Few movie stars today win over critics and convey Old Hollywood glamour as effortlessly as Scarlett Johansson does, all while seemingly impervious to the industry’s convulsions.
The kind of diverse professional portfolio that Johansson has cultivated can make life more interesting, of course, but it’s also evidence of shrewd, career-sustaining choices.
On Tuesday, Johansson publicly took on another role when she presented her feature directing debut, “Eleanor the Great,” at the Cannes Film Festival.
Playing outside the main lineup, it is the kind of intimately scaled, performance-driven movie that’s ideal for a novice director.
June Squibb stars as the 94-year-old Eleanor, who, soon after the story opens, moves into her daughter’s New York apartment.
Scarlett Johansson is able to effortlessly appeal to critics and exude Old Hollywood glitz, despite appearing to be immune to the industry’s upheavals.
She is forty years old and has spent the majority of her life in the spotlight. She turned ten in 1994, the year that her debut film, “North,” came out; four years later, she was surpassing Robert Redford in “The Horse Whisperer.”. She made a record with Pete Yorn, starred in blockbusters and cult movies, and received a few Oscar nominations in the decades that followed. She also got married three times, most recently to Colin Jost, and had two kids in between her ups and downs.
Naturally, having a varied professional portfolio like Johansson’s can add interest to life, but it also shows that she has made wise, career-sustaining decisions. In a revival of Arthur Miller’s tragedy “A View From the Bridge,” she made her highly acclaimed Broadway debut in 2010. She went on to win a Tony Award. She shot to fame when she donned a bodysuit to play the deadly Russian superspy Black Widow in Marvel’s “Iron Man 2” that same year.
By presenting her feature directing debut, “Eleanor the Great,” at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, Johansson publicly assumed a new role. It’s the kind of small-scale, performance-based film that’s perfect for a new director and plays outside the main lineup.
Shortly after the story begins, June Squibb plays 94-year-old Eleanor, who moves into her daughter’s apartment in New York. When Eleanor unintentionally joins a support group for Holocaust survivors, her life becomes more complicated. A journalism student’s insistence on writing about Eleanor makes matters more difficult. A friendship that is laced with tears and laughter is formed.
The day after “Eleanor the Great” debuted, I had a meeting with Johansson. She made her festival debut in 2005 for “Match Point,” and she made a comeback last year with “Asteroid City.”. This is also where she appears in “The Phoenician Scheme.”. The sky was blue when she stepped onto a hotel terrace with a view of the Mediterranean, despite the fact that it had rained heavily the day of her debut. Johansson was amiable, pleasant, and a little reserved while sitting in a peaceful corner that was shaded by a big umbrella. As we conversed, she wore sunglasses and wore the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen outside of a Tiffany window. She was the epitome of movie stardom.
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