ETERNITY Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: David Freyne
Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, John Early, Betty Buckley, Barry Primus, Olga Merediz.
This fantasy romantic comedy about a romantic triangle in the afterlife uses an intriguing premise to kick start the film. It poses the question: where would you choose to spend eternity? And with whom?
When the film opens, we meet Larry (Barry Primus) and Joan (Betty Buckley), who have been married for 67 years. They are an argumentative older couple who are headed to a gender reveal party for a great grandchild. But during the gathering Larry dies after choking on a pretzel that goes down the wrong way.
A younger version of himself (now played by Miles Teller, from Whiplash, etc) awakes on a train and disembarks in a crowded place known as the Junction. He is confused, and when asking for some explanation he is told that his AC will arrive soon. The Junction is apparently a way stop – part railway station, part luxury hotel, part marketplace – where people must choose where they want to spend eternity. The place is like an expo or a marketplace, with lots of display stands and colourful posters advertising many of the various paradises available in which people can spend eternity – from idyllic settings like the beach or the wilderness to specific worlds such as Queer World, Outdoor World, Wine World, Smoker’s World, Studio 54 World, or Man Free World.
He meets Ann (Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, from The Holdovers, etc), his afterlife co-ordinator who acts as his guide through this period. She explains how the choice of final destination is final, and that any attempt to leave that world will result in the person being cast into something called “the void.” Larry is reluctant to choose, preferring to wait around and wait for Joan, who is stricken with cancer, to join him so they can plan their future together. He is given a cramped and tiny apartment in the basement of the luxury apartment block while he waits.
Several days later Joan (now played by Elizabeth Olsen) arrives. Her afterlife coordinator is the perky Ryan (John Early, from tv series The Great North, etc), who is quick to introduce her to her first husband Luke (Callum Turner, from The Boys In The Boat, etc) a soldier who died during the Korean War. Luke has been patiently hanging around the Junction, working as a bar tender, waiting for Joan to turn up, hoping that they can spend the rest of their afterlives together and enjoy the kind of life they had dreamed about.
Now Joan has to make a difficult choice between her first love Luke and Larry, to whom she was married for over 65 years. Because of the special circumstances Joan is allowed to spend a week each with Luke and Larry to sample the various worlds before she makes her decision about which partner she will choose to spend the rest of her afterlife with. But it seems fairly obvious where it is headed and what choice Joan will eventually make.
Eternity is the debut feature script written by Pat Cunnane (the tv series Designated Survivor, etc), and the script was included in the fabled “Black List” of the best unproduced screenplays for 2022. The film explores themes of memory, lost love, second chances and choices, and it contains some interesting ideas. The film and its premise of the bureaucracy of the afterlife is reminiscent of Albert Brooks’ 1991 comic fantasy Defending Your Life. A nice touch is the inclusion of the archives, in which a person can experience a touch of nostalgia by viewing some of the key highlights from their life. However, these archives also seem cheaply done, as their background is just drawings on brown paper, thus lacking the emotional heft they should have carried.
Eternity is the third feature film for Irish writer/director David Freyne (2020’s little seen romcom Dating Amber, etc), and he keeps the tone light. Eternity looks good with some great production design from Zazu Myers to create the Junction and the various worlds on offer in the afterlife. The film has been nicely shot by cinematographer Ruairi O’Brien.
Olsen brings a lot of emotion and empathy to her role. The pairing of Randolph and Early as a bickering pair of rival afterlife coordinators provides some spark and humour. Randolph makes a strong impression in her comedic role and suffuses her larger-than-life character with a genuine sense of warmth. Early clearly has fun with his role. Turner often shows the darker side of the handsome but brash Luke with flashes of anger and disbelief.
Teller is also fine in a light comedic role and has fun channelling his grumpy older self through a younger body. If any filmmaker wants to make a biopic about the late Rock Hudson, who made his name in the 60s and 70s starring in light comedic roles, then Teller would be perfect to play the role; in many shots here he resembles the late great actor.
Eternity offered up an interesting and original concept for a romantic comedy, but somehow it still didn’t quite pull it off for me.
★★★
