Film Review: ETERNITY (2025): A Great Idea is Executed Well Thanks to Some Endearing Performances
Eternity Review
Eternity (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by David Freyne, written by Patrick Cunnane and David Freyne and starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, John Early, Christie Burke, Danny Mac, Lucy Turnbull, Olga Merediz, Barry Primus, Betty Buckley, Taliya Brielle Evans, Panta Mosleh, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez and Ryan Beil.
Filmmaker David Freyne’s new film, Eternity, was brimming with the potential to be one of the best films of the year. It, unfortunately, misses the mark by a long stretch thanks to some unfunny side jokes and its lengthy running time, but it still hits the bullseye in the emotional department as it manages to touch the heart with its fascinating and romantic plot developments. This film stars some engaging performers, Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner, in a heavenly love triangle that is caught somewhere between Earth and heaven (or hell), itself.
As the film begins, we meet an elderly couple, Joan (Betty Buckley) and Larry (Barry Primus), who almost get into a car accident when going to a gender reveal baby party. Larry chokes on something he eats and ends up waking up in a younger body (the one of Miles Teller). We’re told that people go to the afterlife in the body that was theirs at the age they were happiest at. Larry’s in a bureaucratic place which he soon definitively realizes is the afterlife. Larry has died and is asked by his Afterlife Coordinator, Anna (Oscar-winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph of The Holdovers), what he prefers his “eternity” to be like and where he wants to spend it. Larry meets a bartender named Luke (Callum Turner) who gives him a breakdown of what these new surroundings are like.
When Larry starts heading somewhere on an escalator, he spots his wife, Joan (now in younger form and played by Elizabeth Olsen), who has died and should make it perfectly easy for Larry to decide that he wants to spend his eternity with her. One problem, though: Joan had an ex-husband who died in the Korean War (it counts) and it turns out to be none other than the bartender, Luke, who has been killing time waiting for Joan to make her appearance in the afterlife. It doesn’t hurt matters for Luke that he’s, arguably, more handsome than Larry.
This is a nearly perfect concept for a romantic comedy and it gets off on the right foot. However, some of the afterlife jokes are in bad taste such as one where a person states that cancer can’t kill somebody twice. There are other alternative afterlife proposals made to new “clients” that also fall flat on their faces. Still, it’s easy to accept the premise and go with it despite this fact.
This movie shifts gears towards a story line regarding which of her ex-husbands Joan will want to spend her own eternity with. It gets boring in the middle and in a section where Joan states she doesn’t want to spend eternity with either of the ex-husbands. Before that, though, there are funny moments. Joan initially doesn’t think it should be a competition when it comes down to who she chooses, but the coordinator, Anna, reminds her that it is exactly that: a competition.
When Eternity works, it does so with flying colors. There’s a memory station where one who has died can go look at old “footage” of their lives and reminisce. Elizabeth Olsen is terrific in these scenes. When the movie doesn’t work, it’s flatter than a newly paved road. There are scenes which barely plod along with any real meaning. However, the movie picks up the slack with the last half hour where the suspense builds as it ups the ante when Joan finally picks a guy and chooses her eternity. But, will it be the right one?
Elizabeth Olsen is certainly charming enough as Joan. She has the qualities of a truly gorgeous movie star. Miles Teller is likable too. Callum Turner’s work is solid, but he never really makes us believe that Joan would choose him over Larry. This movie’s script makes some difficult decisions for Olsen’s Joan and I feel those choices were somewhat implausible. However, they keep the plot interesting as Joan is eventually stuck in an eternity she’s not happy with and she must find a way back to her true love.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph is the real scene-stealer as Anna who cracks zingy one-liners at an appropriately high-level pace. As one of her colleagues, Ryan, John Early is excellent as well, adding his own personal flavor to the material. A romance develops between these two Afterlife Coordinators with hysterical results in the laughs department. Randolph and Early strike comic gold in their humorous scenes together here.
While I feel Eternity had all the markings of a wonderful movie, it is ultimately an underachieving picture. That’s because it had such great potential to be a perfect film. Still, let’s call a spade a spade. The movie works as a whole thanks to the emotions it brings to the table. There are tear-jerking moments, for sure, that truly inspire and make the viewer understand the meaning of life and why we’re here on Earth right now. Any movie with that kind of profound impact on its audience is definitely to be recommended. Eternity could have been another It’s a Wonderful Life or Defending Your Life. In the end, it stands on its own as something closer to your basic romantic comedy, only a lot more thought-provoking thanks to its touching conclusion. I liked it, but maybe it could have been more with a little bit of extra polish.
Rating: 7/10
Leave your thoughts on this Eternity review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Apple News, Feedly, Twitter, Faceboo
Related Articles
