Despite living after death, Eternity injects life into the romcom love triangle trope writes Carter Smith
Elizabeth Olsen’s Joan has quite the decision ahead of her. In David Freyne’s original, and often funny, romcom, death is not the end. It is instead a gateway to eternity. You live as the happiest version of yourself, with your favourite clothes anda lifetime of memories you can look back on forever.
You arrive at a train station-like building where you have a week to choose where to spend the rest of your time and decide who you get to spend it with.
A straightforward decision for most, and it was for her husband of 65 years, Larry (Miles Teller). But when her charming and seemingly perfect first husband, Luke (A dashing Callum Turner), who died when they were in their 20s at war, has been waiting 67 years for her, it is not as straightforward as Larry would have hoped.
Joan finds herself in the middle of a testosterone-filled battle between her two husbands – and their two afterlife coordinators, Anna (A brilliant as always Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Ryan (John Early) as they battle for the chance to take her hand into the rest of eternity.
Luke fulfils his perfection as he takes her to the beautiful mountains, filled with rich green grass, picture-esque mountains and a drink which looks out on a perfect view. It’s a good thing he wasn’t trying to convince me because bringing me to a place where I have to climb mountains is not my idea of a happily ever after.
Larry, on the other hand, takes Joan to an overly crowded beach where he argues with a nine-year-old boy who has died and lies about how he was waiting for her in the afterlife when he, in fact, was leaving for his eternity when she died.
If you’re wondering where my eternity would take me, as long as I don’t have to experience rain again, I’d be happy.
I’ll save you the answer as to who she picks, obviously, but it’s not as straightforward as one would think, and it is a bundle of joy getting to that point.
Despite its unique setting in the afterlife, which admittedly is brilliant, this isn’t anything you haven’t seen before. The love triangle ‘will she won’t she’ storyline has been a cornerstone of romcoms for decades and has been done to varying levels of success.
I would also like to add that the concept of you dying and then having to live for eternity, if you think about it too long, is terrifying, but now is not the time for us to ponder what happens after we take our final breath.
Although new ground isn’t being trodden, there is something so inviting about this world. The afterlife is full of colour, personality and funny gags which demand a chuckle. The afterlife gimmick easily could have worn thin quite quickly, but they describe enough of the lore of the universe to make it work and to stop even the biggest nitpickers.
As most romcoms do, most of the enjoyment hinges on the cast that has been assembled. I’m not ready to say Olsen, Teller and Turner are on the level of the iconic Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth triangle or anything, but they are a true delight in this film. They deliver the laughs when needed and inject real heart into this story, which leaves room for some sweet moments.
A special shout-out to Da’vine Joy Randolph, who seems like she is having the absolute time of her life in this film and as she should. She has earned it.
I am a sucker for love. A well-done romcom especially has all the ingredients to put a smile on my face. Eternity just gets it. Despite how silly it can be at times, what it has to say about love and relationships is so sweet and sincere, and I can’t help but eat it up.
In fact, the worst part about Eternity is the fact that it is good and I couldn’t use the tap in of a pun that the film lasted for what felt like an eternity. It’s a worthy sacrifice.
- Eternity is available to watch on Apple TV
