Eternity (2025)
As a romance film, Eternity is odd; the premise actually results in surprisingly minimal on-screen romance, and the movie has a peculiar understanding of couples.
For many who are already in long-term, loving relationships, the film may seem like a misfire from the start, resembling more of a romantic wedge than any sort of ardor.
The film's vision of Eternity is tired. Variations of a waystation/temporal nexus are not an underexplored concept. The film even "borrows heavily" from the aesthetic of other renditions. The film also seems to purposefully avoid making any actual statement or postulation about the afterlife, other than perhaps to say that if there is one, it's probably just as dysfunctional and flawed as life on Earth. This strikes the reviewer as a sort of pointless cynicism, detracting from the film’s romantic core.
Contrasting the setting, the performances range anywhere from good to great. Our key trio perform well, though apart from them, Da'Vine Joy Randolph must be acknowledged for her consistently funny delivery and tone.
Miles Teller and Callum Turner, as Larry and Luke respectively, are at their best when depicted bonding over their shared love for Joan, played by Elizabeth Olsen. Larry's knowledge of Luke and Luke's ignorance of events after his demise in Korea both aid in the effectiveness of this exchange. Larry is afforded the opportunity to declare, “Ah, man. You gotta watch MAS*H!” Ironically, much of the best chemistry in this film is not between romantic couples.
Perhaps more so than romance, the film can be understood as a female-centric drama. However, at times the film goes beyond female-centricity to hostility toward males. One of the idyllic eternities being offered is "Man Free World", with another coming soon. More generally, the husbands are mostly depicted as obstacles, not contributors, to Joan's happiness. These things provide meaningful humor but alienate us from taking Luke and Larry seriously.
Eternity mishandles its LGBT elements through heavy-handedness, which is surprising as the central romances are heterosexual. Luke, despite being presented as completely straight, is mandated to have a couple of past sexual encounters with men. At one point a friend of Joan excessively references her lesbianism with specificity, so much so that it simply becomes strange rather than funny or informative. These elements don’t add anything, but they do follow a larger pattern: shifting the focus away from our story's supposed romantic center.
The conclusion offers resolution for our characters, but persists in its inability to describe or address the state of the afterlife. While mystery as a part of the afterlife is a strength, this film made a point of calling out a high level of dysfunction. Yet, as the story ends, we treat the characters as if they have terminated at an acceptable status quo.
Despite getting some things right in the end, it turns out Eternity is a bit bleak.