥� which is very liberating,鈥� Johansson says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 something all actors feel for a long time until they don鈥檛. I would not have had the confidence to direct this film 10 years ago.鈥�
鈥淲hich isn鈥檛 to say that I don鈥檛 often think many times: What the hell am I doing?鈥� she adds. 鈥淚 have that feeling, still. Certainly doing 鈥楯urassic,鈥� I had many moments where I was like: Am I the right person for this? Is this working? But I just recently saw it and the movie works.鈥�
So does 鈥淓leanor the Great,鈥� which Sony Pictures Classics will release at some future date. That's owed significantly to the performance of Squibb, who, at 95, experienced a Cannes standing ovation alongside Johansson.
鈥淪omething I鈥檒l never forget is holding June in that moment,鈥� says Johansson. 鈥淭he pureness of her joy and her presence in that moment was very touching, I think for everyone in theater. Maybe my way of processing it, too, is through June. It makes it less personal because it鈥檚 hard for me to absorb it all.鈥�
Some parts of 鈥淓leanor the Great鈥� have personal touches, though. After one character says he lives in Staten Island, Squibb's character retorts, 鈥淢y condolences.鈥�
鈥淵eah, I had to apologize to my in-laws for that,鈥� Johansson, who is married to said laughing. 鈥淚 was like: Believe it not, I didn鈥檛 write that line.鈥�
A poster for the 1999 documentary about underground cartoonist R. Crumb, 鈥淐rumb,鈥� also hangs on the wall in one scene, a vague reference, Johansson acknowledges, to her loosely connected 2001 breakthrough film 鈥淕host World.鈥�
鈥淚 was very young when I made that movie. I think I was 15, and the character is supposed to be 18 or 19. When I was a teenager, I often played characters who were a bit older than myself,鈥� Johansson says. 鈥淓ven doing 鈥楲ost in Translation,鈥� I think I was 17 when I made it. I think I was playing someone in their mid-20s.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a funny thing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wonder sometimes if it then feels like I鈥檝e been around so long, that people expect me to be in my 70s now.鈥�
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
