David R. Walker

Archive for the ‘David Freyne’ Category

Eternity

Director: David Freyne

Cast: Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, John Early

Running Time: 1 hour and 53 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

In director David Freyne’s romantic comedy Eternity, purgatory is a plush place, a destination reminiscent of a resort.

Eternity stars Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller as a married couple, Larry and Joan who both pass away within months of each other and land up in this Pleasantville type holding resort whereby the recently deceased have a chance to recover from their journey into the afterlife and await their arrival of an afterlife consultant.

The only problem that Joan has is that she bumps into her first dead husband, a Korean war soldier Luke wonderfully played with debonair swagger by British star Callum Turner in his first big film role since starring in Autumn de Wilde’s lush cinematic reinvention of Jane Austen’s classic Emma back in 2020.

The trick with this version of a love triangle with a woman and two men is that both men look very similar and that’s down to the casting of Miles Teller (Whiplash, Top Gun: Maverick) and Callum Turner that physically look the same but act very differently. Joan’s choice between her first husband which she couldn’t make a life with and her second husband Larry in which she made a beautiful life with is hard. She needs help.

The afterlife assistants come in the form of comic back up with Anna and Ryan. Anna is the larger than life character played by Oscar winner DaVine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) and Ryan played with a hint of campiness by John Early.

While the men typically fight with each other when they both realize that Joan has to choose between them for eternity, Joan is awash with emotion about the bizarre and surreal experience of having two dead husbands to choose from.

Fortunately both of them look gorgeous and Joan herself, expertly played by Elizabeth Olsen (Wind River, Avengers: Age of Ultron) is weighing up the choice based on bitter memories and chance encounters. Luke represents cold Blue Mountains, rugged and appealing while Larry represents sunshine and beach wear, relaxed and comfortably American.

As a romantic comedy, Eternity is well paced, brilliantly painted with vibrant production design by Zazu Meyers allowing the actors to inhabit a world somewhere between a busy train station and a multitude of different locations. Fortunately this film works because of the fantastic on screen chemistry between the three main leads, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Miles Teller each displaying their comic timing and exuberance.

As a young director David Freyne’s comedy Eternity is fun, frenetic and thought-provoking, a wonderfully light film about some heavy duty topics skilfully dealing with love, death and the afterlife. Like Challengers, Eternity works because of the superb casting.  

Eternity gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is highly recommended viewing for those that enjoy weird romantic comedy’s not set on this earth. A perfect film for date night.