Eternity Takes a Stab at What Awaits Us in the Afterlife (And Aims Straight for Our Hearts)

Gray Gailey ‘27 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

A24’s new release, Eternity, which hit theaters on November 26th, is another take on what awaits us in the afterlife. While the film is reminiscent of Michael Schur’s The Good Place and classics like It’s A Wonderful Life, it presents a unique dilemma, and the star-studded cast executes the storyline with a balance of heart and laughter. It’s a refreshingly high-concept rom-com with a twist on the classic love triangle trope, and it’s sure to put director David Freyne (Dating Amber, The Cured) on the map.

In Freyne’s Eternity, when a person dies, they revert to the age they were at their happiest and are sent to a velvety, retro waiting room known as “The Junction.” The deceased are then assigned an Afterlife Consultant (AC) to help them decide which afterlife to spend the rest of their life in. Maybe you’ll choose Workout World, or World of Satanism (although hopefully you don’t choose this one). Or perhaps Paris Land, Eternal Spring, or Smokers World (“‘Cause cancer can’t kill you twice!”) are more your cup of tea. The room is a whirl of salespeople, selling you the perfect Eternity. But keep in mind: Once you choose an Eternity, you cannot leave. 

Miles Teller’s Larry is the first to arrive in The Junction. When we first meet Larry in the real world, he is cranky and combative. When he dies (in a slightly comical and frequently referenced manner), we are introduced to his slightly charming, mostly goofy 30-something-year-old self. His wife, Joan (played by Elizabeth Olsen), shows up shortly afterward, after succumbing to cancer. But what should be a happy reunion quickly grows complicated when Joan’s first husband, Luke (portrayed by Callum Turner), rushes to greet her. Luke, who died in the Korean War, reveals he has waited 67 years for Joan to arrive. Joan must now decide whether she wants to spend her Eternity with her current husband, with whom she has built a family, or her first love, with whom she never had the chance to live a full life. Eternity contemplates the rush of young love versus the endurance of adult relationships, and memory versus reality—setting up a choice that any viewer can understand would be difficult. Joan’s impossible decision is made increasingly difficult by two meddling ACs, played by the hilarious Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) and John Early (30 Rock, Search Party).

After much bickering, the group decides Joan will get to spend one week with Luke in Mountain World and one week with Larry in Beach World before she makes her decision.

Eternity gets a lot of things right. It is a masterclass in color grading and production design. The color palette consists of saturated oranges, yellows, and salmon pinks, and painted skies that create a feeling of surrealism. The writing is both witty and poignant, and keeps viewers consistently alternating between laughing and crying. Olsen and Teller, who play the old and young versions of their characters, nail the subtle differences in tone and mannerisms, as their old selves inhabit the bodies of their ‘happiest’ selves.

The film portrays Joan’s options with enough nuance that neither path feels wrong to the audience. While at times formulaic, Freyne avoids predictability by injecting Eternity full of twists. Still, in attempting to cover all the bases, it reads as if the creative team wanted to appease every viewer. Joan has the chance to live with each man in Eternity for a week, but she also nearly chooses an Eternity with her best friend at one point, the classic “I choose myself” trope. However, she is thwarted by Larry, who selflessly realizes that Joan’s ‘happiest self’ is the version of herself she was with Luke. Joan and Luke head to Mountain World Eternity together, just for Joan to realize that life is a dream she never got to see through, as opposed to the reality she wants to live in. 

Here is where the writers cop out: Joan escapes Mountain World, and instead of being exiled, she and Larry’s ACs let them choose a discontinued Eternity to live in together. 

The writers also circumvent the dilemma of souls only having one week to decide where to spend eternity. If a soul is unable to make a decision, they can spend as many years as they want in The Junction, as long as they find a job and settle for less-than-luxurious housing. For that reason, Joan’s decision deadline never felt all that pressing. 

One of the best quotes of the movie is: “Maybe the beauty in life is that things end.” Yet Eternity fails to take its own advice and runs out of steam in its last thirty minutes. Deep down, audiences knew Joan was bound to end up with Larry, as they portrayed him as the film’s protagonist. However, the creative team filled the film’s last quarter with needless back-and-forth. Sure, you don’t want to disappoint viewers by having Joan not choose Callum Turner, but her prolonged indecision ultimately drags the narrative off course. 

While it’s not immune to scrutiny, Eternity’s dreamy coloring, compelling storyline, and stellar acting combine to deliver a film that leaves viewers more than satisfied. Eternity contemplates the rush of young love versus the endurance of adult relationships, and memory versus reality.