A lot of the stuff you'll see at a film festival can be pretty heavy. Crushing dramas, long international features, experimental stuff that leaves you with a headache no matter how good it is. Sometimes in the midst of all that you just need something light, and this year's ultimate palate cleanser was Eternity. A24 isn't typically where you look to for something more lighthearted, but this was an absolute delight.
Directed by David Freyne, Eternity is essentially an afterlife love triangle. After over 65 years of marriage, Larry (Miles Teller) dies choking on a pretzel and wakes up in the afterlife. There he meets his 'Afterlife Consultant' who is tasked with helping him pick what world he would like to spend eternity in. Just days into his stay, his wife Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) who had been sick joins him and the two are set to choose an eternity together. Throwing a wrench into Larry's plans though is Luke (Callum Turner), Joan's first husband who died in war and waited 67 years in the afterlife for her so they can choose their eternity together.
One of the most fun things about this movie is getting to see these actors playing older people. Teller and Olsen are both playing elderly people in the bodies of younger people and it's honestly hilarious. I know Teller is pushing 40 now but watching him act like a slightly grumpy old man is a blast. We do get to see the couple together in their old age briefly, and I think Teller and Olsen do a great job keeping up that dynamic. Similarly, it's a ton of fun watching Turner in a kind of frozen in time type of role as he's spent so long waiting for Joan. Shockingly though, I'd argue that none of the big three leads are the highlight performance here. Da'Vine Joy Randolph isn't far removed from winning the best supporting actress Oscar but I would be over the moon to see her at least nominated again. Everyone is great here, but her delivery makes for a large chunk of the laughs in this. She performs with such a confidence which makes her comedic timing damn near perfect, and while the writing for her character is fantastic she is constantly elevating it and stealing pretty much every scene she's in. I wasn't expecting it at all, but her performance is a real standout.
Another big standout is the world-building on display. I always love seeing how media tackles bringing the afterlife to the screen, and this was just a ton of fun. It basically turns death into a job fair of different people trying to sell everyone on their eternity, leading to a ton of creative ideas for worlds one could want to spend the rest of time in. The main hub of everything kind of feels like an airport hotel which really fits the idea of it being a place to stay while you figure out where to go next. Aside from that, there's a bunch of small details that show how much thought and care was put into creating this world and that's something I appreciate a ton.
Narratively it does get a bit cheesy and cliched, but I don't think that's a problem. It's a movie designed to get in your feels and make you laugh and I think it does a great job of that. The romantic comedy is such a tough genre to nail nowadays thanks to just how many there have been and how limited it feels like the stories can be, but this gives the genre a fun twist while also hitting the beats to leave you having a good time. I loved the look of it, I loved the performances, and I all in all found myself delighted from start to finish. 4/5
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