The Reel Review
Following her death, Joan discovers in the afterlife that she has only a week to choose with whom she will spend eternity – either her first husband, who was tragically killed in the Korean War shortly after their marriage, or her second husband, whom she was with for 65 years. Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner (The Boys in the Boat) star in this fantasy/rom com.
An impressive cast elevates this otherwise superficial, predictable tale that director David Freyne (Dating Amber) co-wrote with Patrick Cunnane (Designated Survivor). Emotionally, the cliché-filled film lacks depth, opting for silly low stakes laughs instead of what could have been a truly moving experience about difficult life choices and missed opportunities. Oscar-winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) provides comic relief as an A.C. (Afterlife Consultant) with Betty Buckley as the older, pre-death Joan.
With one-dimensional characters and a barely-there story, Eternity is a pleasant but cheap, quickly forgotten imitation of the more meaningful rom coms of the 80s and 90s – When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing, Sleepless in Seattle and Pretty Woman. While only two hours long, by the time it’s exhausting, overly drawn-out ending finally concludes, you may just feel like you have experienced an eternity.
REEL FACTS
• Months after filming completed, Irish director/co-writer David Freyne discovered he had an aggressively benign tumor the size of an apple in his brain. Following the removal of most of the tumor and a painful six weeks of recovery, Freyne attended the film’s London premiere with four of his surgeons.
• Miles Teller and Da’Vine Joy Randolph have the same agent and for years had been seeking a film to do together.
• Eternity was filmed in Vancouver, Canada.
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