True love is forever, so it’s apt that romantic comedies— be it Powell and Pressburger’s 1946 classic A Matter of Life and Death, Warren Beatty and Buck Henry’s 1978 fantasy Heaven Can Wait, or Albert Brooks’ 1991 gem Defending Your Life—have long investigated their favorite subject via stories about the afterlife. remiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in advance of its November 14 theatrical release,
David Freyne’s Eternity, which just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in advance of its Nov. 14 theatrical release, carries on that tradition with the amusing tale of a deceased woman who, at a post-life waystation, must choose to spend the rest of time with one of her two husbands.
Snappy, sweet, and moving, this crowd-pleasing winner starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, and Callum Turner continues the genre’s much-needed revitalization.
Married for 65 years, Larry (Barry Primus) and Joan (Betty Buckley) are a comfortably cantankerous couple, in no small part due to his fondness for complaining. At a gender reveal party for their forthcoming grandchild, they agree to hide Joan’s fatal cancer prognosis. But at the moment his kids pull out an old photograph of Joan with her first spouse Luke (Callum Turner)—who died in the Korean War—Larry chokes on a pretzel and awakens on a train as his younger self (Teller).
At the station, amidst throngs of bewildered people (many in hospital gowns), he’s told to wait for his A.C., which—upon being greeted by that individual, Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph)—he’s informed stands for afterlife coordinator. Larry is stunned to discover that he’s dead, and that his appearance aligns with his happiest age.
He’s even more astonished to learn that there’s no Heaven or Hell; instead, everyone arrives at this “juncture” (comprised of rows of high-rises) and, after visiting an enormous expo hall, watching TV s, and perusing brochures, they select one of the myriad eternities at their disposal.
Eternity earns consistent comedic dividends from these disparate locales, which range from “Famine Free Ireland” and “Weimer World” (“Now with 100 percent less Nazis!”) to “Infantilization Land” and “Man Free World” (which is presently full). For Larry, the idea of a perpetual beach existence sounds like paradise.
The problem is that he only has seven days to make his decision, and he wants to wait for the terminal Joan to arrive so they can depart together. When she shows up (Olsen), she’s thrilled to see her husband. Her joy turns to profound confusion, however, when out of the crowd emerges Luke, looking as dreamy as he did on the day she said goodbye to him.
Luke has delayed shipping off to eternity by taking a job as a bartender, waiting 67 years to reunite with his beloved, and he’s now ready for their happily-ever-after.
This puts Joan in a monumental quandary, and it initiates a competition between Larry and Luke, who couldn’t be more different, the former a crabby good guy with the disposition of a senior citizen, and the latter a swoon-worthy hunk whom everyone—including Joan’s A.C. Ryan (John Early)—thinks is “perfect.”
Joan is overwhelmed to have another chance with Luke, whose memory she’s mourned for decades, and Larry, unsurprisingly, is intimidated by the guy, whom he badmouths for bragging about his service in “the war.” Thanks to some string-pulling, Anna and Ryan devise a unique plan for Joan: before giving her final answer, she can try each of her hubbies out in the eternity of their choosing, although those trips—with Luke to a cold, picturesque mountain, and with Larry to a crowded beach where chairs and umbrellas are in short supply—provide little clarity.
A boozy afternoon spent with her friend Karen (Olga Merediz), who’s just passed away and materialized at the juncture as her 72-year-old self, is similarly unhelpful, and Freyne’s film adds further emotional complications via Archives that allow individuals to watch vivid diorama performances of their happy life highlights.
Eternity boasts trace DNA elements of numerous other works, including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Disney+’s Marvel series Loki, and yet it amalgamates cleverly, imagining a bureaucratic purgatory that’s not quite like any seen before, and a predicament that, at its core, is about the fundamental nature of love.
On one side of Joan’s equation is Luke, the embodiment of young passion and unfulfilled hope. On the other is Larry, her loyal and reliable partner, with whom she experienced virtually all her adult ups and downs. It’s a battle between what could have been and what was, and for Olsen’s protagonist, it’s an impossible dilemma.
Eternity’s conception of the juncture as a train station-cum-hotel is as humorously mundane as its eternity options are inspired, and Pat Cunnane’s smart and silly script keeps things spry, as do the excellent performances of its cast.
Olsen poignantly conveys Joan’s torn-between-two-hubbies panic and fear, both of which are exacerbated by the fact that eternity choices are permanent, with no exceptions. Teller is just as impressive as the aww-shucks Larry, who recognizes Luke’s appeal and yet (understandably, if somewhat arrogantly) can’t believe that Joan might not want him. Teller underplays to appealing effect, and Turner confidently colors the seemingly flawless Luke with small flaws.
Whereas his character could have easily been merely a plot-device obstacle in Larry’s path, the film benefits from taking him and his feelings about this sticky situation seriously.
At 114 minutes, Eternity is a tad overstretched, but it never stops being funny, thanks to its three leads as well as the first-rate Randolph and Early, who simultaneously function as troublemaking meddlers and enthusiastic cheerleaders. Whether dealing with their respective clients or squabbling with each other, Anna and Ryan are precisely the sort of supporting players that rom-coms like this need, interjecting regular goofiness into a story that increasingly wrestles with sincere matters of the heart.
Freyne’s light touch also helps, guaranteeing that the focus remains on his central trio rather than formal showboating or elaborate hereafter whimsicalities.
In another cinematic era, when offerings like it were a multiplex staple, Eternity would have been a surefire date-night hit. Freyne’s film may not reach that status due to forces out of its control, but those hankering for a good laugh and cry will find it an inventive twist on a steadfast template.
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