There is a lovely story of friendship, grief, and starting over at the heart of Eleanor the Great. The film, directed by Scarlett Johansson in her feature debut, gets tangled in a plot contrivance that is, at best, unnecessary and at worst, loathsome.

That’s the problem with the elevator pitch mentality, though. A story about a 90-something trying to make friends in a new city might sound a little too simple, a little too straightforward. What if she does so by pretending to be a Holocaust survivor? I’m not kidding.

Eleanor the Great, a Sony Pictures Classics release in theaters Friday, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for “some language, thematic elements and suggestive references.” Running time: 98 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Eleanor is played by June Sq

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