Eternity feels like the type of movie made 60 or 70 years ago. Charming and romantic, this comedy-drama relies on the on-screen chemistry of its leading stars and whip-smart writing. Set in a version of the afterlife, Eternity explores who from your life you will be destined to spend your death with. On paper, it’s a classic love triangle, but there is a lot of heart and brains to this innovative rom-com.
This specific version of the afterlife is revealed when Larry dies after choking on a pretzel. Although he dies an old man, he appears in the afterlife at the age he felt happiest, which here is as a man in his 30s (played by Miles Teller). The afterlife’s waiting room shares some DNA with Beetlejuice, as the recently deceased hop off a train and wait to meet their AC (afterlife coordinator) in a clinical lobby area.
You, Me and Your First Husband
Larry’s AC is Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who talks him through the rules of death. You wait for 7 days in a purgatory-like hotel, where you will decide which afterlife you want to spend eternity in. These afterlives range from 1930s Germany without the fascism to a never-ending cabin vacation and a Marxist fantasy. The only issue is that you must pick one forever, and you can never leave it. The creative world-building falls apart if you pick at it too much, but there is so much going on that you won’t have the time to ponder the nuances.
Larry knows exactly what and who he wants to spend eternity with. So, he waits for his long-suffering wife, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen), and the pair will go to Beach World to spend forever lazing in the sun together. Elizabeth arrives not long after him, having died of cancer a few months after her husband. The duo, while still physically young, immediately jump into their routine of bickering and complaining, like the long-married couple they are.
Larry’s plans are scuppered when Joan’s first husband, who died a young man in Korea, also joins them. Luke (Callum Turner) has been waiting in purgatory for over 70 years, working as a bartender, waiting for his beloved Joan. Now, Joan must choose whether to spend eternity with her grumpy husband of 65 years or the man she didn’t get the time to live out married life with. It’s such an ingenious concept from a Black List script by Pat Cunnane, it’s a surprise no one has thought to do it before.
The concept may sound sentimental and mawkish, but Eternity has enough humour and visual gags to keep it from becoming too cloying. The script is a savvy, sharp take on the love-triangle cliché that will have you pondering the consequences of your own love life. After all, who among us does not have a lost love that still makes you ponder the what-ifs?
When The Afterlife Gets Complicated
The film predominantly works thanks to the unique world-building. The ACs (Randolph alongside John Early) are a fantastic way to explain the nuances and rules of the afterlife without throwing audiences an exposition bomb. It answers any questions you may have about how this afterlife works yet leaves enough open for your personal interpretation (atheists and those of a religious persuasion will have differing views on the meaning of this film). This
Eternity perfectly toes the line between comedy and drama, never falling down on one side of the fence. At its heart, the film is deeply romantic and moving, as Joan ponders back on her life and all the missed opportunities. But the sharply funny writing stops the darker side of the script from becoming too downbeat. Life is an uncomfortable combination of funny, tragic and nonsensical, and Eternity understands that balance.
Luke is spoken about like he was the perfect first husband, almost canonized in Joan’s brain. Of course, he’s a real person and struggles to match the expectations of her grief-stricken memories of him. Larry has to come to terms with living in the shadow of this perfect war hero, his only crime was living long enough to become a grumpy, cynical old man. On the surface, it’s two grown men becoming increasingly more jealous of each other and bickering like girls in high school. Under the surface, it’s a sensitive musing on grief, memory, relationships and death.
The opening act is a bundle of rom-com tropes, gags about the many afterlives available (a world with no men, which is fully booked, is a personal highlight), and an introduction to the laws of the universe. But, as soon as Joan’s dilemma rears its head, Eternity becomes something much more emotive and tear-jerking.
Elizabeth Olsen’s frantic energy is ideal for these types of roles, and her chemistry with Miles Teller is electric. They genuinely act like an old married couple transported back in the bodies of their 30-something selves. It’s the type of chemistry reminiscent of Doris Day and Rock Hudson in the bygone era of Hollywood. Callum Turner is the odd man out in proceedings. The film tells you he’s this handsome heartthrob, yet his demeanour and performance don’t quite line up with the hype. Still, there is something endearing about his devotion to the idea of his wife, who he never got to see grow and become a mother.
Eternity is a rare thing in 2025 Hollywood, it’s a creative, original story that isn’t trying to cash in on existing IP or demands 10 more sequels for the ending to make sense. While the final act won’t leave anyone shocked, it’s a romantic comedy worthy of old Hollywood with a sensitive center that may cause a tear or two to fall. It’ll leave you pondering your own life and death, and may encourage you to text an ex or two.
Eternity is now in theaters.
Learn more about the film, including how to get tickets, at the official site for the title.
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