A24’s Eternity is the romcom that romance lovers have yearned for and found. The film follows Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) who is forced to decide where to spend eternity after she dies. She is stuck between her first love Luke, (Callum Turner) who died 67 years prior, and Larry (Miles Teller) her husband of 65 years.
The movie abandons the concept of religious promised lands and underworlds. Their version offers every deceased person a chance to choose the afterlife of their desires. With the help of their “afterlife coordinators,” each soul has one week to make their choice. There is only one exception, and that is to take a job in the spiritual junction.
Joan’s uncertainty about whom to choose stems from her abrupt breakup with Luke, who died in the Korean War. Instead of choosing his eternal path, he spends six decades working as a bartender in their fictional limbo, waiting to reunite with Joan.
Their reunion gives Joan a chance to confront the “what if” that has lingered in her consciousness since his death.
The romance is the heart of the film, but the comedic timing from each actor is what drives it home.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph and John Early steal the show as the afterlife coordinators assigned to help guide Joan and Larry. Their clever one-liners and ping-pong style of banter land perfectly with Olsen and Teller’s quick-witted duo.
Turner also did a great job at keeping up with the movie’s comedy style while staying true to the “serious lover” arc of his character. It helps that Luke and Larry have a bromantic moment where they bond over their commonality of how emotionally terrible the situation is. Let’s be honest: while Joan is having a hard time sorting out her feelings, it’s not an ideal situation for either man.
In most romcoms, they use comedy as a device to keep the tone lighthearted. However, in Eternity, it symbolizes Joan and Larry’s compatibility and showcases the familiarity they have with one another.
The story is more than a typical love triangle where a character decides who she loves more. It also shows her decision is more complicated than choosing between stability and passion. For Joan, her love for both men doesn’t take away from the other. Instead, it emphasizes how it coincides with the person she was at different points in her life. Altogether, the movie signifies the emotional complexity of coming to terms with your past and present self.
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