Making its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, Eternity sees a couple reunited in the afterlife, only for an expected obstacle to stand in their path to forever happiness—her first husband.
How is a person expected to choose between their great love and their comforting life partner? Especially when that decision is for eternity?
What is Eternity about?
Larry (Miles Teller) has spent over 60 happy years with his wife Joan (Elizabeth Olsen), when he dies suddenly. Arriving in the afterlife, Larry only has one hope—to wait till Joan joins him.
But the afterlife in Eternity has rules. For one, everyone reverts to the moment they were happiest-hence, 70-something Larry being played Miles Teller. Larry has one week to choose where he wants to spend eternity; otherwise, he’ll have to get a job at the Junction, the waystation between life and eternity.
When Joan does arrive, it seems like Larry doesn’t need to worry about anything—his wife is here, they can find an eternity together.
But there’s just one problem. And his name is Luke (Callum Turner). Joan’s first husband, her greatest love, the man who died a war hero. How is Larry meant to compete with that?
The impossible choice at the heart of Eternity
Joan has just one week to make a choice that she never imagined having to make. She had six wonderful decades with Larry. They had a home and family. Yes, he complains. A lot. He eats too many pretzels, way too fast. He likes the beach too much when sand is so annoying.
On the other hand, is Luke. Extremely good looking, according to the film. Waited six decades for his one true love, Joan. Loved by everyone. And did we mention, he’s a war hero?
But throughout Eternity I kept wondering, why does Joan have to make a choice at all? Early in the film, it’s mentioned that people in the afterlife have no obligations to the people they knew in life. Everyone can live in the eternity they choose to with or without their loved ones. So why is the majority of this film about Joan see-sawing between her two husbands?
Eternity can’t capitalize on its great concept
There aren’t very many films that are set almost entirely in the afterlife. I found that very unique about Eternity. I also love how the bureaucracy of the afterlife works. The rules, the rooms, the support team that makes the afterlife run. There were so many quirky little details, like the salespeople peddling their eternities as if they were at a trade show. Or the advertisements showing new arrivals what options they had for eternity. I found that early setup part of the film fascinating. I loved it. The set for the junction was whimsical, literally like a job fair at an old hotel.
But the moment Joan and Luke reunite, the love triangle completely takes over. Eternity becomes less about the worldbuilding and more about why and who Joan should choose. I’m afraid I wasn’t as interested in that romance. I wanted to know more about how the afterlife worked, or didn’t. I wanted to know why the people who were working at the junction were still there.
Like Anna, played by Oscar-winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph. What was her story? How had she and other people at the junction got their jobs? Did they choose those jobs? What kind of training did they receive? Those are mundanities, but it would have been such a creative exercise to explore those questions. Alas, they were not answered.
Had Eternity been a television show, we could have explored all these aspects of the afterlife. The runtime of a film is much too short to prod at these elements. The filmmakers had to choose between the worldbuilding and the plot, and, of course, the plot won.
Do the romances in Eternity work?
Eternity relies heavily on its cast’s chemistry. While it’s definitely there, it’s not sizzling. Luke comes across as entitled to Joan’s love, whereas Larry seems like a sad sack who lucked out. Joan mostly looks lost and confused. Also this film tries to imply that Joan isn’t good looking. Should they have cast as beautiful an actress as Elizabeth Olsen in the role then?
This isn’t a dig at the performances. Teller, Olsen, and Turner do a great job with their roles. Teller, who is positioned as an everyday Joe, is surprisingly convincing. The sideburns help.
Olsen plays the lovestruck yet loyal wife with aplomb and is thoroughly enjoyable to watch. She embodies the confusion of the situation excellently. And she has great comedic timing.
Turner isn’t asked to do much but smoulder. However, when he does get a few comedic moments, he absolutely leaps at them, and delivers. The three of them are extremely fun when they’re on screen together. But the love triangle went on for far too long.
Does Eternity have a satisfying conclusion?
Obviously, I can’t share spoilers, but Eternity has too many false endings. There were story elements to wrap up but the film was too focused on delivering a neat conclusion. Sometimes, you do not need that. It’s alright to have an open-ended story that makes you think about what your choice would have been.
But unfortunately, Eternity goes out of its way to give the audience one definitive choice. Along the way, it explores some more worldbuilding concepts. Which only made me wish that we’d got more of those concepts than the romance.
Eternity unusual central conceit is its greatest draw. Forget the love triangle, the way the film builds out the bureaucratic afterlife, the sets and costumes, the sheer splendor and think piece that this film is, that’s what makes it worth watching. If only we hadn’t spent so much time on the romance.
Eternity had its world premiere at TIFF 2025.
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