Written by: Pat Cunnane & David Freyne
Starring: Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, John Early, Olga Merediz, Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Rating: [4/5]
No matter the religion, an afterlife filled with peace and a lack of the afflictions of life on Earth exists as one of the most important elements of these practices. The promise of something after death to look forward to, and while they all have differences in their description of it, none work out in the way we see play out in Eternity. An afterlife filled with many rules and big decisions to make for our protagonists as it establishes a love triangle like no other.
After suddenly passing away, Larry (Miles Teller) awakens in an afterlife where he learns he must pick out a particular themed world where he must spend the rest of his existence. He awaits his wife, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen), to arrive so they go into their eternity together. When she does arrive, what felt like an easy next step becomes complicated when Joan’s first husband, Luke (Callum Turner), also has long awaited her as well.
A tremendous and thought-provoking concept, Eternity produces a big what-if scenario for audience members to think through. We have well-defined rules and clear stakes in the enormity of the decision that lies ahead for Joan. The viewpoints of each of these characters contain validity. Larry feels it’s obvious Joan should live forever with him, given they shared a marriage together for many decades. On the other hand, Luke had a short-lived love with Joan because of his dying in a war and has waited many decades for her. It’s not hard to understand their viewpoint and exactly why Joan would struggle in making this decision.
With that said, this film presents a good opportunity to reflect on how they would react in this situation, and it made me personally sympathize with Larry. If I had a multi-decade marriage with my wife and, in the afterlife, she had any hesitation on choosing to spend it with me, the level of heartbreak it would cause me would know no bounds. It just makes sense, but the beauty of the film lies in the tough decision Joan has to make and how the film balances the emotional fortitude and inevitable comedy at the center of it all.
While this big decision lingers, the film deserves credit for the world-building involved in this afterlife. As Larry initially walks through this 70s-style conference locale, we see the various options available for individuals to select where they will spend forever. We see quite the spectrum of various options, and the film includes the possibility of some being put out of commission and others being filled up. The best one displayed included a world specifically advertising no men allowed, and it was completely full and not accepting new entrants. We know exactly why that option had so much popularity. With that world-building, the rules become clear: where once one chooses their eternity, they can no longer go back and change it out for another, as big consequences would be levied. It only further amplifies the reality Joan has before and the choice between the two loves of her life.
This comedic and emotional balance helps the film succeed because at the end of the day, these characters continually put their heart out there with the reality of at least one person walking away heartbroken. Yes, these characters can have their fun and much of the comedy of the film does land; this film contains so many emotionally potent moments between these characters. Something has to give, and Joan needs to make a decision, and one of the better components of this film lies in that each of these individuals, even in the afterlife, has their imperfections and elements that make them lovable. The strong comedy does not take away from the emotional maturity necessary to tell this story, especially in the developments that transpire throughout the film and the ultimate conclusion to make sense.
Leading this film, we have a lovely trio of actors who do exactly what they need to in conveying what their characters represent. Miles Teller portrays Larry, who represents this pretty average husband but the one Joan loved dearly over many years. This, by no means, indicates Teller is some average dude, but he plays opposite Callum Turner, whose character the film rightfully portrays as this complete dream of a man. Teller conveys the natural comedy of this character and displays why Joan loves him, while Turner turns up the charm of Luke and displays that they made a great couple when younger and can continue to do so forever. Then we have the best of the trio in Elizabeth Olsen, who takes on this roller coaster ride of emotion in stride and perfectly encapsulates the struggle of her character. She absolutely thrives as Joan as she displays exactly why these two men would fight so hard to have her choose them.
An easily lovable film, Eternity presents a fun concept and great characters as we follow them and the tough decisions that lay before them. Through this story we get a number of laughs but some moments that may leave audiences in tears. Love has that power, and we see that in full display throughout this film in the way these characters fight for each other and the love they built together over different segments of their lives.
Films with Josh 
