| Who do you want to spend the rest of your life with? That’s a hard question for some, an easy question for others. But what if it wasn’t just for the rest of your life, but for eternity and you cannot change your mind? That’s part of the basic question posed by Eternity. A romantic comedy which changes the formula up by pitting a current husband vs a deceased husband in the afterlife. | | 2025
Directed by: David Freyne
Screenplay by: Pat Cunnane, David Freyne
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, John Early
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There is certainly a simplicity to the movie, but with so many clever elements, it all adds up to something genuinely funny and refreshingly inventive. For starters, consider the themes and the genre. This is a movie about life and death, but it’s also a romantic comedy, a genre not known for such reflection.
Joan and Larry are driving to their grandkids’ gender reveal party. They’re complaining about society today, bickering about where to live out their final days, and driving way too slow. Larry keeps eating pretzels while driving and Joan hates that. At their kids’ house, they find a photograph of grandma with her handsome first husband who died in the war, and make a joke about trading down. And then Larry chokes on a pretzel and dies.
Larry, now appearing 50 years younger and being played by Miles Teller, takes a while to adjust to where he is, and no wonder; there is a sea of people a lot wearing hospital gowns or suits way too big for them, and they all seem to know where they’re going, except for Larry. Finally, he’s approached by Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) who explains that he is deceased and starts explaining some of the rules of the afterlife, and no it’s not heaven, which does not exist, but it can exist if that is what you want.
My favourite running joke about the afterlife is that everyone arrives wearing what they were wearing when they died, but their physical self is reverted back to when they were happiest in their life. So you see a lot of 10-year-old boys wearing over-sized business suits, you don’t see any teenagers, and very few seniors. This little detail comes back to play multiple roles in the movie.
In reading some post-movie discussions, everyone seems to have a different aspect that they love about the movie. Whether it’s the production design – a funny and inventive image of the afterlife, or the performances – pick any one of the five major actors (Teller, Randolph, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, John Early), they’re all great. Miles Teller and Da’Vine Joy Randolph are my personal standouts, both delivering heartfelt, hilarious, and poignant performances. It has been years since Miles Teller has been this good, Da’Vine Joy Randolph is always this good.
The one aspect I keep coming back to is how each character perfectly fits themselves no matter what era of their life we’re in. You can see how 80-something Larry and 30-something Larry are just aged versions of the same person, not necessarily by appearance but by mannerisms and personality traits. This is especially true for Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) whom we see more of when she’s marrying her first husband Luke (Callum Turner), or getting back on her feet as an independent woman, or reflecting on her nearly 50 years of marriage with kids and grandkids with Larry.
Unfortunately for her, there is only one afterlife and you have to make a choice. Fortunately for us, Eternity has found a funny and creative way to give us the age old love triangle dilemma.
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