Written by Annika Marks
Directed by Rich Newey
Starring Annika Marks, Jenny O’Hara, Jane Kaczmarek and Betsy Brandt
Running time: 1 hour and 46 minutes

by Audrey Callerstrom

Natalie (Annika Marks) watches the elderly Eleanor (Jenny O’Hara) sleeping in her hospital bed, hooked up to tubes and machines. A doctor tells Natalie about Eleanor’s heart condition and that, if Eleanor sticks to a good protocol, “she has a good shot.” “At what?” Natalie asks. “Time,” the doctor says. And that’s all that it is, more time. But Eleanor doesn’t want more time. She’s had enough time. She’s lived. She’s been in love. But now, she lives a lonely, monotonous existence in a nursing home ironically named Paradise Lane. She occupies a bed in a shared unit. She stares at the ceiling, waiting to die.

Killing Eleanor is a sweet, original film that looks at end of life head-on through the lens of Natalie, a bitter, manipulative young woman fresh out of rehab. Natalie is taken in by her mother, Martina, played by Jane Kaczmarek (the mom from Malcolm in the Middle), whose warmth and sincerity shines in even a small role. Whenever Natalie tells Martina who her sponsor is, Martina shrieks approvingly, “I’ve always liked that name!” Martina gives Natalie a job at her nail salon, covering for her unexplained return by telling patrons she was on a mission in Nicaragua. Natalie’s father, a doctor (Chris Mulkey) avoids family interaction by hiding behind his phone, claiming work obligations in order to leave the room. Natalie’s older sister, Anya (Betsy Brandt from Breaking Bad) wants Natalie to keep her behavior in check as Anya runs for local office. Anya demands Natalie to agree to regular drug testing. It’s one of those uncomfortable, tense scenes between a family where everyone is talking over one another. Martina snacks nervously while trying to communicate above her shouting daughters. It’s no surprise that Natalie starts using again. One day, Eleanor walks into the nail salon, demanding to see Natalie. When Natalie was a teenager, she stole money from Eleanor while working for her at a lavender farm (a popular crop in Michigan, where the film takes place). Natalie scribbled an IOU on a piece of paper decades ago, which Eleanor clutches in her hand. Eleanor wants Natalie’s help to die on her own terms. “I wanna be still the way I wanna get still,” is how Eleanor puts it. And Natalie, in turn, could use some of Eleanor’s clean urine.

It’s a bit of an outlandish premise, but it unfolds with truth and care. Stephen King once referred to addicts (including himself) as “professional liars,” and that’s an apt descriptor for Natalie. Watch as she fibs her way into the nursing home, creating elaborate scenarios and backstories to get past the front desk. Or when she fabricates a story to her mother about a support group retreat which requires her to go on a road trip. Natalie’s constant lying is practically an art form. Killing Eleanor was written by Marks and directed by Marks’s husband, Rich Newey. Scenes between Eleanor and Natalie are the strongest. These scenes could take place on a bare stage and still carry the same weight. There’s a flow between these two performers, a natural chemistry. Natalie and Eleanor are practically strangers, but they both feel unseen and hopeless, and that makes them allies. In Eleanor, Natalie finds a purpose bigger than herself. In Natalie, Eleanor finds someone who feels they have nothing to lose and is willing to take on a loaded task.  Natalie is not one to make a case for why Eleanor should stay alive, which makes her the perfect person for the task.

All of the actors in Killing Eleanor look like real people. People who wear the same clothes on consecutive days and dress for comfort. Eleanor shows up at the salon in a stiff, faded sweatshirt. Natalie looks like someone who does her own eye makeup. These small touches make the film feel grounded in reality. Some of the other choices are a little questionable. For example, every time Natalie reaches for her tin of pills, drums boom on the soundtrack to create suspense, which cease as soon as Natalie has swallowed another pill. It’s not necessary to create any more drama in these scenes of desperation. Energy dips a little when Natalie drifts toward an inevitable relapse, including an encounter with a young gas station attendant (Jordan Arredondo). O’Hara is a character actress with more than 160 credits to her name, including recurring roles on Transparent and The Mindy Project. She brings humanity and understanding to Eleanor, giving us small morsels of who Eleanor used to be. This is clearly a personal film for Newey, who based it on his experience caring for his elderly father following a stroke. The film gets a little nervous toward its ending, opting to end on a lighter note, but it’s still a funny and authentic telling of a subject most of us would rather ignore. 

Killing Eleanor played at the 2020 Savannah Film Festival and will hopefully be available to watch soon.