A fun and breezy film on its surface with deep undertones that will leave you pondering life.
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In a scenario where there’s an afterlife and you had to choose between the person you spent your life with and your first love, what would your choice be?
This is the dilemma Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) faces in David Freyne’s Eternity. Having lived a rich life and taken by cancer, she finds herself at the “Junction” – a midway pit stop after death where those who died choose where they want to spend their eternity – facing her recently deceased husband Larry in his prime form (Miles Teller), and her first husband Luke who died in the Korean War (Callum Turner). The decision is never positioned in an easy manner. On one hand is the man she’s spent decades of her life with, and on the other a perfectly sculpted human specimen who spent that same amount of time waiting for her arrival. Each individual is assigned an Afterlife Coordinator who assists with their time in the Junction.
Choosing who you want to spend eternity with is one thing, having to choose where is a whole other. There are unique themes for each eternity – Man-Free World and Surf World for example – the options are enticing as they are endless, promoted like travel packages at a trade fair. The only catch? The decision to enter an eternity is final, and any attempt at leaving would result in banishment to the "Void”.
Because this is no easy choice to make, Joan is granted time to weigh her options and explore the possibilities before giving her definitive answer – testdriving some choice eternities with her suitors. Here is where Eternity gets to flex its romcom strengths for every genre enthusiast, but especially the subset devoted to love triangles. It soars by the prowess of its cast that are every bit captivating to watch in both funny and emotional beats in the film.
Eternity is obsessed with putting Luke on the highest pedestal known to man and we get it –– he’s young, he’s hot, his time with Joan was cut short, leaving a lot of “what if” tension lingering in the air, and did we mention he waited for her for over 60 years? He is perfect. As is Turner for this role.
Larry on the other hand, is a grumpy old jealous man who’s never felt he lived up to Luke’s looming shadow – a characteristic that Teller carries surprisingly well. Stubborn as he is your everyday white male, he loves Joan. He knows Joan.
Both men have very strong arguments for why they should be Joan’s pick, making her hit every mark on the emotional spectrum as the film progresses – a true testament to Olsen’s range as she shoulders most of the weight of the film like a champ.
Like most traditional romcoms, Eternity does not play with ambiguity. It’s a lot like those choose-your-own-adventure tales except it plays you through every scenario and their outcome. The film may feel lengthier than usual because of this but its energy never falters and that’s in part thanks to the mighty forces of John Early and Da’Vine Joy Randolph who play Luke and Larry/Joan’s Afterlife Coordinators Ryan and Anna respectively. Their electric chemistry and comedic timing exude ideal supporting character energy that gives the film a much needed spark when the three leads stumble.
It’s most interesting to see Eternity cop-out with giving us the outcome of choosing the unconventional route but doubling back and doing what you probably didn’t see coming for a modern love story: making the predictable choice.
There is no real obvious choice here and there is where the weight of the film lies – the gravity of the situation and a personal challenge to each of us on our decisiveness and capabilities in weighing options, making for a much more thought-provoking watch than expected. Eternity is a fun and breezy film on its surface, with deep undertones that will leave you pondering life as the credits roll. It also doesn't hurt that the whole cast is exceptionally watchable.
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