Eternity

David Freyne’s debut feature Eternity holds a very clever buildup and second act when it focuses on the humor of the afterlife, and it even holds some human complexity when it comes to love and relationships, but it doesn’t seem to know what to do in the third act other than going the route of the predictable and routine, and it becomes just more of the same despite some very solid moments throughout. Despite these shortcomings, Eternity is worth seeing for the terrific cast, thoughtful premise, and humor. The film echoes the humor of Albert Brooks and clearly draws inspiration from his comedic classic Defending Your Life. In fact, Miles Teller even channels some James L. Brooks here, though I can only imagine how much funnier this film would have been had Albert played his character of Larry in his prime.

We open with an elder, Larry (Barry Primus), and his wife, Joan (Betty Buckley), who are driving to visit their children and grandchildren. They have been happily married for well over 50 years, and Joan is terminally ill but has enough strength to still go out and visit her loved ones. Larry loves pretzels; he ends up choking on one after one of his children brings out an old picture of Joan, and her ex-husband Luke (Callum Turner) is shown and brought up at the visit. We cut to a train, and we see Larry waking up from what he thinks is a bad dream, but he’s much younger and in his mid-30s and played by Teller.

Courtesy of A24

It’s informed by Larry that he died, and he’s in the afterlife. Everyone who dies gets an afterlife coordinator, and he is informed by his own afterlife coordinator, Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), that he gets exactly one week to decide how he wants to spend eternity. There are some very amusing afterlives to choose from that co-writers Pat Cunnanane and Freyne thought of that included an all-queer, all-feminist, capitalist, and even Marxist world. Oh, and everyone who is transported to the afterlife is a version of their happiest self. That explains why Larry is much younger, and Larry is very conflicted as he yearns for Joan. Right when Larry decides, Joan ends up entering the afterlife (Elizabeth Olsen). Larry and Joan reconnect, and Joan is thrown off, as her first love of her life, Luke (Callum Turner), never decided on an eternity as he waited 67 years for Joan. Luke was Joan’s first husband, and he tragically died in the Korean War, leaving Joan a widow who ended up getting remarried to Larry, with whom she ended up having a family. Joan is now conflicted, and she only has one week to choose between her first love or the man she built her life with over the years with a loving family and fond memories. Joan also has her own coordinator named Ryan (John Early), and the two men and the coordinators find themselves competing for Joan’s decision on who she wants to spend eternity with.

The performances mostly work here. Olson is the standout performance here dramatically, as Randolph is the standout comedic performance. Rudolph, fresh off her Oscar win for The Holdovers, is a delight here, and she delivers a lot of amusing banter, and her onscreen chemistry with Teller, Olson, and Early goes to show just how easygoing her approach is. Olson is so emotionally charged in this performance that you would think it’s a drama. Even in a comedy, Olson is always up for a challenge in bringing her dramatic acting skills to the test while having some witty moments as well. Turner is charismatic and brings that leading man quality that is needed for the role; Larry even makes a hysterical joke that he looks like Montgomery Clift, which generates huge belly laughs. Teller, who is a very skillful actor, proves he can do comedy. Although, as I keep thinking of the film and the dialogue, I keep thinking how this character was written with a younger Albert Brooks in mind and just how much funnier it would be if this were written 30-40 years ago and how much more amusing it would have been had Brooks played Larry. It’s an unfair comparison, but Teller still needs to sharpen his comedic skills to match his dramatic skills. Regardless, you end up caring for Larry, and it’s a deeply flawed character where you find yourself laughing at some of Larry’s flaws while feeling empathy for others as well.

Courtesy A24 Films

As more of the story advances, the more familiar it ends up becoming, and the laughs eventually stop coming. The third act becomes very bland and more bland and paint-by-numbers, , and the emotional depth ends up feeling more cloying and less organic. Then there’s the ending, which holds the predictable trappings of formulaic romantic comedy and eventually everything comes full circle. It just doesn’t match up to the potential of the first half of the film. Eternity is an overall very amusing film, and it deserves credit for its originality, and it probably took some time to get produced. However, it also deserves a lot more in holding up to its promise, in which this film could have been much more surprising.

Grade B –

ETERNITY IS NOW Showing IN THEATERS