Eternity Movie Review
Harkening back to a bygone era of romantic-comedies, Eternity brings the charm, the love, and a lot of laughs to a heightened concept story that not only recaptures a feeling that seems to have been missing from romance movies over the last few decades, but also explores some of life’s deeper and complex questions about relationships and the afterlife.
After being married for over 5 decades, Joan, who has terminal cancer, and Larry, who chokes on a pretzel at a family gender-reveal party, both pass away within a few days of each other. Larry is sadly the first to go, and as a younger version of himself (played by Miles Teller), he arrives at “The Hub” – a hotel/convention style area that is a space between life and the afterlife. Struggling to come to terms with the facts that he has died, and has left Joan to battle her illness alone, Larry is comforted by his Afterlife Coordinator, Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who is there to guide Larry through the tough decision of deciding from the thousands of options of where to spend eternity.
While waiting for Joan so he can make their eternal decision together, Larry befriends bartender Luke (Callum Turner), finding solace in their conversations. When Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) arrives a few days later, the idea of Joan and Larry spending their afterlife together is disrupted upon the discovery that Luke is actually Joan’s first husband, who died incredibly young in the Korean War, as has been waiting 67 years for her to arrive so they can in fact spend their eternity together.
Co-written by David Freyne and Pat Cunnane, Eternity feels like a very special script that manages to capture the charm of a late 90s/early 2000s rom-com – a genre that dominated the film space during that time – but also sincerely explores some deeply human themes around mature relationships, death, and the idea of finding your identity outside of those you have strong connections with. The screenplay’s ability to flow seamlessly between hilarious hijinks and heartstring-pulling emotion is one of the film’s utter strengths.
The heightened concept of The Hub as this in-between where Afterlife Coordinators are like sales reps who are trying to help lost souls find their eternity is also incredibly unique and intriguing. The concept alone is very well explained and portrayed in a fascinating way, but it’s the physical representation of it as this hotel-convention centre hybrid, built on a big studio set, that really immerses the audience into the world. The film looks and feels as big as the ideas it presents, something else that feels lost to a bygone era of movies.
Utilising the acting prowess of Olsen, Teller and Turner also brings a great legitimacy to the drama. These three actors have done comedy before, but they’re not necessarily known as comedic actors, and that works in favour of having all three characters feel like real people, rather than caricatures created for laughs. The comedic and dramatic chemistry between them all heightens the humour, but also brings an authenticity to the relationship drama elements of the story.
Clocking in at just under 2-hours, there is a stretch in the middle of the story that does feel a little too repetitive. The back-and-forth battle between Larry and Luke over Joan is funny, and the lengths they go to in order to win her over goes to extreme places that match the tone of the premise, but the point is made quite quickly, and rather than cutting the middle section down to keep the pace moving, it does bring the story to a slight halt. However, the emotional pay-offs that take place during the third act are warranted and will undoubtedly have the tears flowing.
Capturing the charm of a bygone era of romantic-comedies, and mixing it with a contemporary high concept idea, Eternity is a thoroughly enjoyable time at the movies that will bring the laughs and tears in equal measure.
Eternity is in Australian cinemas December 4
