Kate Winslet’s directorial debut is a weepy flick drowning in sentimentality, says BRIAN VINER

by

Verdict: Patchy family drama

 

Eleanor The Great (12A, 98 mins

Verdict: Glibly sentimental 

It’s quite a coincidence – or perhaps fitting, given the stars involved – that both Kate Winslet and Scarlett Johansson are making their directorial debuts in films released this week, and both films have titles centered around women.

Okay, look, I wanted to love both “Goodbye June” and “Eleanor the Great,” I really did. I sat down ready to be blown away, and honestly? They were…fine. Watchable, yeah, but they just didn’t quite work for me. I think what really got to me was how overly emotional they both became. It felt like they were trying way too hard to pull at my heartstrings, and it ended up just feeling…much too much. They were good, but ultimately, they just kind of…drowned in all the feelings, you know?

Goodbye June is a tearjerker, taking place at Christmastime, that follows a family as they cope with their mother’s approaching death.

Kate Winslet appeared onstage at the film’s premiere last week with Joe Anders, the screenwriter – and also her son, whose father is the famous director Sam Mendes.

Anders came across as a kind and humble person, and everyone chuckled when he described how his bond with his mother evolved from a simple family connection to a professional partnership as director and writer.

Nonetheless, he’s only 21. He might one day become a garlanded writer and I hope he does. 

It’s fair to say this screenplay made it to the screen more because of who the writer knew than because of the script’s quality. Originally written for a class, it was his mother’s enthusiastic reaction that ultimately helped it get noticed.

The film also featured a fantastic cast alongside Kate Winslet, including Helen Mirren, Timothy Spall, Andrea Riseborough, Toni Collette, and Johnny Flynn.

The dialogue occasionally feels awkward or unrefined, something a more experienced writer might have avoided. However, this doesn’t detract from the film being an impressive achievement for such a young filmmaker, who bravely and directly addresses difficult themes like grief, sibling relationships, and troubled families. Still, the question remains: is it worth seeing in theaters?

Kate Winslet portrays Julia, a highly capable woman who successfully manages both her career and a busy family life, including caring for a child with Down syndrome.

Riseborough plays the younger Molly, who is feisty and argumentative, and has different ideas about how to raise children. Meanwhile, Helen (Collette) is their free-spirited sister, bringing healing crystals to the hospital where their mother, June, is nearing the end of her life.

And that actress is, of course, the brilliant Helen Mirren, who remains incredibly convincing, even while portraying a grandmother battling late-stage cancer.

Fundamentally, this is a film about the women in a family and how they relate to each other. 

The male characters aren’t developed or performed as strongly as the female ones. This is particularly noticeable with Timothy Spall, who plays Bernie, June’s husband – a man who seems forgetful, uncaring, and may be dealing with dementia. It feels almost wrong to criticize Spall’s performance, given his talent.

Spall is usually excellent, but in this case, his performance is excessively dramatic and feels overdone.

Flynn’s portrayal of the sisters’ brother, Connor, feels exaggerated, and Stephen Merchant’s role as Molly’s husband relies too heavily on a stereotypical, foolish West Country character.

Despite the film’s flaws, seeing Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren share the screen is a real pleasure. There are also a few genuinely funny moments, even though it seems the filmmakers were aiming for a more emotional response.

Let’s be gracious and appreciate their invitation. It’s thoughtful of them to share their heartwarming, though perhaps overly sentimental, film with us, and to create a charming world where it always snows on Christmas Day in Cheltenham.

June Squibb stars as Eleanor Morgenstein in “Eleanor the Great,” a film filled with heartwarming moments. Eleanor is a Jewish grandmother living in Florida with her close friend, Bessie, a Holocaust survivor. Bessie is portrayed by Rita Zohar, an Israeli actress who, like her character, escaped the Nazis during the Holocaust.

After Bessie’s passing, Eleanor relocates to New York City to live with her rather formal daughter, Jessica Hecht, and her grandson, Will Price.

One day, at a Jewish community centre, she finds herself pretending that Bessie’s story is hers. 

Eleanor’s deception spirals further when she connects with Nina, a kind and inquisitive journalism student portrayed by the talented Erin Kellyman.

Still mourning the loss of her mother, Nina forms a close bond with Eleanor and introduces her to her father, Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a television host. He quickly realizes that Eleanor’s decision to have a bat mitzvah – a traditional coming-of-age ceremony – would make a compelling and heartwarming story.

The acting is excellent, but the story feels surprisingly superficial when dealing with serious topics like falsely claiming to be a Holocaust survivor, the challenges of caring for elderly parents, and grief. One scene, where Roger shares his feelings on television, is particularly overly sentimental.

The movie also suffers because its main character, Eleanor, isn’t particularly likable. While the film tries to portray her as a lively, protective woman preserving her friend’s legacy, her reasons for doing so feel questionable and less than selfless.

It’s wonderful to celebrate Squibb, who recently turned 96, and her dedication to acting at that age is truly impressive. However, that doesn’t excuse flaws in either Johansson’s first film or the character Squibb plays.

Read More

2025-12-12 04:22