‘Eternity’ is so much more than a love triangle dramafest

By Gabriel Payne

If you had to choose where to spend the rest of all time, how long would it take you to make that decision? In David Freyne’s “Eternity,” the recently deceased get one week to cement the rest of their eternity. But for Joan Cutler (Elizabeth Olsen), this decision is even more complex and difficult than it initially seems. 

Upon her arrival to the “afterlife,” she is faced with an impossible dilemma. She must choose between her first husband and love of her life lost to war, Luke (Callum Turner), or her second husband of 65 years, Larry (Miles Teller). The film details the competition between the two men to gain an eternity with the love of their life, and Joan’s attempt to discover what her heart truly desires.

This film is such a heartwarming exploration of the themes of love and happiness. In a world obsessed with spectacle, spontaneity and “that sparky kind of love,” the writers are not afraid to loudly proclaim the virtues of simplicity and that cozy sit-in-a-recliner kind of love. 

So much of the advice that Joan receives pushes her to pursue that sparkly love, because that is what everyone around her believes love is. This love is the emotional high of a late summer night, or the adrenaline pumping moment of looking across the table at your favorite person and saying “I love you” for the first time. 

But Joan knows the truth, as she explains to her advisors. “Love isn’t just one happy moment. It’s a million.” Real love, true love, is built by sacrifice and a commitment to wholeheartedly serve another human being. It’s more than raw passion or reckless emotionalism. Any relationship that forms on the foundation of these secondary things will quickly be washed away. 

This film clearly does not get everything right about the world. But it does understand that real love and happiness are built with consistency in the little things, not grand gestures and emotional rushes. Don’t take this as an indication of the way everything gets resolved however. The conclusion is anything but predictable, and the writers handle it in such a delicate and genuine way. Honestly one of this movie’s greatest strengths is how it resolved the driving issue with tact and completeness. 

Aside from the brilliant conclusion and thoughtful thematic elements, this film has plenty of things going for it. The performances from the central characters are all superb and I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Oscar nomination incoming for Elizabeth Olsen. Additionally, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, having plenty of genuinely funny moments. 

The film takes full advantage of the opportunities offered by its concept, showcasing many interesting parts of the world in a natural and entertaining way. It also captures human interactions in a refreshingly authentic way – with each awkward, dramatic and joyful moment feeling totally believable and visceral for the audience.

There are a few issues that take away from the story, with the largest one being the unnecessary crassness. While there are many genuinely funny moments, unfortunately the writers clearly try too hard to make it funny, adding foul jokes that frankly didn’t land. In the world of film today, it is essentially impossible to find a project that doesn’t contain some level of inappropriateness. However it was still disappointing to see the level to which the writers take it for the sake of a laugh and at the expense of the story.

One other minor issue with the story was that certain parts felt rushed or skipped over. Specifically in some of the character development, there seems to be an unexplained switch in mindset or outlook that is not fully explained or given a strong enough reason. This is not the case for all of the character’s stories, but unfortunately a few of the story beats were somewhat lacking in detail.

There is so much more that could be said about this film, from the production to the cinematography to the score, but really anything to be said about these things would proclaim the same message: you should watch this movie. It has such a unique story and from start to finish balances the entertainment component and the artistic component masterfully. I highly recommend and would rate this film a 9/10.

“Eternity” is currently showing in theatres

Gabriel Payne is a junior Mechanical Engineering major whose greatest passion in life is glorifying the Lord, followed closely by some good soul food.

Pictures courtesy of A24 and Star Thrower Entertainment