Joan Cutler faces an impossible decision in "Eternity." The recently deceased character, played by Elizabeth Olsen, has one week to decide with whom she wants to spend her afterlife, and two husbands are vying for her choice. Luke (Callum Turner) is the handsome one who died in the Korean War just as they were beginning their life together. Larry (Miles Teller) is the other, a bit ordinary, a bit eccentric, but the one she was married to for 65 years.
Apparently, not even death offers respite from earthly enigmas like the love triangle. Sure, it's chaotic and confusing for those involved, but it's also one of the best narrative settings for a wacky comedy. And this particular film, imaginative and cleverly quirky, with an absolutely delightful cast, delivers on that promise. Lucky us!
Director: David Freyne
Writers: Patrick Cunnane, David Freyne
Stars: Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner
Most of the film takes place at the Junction, a comically ordinary, brutalist-style hotel/convention center with an expo-style trade show where the recently deceased seek their chosen afterlife. There, you're greeted by an afterlife coordinator (our main "ACs" are the delightful Da'Vine Joy Randolph and John Early), who explains what's going on. The options are wide-ranging and hilariously specific: Paris Land, Studio 54 World, Mountain Town, Weimar World (with 100% fewer Nazis!) are just a few. The great thing is that your choice is final.
The story is by screenwriter Patrick Cunnane, who developed it with director David Freyne. The film showcases its many influences in its colorful and kitschy cover art, featuring Albert Brooks's "Defending Your Life" as the main theme.
We briefly catch a glimpse of Joan and Larry, now in their eighties, on their way to a family party, arguing about whether to go to the beach (Larry's wish) or the mountains (Joan's). They seem weary of each other, two people who stay together simply because their lives are so intertwined, and, you know, what else can they do? Joan doesn't have much time left; she's dying of cancer, and Larry is willing to care for her for as long as it takes. But then, he dies first.
Larry's week-long wait is about to end when Joan arrives at the Junction, where her communications assistant, Ryan (Early), tells her he's been waiting for her for 67 years.
Ryan is also Luke's communications assistant, who, it seems, has been in limbo awaiting Joan's arrival. It's the quintessential romantic gesture. And Joan, rejuvenated once more, is deeply moved to see her handsome first love while Larry looks on, bewildered. It's hard not to think of the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode where another Larry concludes he'd rather be single in the afterlife. However, Teller's Larry has never considered that Joan wouldn't be by his side there.
If you're wondering why Joan and Larry arrive at the Junction looking the same as Olsen and Teller, it's because in this world (and perhaps following the logic of "Titanic"), one returns to the happiest version of oneself. That's why, explains Anna, the production assistant (Randolph), there are so many 10-year-olds and so few teenagers.
It's understandable that Joan is nervous and overwhelmed by the dilemma between her staunch (and neurotic) supporter and the passionate first love with whom she could never have a life. If there's any complaint, it's that the script takes too long to raise the idea that perhaps neither of them is an option for Joan.
Olsen channels a kind of mid-century Diane Keaton in her performance, becoming an old soul in a young body. In one scene, she and Larry end up hysterical as they rediscover the joy of being able to crouch and jump again.
Teller, for his part, is surprisingly good as the obvious loser: an egoless performance that goes a long way. Luke is a little less developed as a fully realized character, perhaps because he's still that young man who died in the war (there's a running joke that it wasn't World War II). But Turner is committed and likable as Robert Redford's version of Benjamin Braddock. Although he brushes off praise like flies and insists he's "not perfect," he doesn't really seem to think Joan might not choose him in the end.
And then there's that annoying choice again. Is it romantic? Is it depressing? Is it pitifully limited in its understanding of what a human life means? Yes? Its committed, ingenious, and comforting simplicity is also quite satisfying: a contained work that pleases the public and does not drag on endlessly.
Comments
Post a Comment