What if the ideal afterlife could be found through a choice as arbitrary as picking up the right pamphlet, hearing the right pitch at Exhibition A, or flipping through channels and landing onto a commercial that seems specifically (and almost eerily) made for you? This is the bureaucratic and precise world that director/writer David Freyne and writer Patrick Cunnane construct as the backdrop for one of the most vivid and high-stakes love triangles on-screen this season. At its center is Joan (Elizabeth Olsen), a former librarian who died of cancer, Larry (Miles Teller), her second husband, who passed a few months before her while eating a pretzel, and Luke (Callum Turner), her first husband, who died during the Korean War.
The movie establishes the characters of Larry and Luke well before Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) arrives in the afterlife; its comedic development of the situation feels natural and familiar despite the surreality of “eternity.” In this story, eternity is a prepackaged choice that afterlifers are faced with as soon as the train past death drops them off at the Junction, a hotel villa-esque location, where they are all given a week-long period to make the choice that culminates life and death – what eternity to choose, and crucially, who they will spend it with.
The set design of the Junction is both timeless and modern, a blend of the perfect retirement location and the pinnacle of commercial reprieve. But, this comes at a cost to the characters as they quickly realize sky views are rolled curtains wrapped and unwrapped to allow visitors a manufactured sense of passing time.
Places like the “Archives,” a physical memory lane for afterlifers, makes use of theatrical set designs, staging scenes from visitors’ most poignant moments from their past lives. Through reconstructed environments (a dock at the pier, a car interior, a favorite restaurant, a childhood home) and live performers, these memories reawaken the characters’ deepest emotions through sheer wonder of it.
Much like the set design, the costumes grounds the audience in past eras from the characters’ early lives. Joan’s elegant, color, and minimalist dresses give audiences a strong sense of who she was during her youth in the 1950s, while also reflecting her aged personality now.
Costuming also sharpens the dynamic between Luke and Larry. Luke’s crisp, collared shirts and formal-leaning outfits keep him preserved in Joan’s memory, youthful and reminiscent of the times in which he died. In contrast, Larry’s more relaxed button-downs reflect his age and character. Through these costuming choices, the film visually reinforces the emotional divide between past and present.
Aside from the (surprisingly) banal choices and propositions that deciding on eternity encompasses – Paris Land, Man Free World, Paintings World, Beach World, Mountain World, Queer World, Valhalla World, Catholic World, New Testament World – there is the more significant choice that affects our main three characters and drives Joan’s internal turmoil. Who would she spend eternity with? Once faced with her two great loves, the shock of death subsides to give way to an even sadder realization – it becomes clear that she cannot decide on one without devastating the other, and more so, living with the doubts and fears of what could have been, what was, and who she is around both Luke and Larry. The audience is made to feel every ounce of anguish that Joan’s balancing act between Luke and Larry holds, and how the looming choice can mean never seeing one of them for the rest of Joan’s afterlife.
To alleviate the weight of what could have been a dark and grim drama set in an afterlife, the film introduces Afterlife Coordinators (ACs), who calmly guide the newly dead through their options. Anna (Da’Vante Joy Randolph) and Ryan (John Early) are the ACs assigned to Larry and Luke. Anna attempts to have Larry win back the woman he built a life with, and Ryan strives to fulfill his wish of reuniting Joan and Luke, whose case he has been assigned to for 67 years. Their opposing agendas, paired with Luke and Larry’s comedic rivalry, jabs, and ploys against each other that give the film the comedic touch it needed to deliver such dramatic and sentimental themes of aging love, lost love, grief, and regret.
These scenes are filled with chemistry from all sides: Joan with Luke, Joan with Larry, and even Luke and Larry among themselves. The actors do not miss a beat amidst the absurdity, bouncing off the character’s strong emotions by showing and articulating their own position in the story.
What ultimately makes “Eternity” a rom-com worth watching is Joan’s unraveling and rediscovery of herself through the two men who have loved her deeply in different eras of her life. At its core, the film reminds us that we are shaped by the love we receive.
Don’t miss “Eternity,” out in theaters now.
Photo Credit: A24
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