Movies are always a reflection of our times, and maybe it’s the chaos of the moment but audiences seem to be wanting light-hearted star-driven romantic comedies again. Whether it’s a film such as Anyone But You, or Celine Song’s Materialists, audiences are into beautiful people falling in love on the big screen. One of the best to emerge recently is David Freyne’s Eternity, a nostalgic, high-concept comedy that could sit neatly alongside the worksOne of the best to emerge recently is David Freyne’s Eternity, a nostalgic, high-concept comedy that could sit neatly alongside the works of Albert Brooks and Ernst Lubitsch. It’s an ambitious effort that is both thought-provoking and a comforting joy, delivered by a trio of gorgeous stars in Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner.
I absolutely love the premise, and I admit to being fearful that it would somehow not be lived up to. But I was very wrong. Freyne, along with co-writer Pat Cunnane, has fully figured out a clever view of the Afterlife. When one dies, it’s not the end. Nor do you go to Heaven or Hell. Instead, you end up in a massive convention center where salespeople try to sell you on the perfect place to spend your eternity. And some of these places are choice: like Cigarette World, Capitalist World, Studio 54 World, Men Free World (it’s always full!!!) or 1930s Germany (now with 100% fewer Nazis!). Basically, if you can think it, it can be your forever place. An AC (Afterlife Consultant) will help guide you. Oh, and you arrive resembling the age when you were at your happiest (not many show up as teens!).
Teller and Olsen play Larry and Joan, whose 65 years of marriage has seen its share of ups and downs. They are argumentative but loving. He’s a bit of a curmudgeon and doesn’t understand the gender reveal party they are attending. He doesn’t have to deal with it for too long, though, because a pretzel (his vice, apparently) causes him to choke to death. He wakes up looking like his younger self, confused, but is helped by his AC, Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), to find his Afterlife. But Larry wants to wait for Joan, who is diagnosed with cancer and should be along to join him shortly. He’s right, it isn’t long before Joan shows up, looking like the most radiant version of herself. However, there’s a problem. Her first husband, war hero Luke (Turner) who died in Korea, has been waiting there 67 years for her to arrive. Uh oh. Now Joan, with the help of her AC Ryan (John Early), who is firmly on Luke’s side, must choose between the two men she’s loved.
Do the stakes get any higher than this? Who do you choose to spend an eternity with? Can you imagine making the wrong choice and being stuck with it? Because there are security measures in place to make sure you can’t switch your afterlife. Try to flee and it’s curtains, into the Void with you. Pretty dark, eh? Still, this is such a fresh spin on the classic love triangle formula. Joan must choose between the comfortable love that she’s known for decades with Larry, or life she never got to have with Luke, someone who seems perfect in every way. For Larry, it’s always been tough to compete with the idyllized memory of Luke. And now when confronted by him, it drives him a little bit nuts.
The assignment is tough for all three actors, embodying younger versions of their characters but still with all of the experience that comes with old age. A really funny scene, of which there are many, finds Larry and Joan indulging in being young again by…doing squats. No back pain! The knees work! For Olsen, she finds different kinds of chemistry with her co-stars, one that’s stable and the other with the passion of youth. Eternity is a surprisingly big movie, with wild swings in emotion, a rapid fire comedic clip, and it forces you to take sides. Are you team Larry or team Luke? It’s just a fun movie to kick back and enjoy.
The final act goes a bit off the rails as Freyne twists and turns the plot to give audiences everything they could want, rather than going with what is most true to the fleshed out characters we’d been happily invested in. Still, Eternity is so much more than it could’ve been. The bar has been set so low that Freyne could’ve been forgiven for not trying that hard. Instead, it’s a callback to when romantic comedies could be witty, thoughtful, zany, and progressive. If there’s an afterlife where those movies still exist, I’ll gladly sign up.
A24 will release Eternity in theaters on November 14th.
