Not quite great, then — but genuinely likeable. Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut never fully settles on what it wants to be, drifting between gentle comedy and heavier material about grief, guilt and reinvention without quite committing to either. The laughs mostly land as faint smiles, and when it reaches for profundity, it starts to plod.
Still, there’s real warmth here. June Squibb carries the film with ease, giving Eleanor enough wit and bruised humanity to keep her worth spending time with, even when the script tidies up the messier edges too neatly. Johansson shows promise behind the camera too, even if the film occasionally feels a little too careful and sanded-down.
A modest, easygoing little film — call it Eleanor the Pretty Good.