Eternity

Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) must choose whether she will spend her afterlife with Larry (Miles Teller) or Luke (Callum Turner) in Eternity (Distributed by A24)

If you think about it, the afterlife is an interesting place for possible romantic tension. When forever is in front of you, do you have to spend it with the person you spent your life with? What if you want a fresh start? That is sort of, but only a little bit, the premise of the romantic comedy Eternity. It is about a woman who has one week to decide which of the two loves of her life to be with forever, knowing she will never see the other again.

The stakes, smoothly contrived by the plot, are legitimately heavy. They both have her or nothing, while she will inevitably break the heart of someone she loves, no matter who she chooses. It is a sweet, funny, rom-com, that comes off as smart and slightly old-fashioned in the way it approaches subjects like love and death with a light hand. It is a satisfying crowd-pleaser, just in time for the holidays.

Larry and Joan have been married for 65 years, when Larry chokes on a pretzel and dies. Joan passes from cancer shortly afterward and the two are reunited in the afterlife. Their happily ever hereafter is interrupted by Luke, Joan’s first husband, who has been waiting for her for 67 years. Now Joan must decide who to spend eternity with.

Eternity (108 minutes, without the end credits) begins with a cute concept. The afterlife is a large train station with many destinations, all final. Would you like to live in space? 1930s Germany? The beach? Wherever you choose, you better be sure, because you can’t leave. If you try, you will be caught and sent into the void. That part felt like too much and led to an obvious final act crisis the movie would have been better off without. It adds very little, coming off as small time compared to Joan’s dilemma. Otherwise, the setup allows for some pretty good background gags that probably cannot all be noticed on one viewing.

It shows that there is more to this than just a love story. That is the focus, but there has been real thought given to this world. The look is intentionally bland; the waystation shouldn’t look incredible. It would be overwhelming to suddenly wake up there, though. There is something business-like about it, which amusingly offsets the tense nature of the central trio’s predicament. Despite not being anything special, the visuals work with the premise in a fun way. They create a promise of unlimited fantasy as a reward for living your life. However, you better make the correct choice or that heaven turns into a never-ending hell.

The cast play their roles in straightforward, yet enjoyable, ways. Miles Teller as Larry, Callum Turner as Luke and Elizabeth Olsen as Joan are likable and appealing to the exact degree the plot needs them to be. Da’Vine Joy Randolph and John Early provide really funny support as their Afterlife Coordinators, whose job is to get them comfortably to where they need to go. Obviously, that gets complicated, bringing them excitedly into the drama of the love triangle.

Eternity works so well because it doesn’t overreach. It wants to be a charming, entertaining, rom-com where the characters occasionally vaguely discuss philosophical concepts of death. That is precisely what it is. It takes Joan’s impossible choice seriously and doesn’t stack the deck against Larry or Luke. There is genuine drama here. It may get lost this time of year amid the spectacle and awards hopefuls, but those who find it will be pleasantly rewarded.

3¾ out of 5

Cast:

Miles Teller as Larry

Elizabeth Olsen as Joan

Callum Turner as Luke

Da’Vine Joy Randolph as Anna

John Early as Ryan

Directed by David Freyne

Written by Patrick Cunnane and David Freyne