‘Eternity’ Review

‘Eternity’ plays like a mash up of ‘The Good Place’ and ‘The Bachelorette’, the kind of high concept movie thats fantasy conceit heightens its romantic comedy core. Though it runs on a little too long, losing some of its charm as the plot keeps going, ‘Eternity’ is a delightful exploration of how love changes as we age, even through death.

Miles Teller plays Larry Cutler, who after passing away finds himself in his body at 35 years old aboard a mystery train. Upon getting off the train in a bustling hotel, he meets his Afterlife Consultant, Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who lets him know that he has died and must now decide how he would like to spend his eternity. Knowing his wife of 65 years will be joining him soon, Larry is confident that she will arrive and they will decide how they want to spend their afterlives together. But when his wife Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) finally shows up, she and Larry are both shocked to discover Luke (Callum Turner), Joan’s first husband who was killed in the Korean War, has been waiting for his chance to reconnect. Joan must decide between her first or her longest love for the rest of eternity.

‘Eternity’ feels like an homage to Albert Brooks’s ‘Defending Your Life’ in its exploration of love in a mundane, bureaucratic afterlife. Given this inspiration, Larry feels written for an Albert Brooks type – cranky and neurotic, hard to love and yet inexplicably hard to resist. Miles Teller plays against his typical Hollywood-leading-man type delivering a charming performance as a wholesome curmudgeon, with a wonderfully authentic chemistry with Elizabeth Olsen. They move and talk and bicker like an old married couple, adding a layer of comedy to their scenes in the afterlife as they re-adjust to the advantages of youth.

As Luke, Callum Turner gives a layered performance while having perhaps the most fun of anybody in the cast. In his early scenes, he plays Luke as the protagonist of a romance novel, saying all the right things to the point that everybody keeps insisting how perfect he is up until he gets called perfect one too many times and lets out a primal scream, resulting in Anna correctly calling him unhinged instead. Turner elevates Luke with swoon-worthy romance and physical comedy in equal measure without ever losing his allure, such that even Larry understands what all the fuss is about.

As the movie keeps going, it loses more and more of its luster with a series of false endings happening in quick succession that dilute more than enhance the ending. ‘Eternity’ is at its best as a breezy romantic comedy in the Junction, with Da’Vine Joy Randolph and John Early playing up the comedy while also providing warmth and understanding to the entirety of the love triangle. The production design in the Junction is rich, filled with small jokes in each shot as different versions of eternity are marketed and sold like mediocre experiences at a job fair. In comparison, the versions of eternity we do see have a generic, bland beauty that inspires no awe, only boredom. It doesn’t help matters that each time the movie cuts to a different eternity, the comedy is almost entirely sacrificed for dramatic plot contrivances in a ploy to keep the audience guessing as to who Joan will choose.

‘Eternity’ loses steam as it marches towards Joan’s decision, but nonetheless delivers as a clever, lively take on a romantic comedy fantasy. While there are bigger ideas hiding around the margins, ‘Eternity’ never gets too philosophical to be boring, understanding that its fantasy world is only as valuable as the comedic love triangle at its center.

Eternity
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and some strong language.
Running Time: 1 hour and 54 minutes

Director David Freyne
Writers Pat Cunnane, David Freyne
Stars Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, John Early, Olga Merediz, Da’Vine Joy Randolph
Rating PG-13
Running Time 114 Minutes
Genres Romantic Comedy, Drama, Fantasy