Eleanor the Great
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: September 26, 2025 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
17
Negative:
1

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraDec 12, 2025
The plot is predictable and the look unmemorable, but Johansson has nevertheless crafted a pleasingly old-fashioned character piece with just enough bite to balance its emotion. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesTara BradyDec 11, 2025
The film frantically tries to juggle farce, family comedy and the inherited trauma of the Holocaust. The results are not as egregious as Life Is Beautiful, but too much feels unearned and wildly inappropriate. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicDina KaurSep 25, 2025
Eleanor the Great ties all the loose ends up in a neat bow, with the forgiveness of Eleanor. It's one of the types of movies that you'll watch once and not think about again. Read full review
60
Rolling StoneDavid FearSep 24, 2025
The less enamored of Eleanor the Great you become, however, the more and more thankful you are for the presence of June the Magnificent. There’s a lot of joie de vivre she injects into even the most morose moments, and Squibb knows exactly how to use spoonfuls of sugar to help the regret, the side-eye snark, and the heartache go down. The film’s just good enough. She’s great. Read full review
60
Screen RantRachel LaBonteSep 11, 2025
The biggest selling point is Squibb. With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she shoots off wisecracks and plenty of grandmotherly affection, and you almost wish you could be friends with Eleanor too. Read full review
60
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganMay 21, 2025
At its weakest, there’s a suspicion that Eleanor The Great is leaning into the Holocaust for otherwise unearned emotion, but the piece is clearly genuine, and the cast so strong, it doesn’t linger. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 23, 2026
It doesn’t really work. Read full review
50
Paste MagazineJim VorelSep 25, 2025
With a plot that likewise falls apart under the lightest bit of scrutiny, what we really needed was more judgement of our protagonist, and not less. Read full review
50
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonSep 25, 2025
There’s enough in Eleanor the Great to still make it watchable, especially the genuinely moving intergenerational connection between two women who need each other to move past their particular grief. If only the world around them had been developed more carefully, too. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshSep 25, 2025
Johansson’s direction is serviceable if unremarkable, and one has to wonder why this particular script spoke to her as a directorial debut. Though it is morally complex and modest in scope, it doesn’t dive deep enough into the nuance here, opting for surface-level emotional revelations. It’s Squibb’s performance and appealing screen presence that enables this all to work — if it does. Read full review
50
The Daily BeastNick SchagerSep 23, 2025
A misguided wannabe-uplifting saga about grief, forgiveness, and keeping important memories alive. Read full review
50
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodMay 21, 2025
The film’s saving grace, of course, is Squibb. When the movie needs her the most, she delivers. She brings the laughs and – almost – gives the film the emotional ending it’s aiming for. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeMay 21, 2025
The film lurches between comic set pieces and more dramatic beats, and while Johansson proves a competent helmer, it’s not enough to overcome some dizzying tonal imbalances. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubTim GriersonSep 25, 2025
This tonally tricky comedy-drama tackles aging, loss, the Holocaust, Jewishness, and the difficulty of determining the truth in a fake-news world. But Johansson’s well-meaning film couldn’t be more aggravating, and its biggest problem is its insistence that we find Eleanor so damn endearing, no matter what. Read full review
40
Little White LiesHannah StrongDec 12, 2025
The images within the film are too general and familiar – there is nothing new about what Johansson is attempting in her directorial debut, which leads one to wonder why she bothered making it at all. It’s not a disastrous film – in fact, it’s quite inoffensive. But this glaring niceness reflects a crucial lack of ambition, and that seems more egregious than taking a big swing. Read full review
40
VarietyOwen GleibermanMay 21, 2025
Johansson, however, while she does a perfectly efficient job of directing, doesn’t hone the tone of her scenes. She keeps the whole thing earnest and rather neutral in a plot-driven way, with Squibb as her wild card. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 21, 2025
This frankly odd film is misjudged and naive about the implications of its Holocaust theme. Its bland, TV-movie tone of sentimentality fails to accommodate the existential nightmare of the main plot strand, or indeed the subordinate question of when and whether to put your elderly parent in a care home. Read full review
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