Director
David Freyne
(DATING AMBER)

Starring
Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Da’Vine Joy Randolph


Eternity is one of those rare films that manages to feel both intimate and epic, blending sweeping visuals with deeply personal storytelling. Director David Freyne delivers a soulful, ambitious film that lingers in your mind long after the credits roll. A celebration of big, beautiful, ordinary love, Freyne takes us on a journey that will break your heart into a million pieces, then delicately put it back together again with warmth and humour.

 Set in ‘the junction’, a convention centre come hotel that is the gateway to your eternal afterlife, Eternity is the story of Larry (Miles Teller), Larry’s wife Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) and Luke (Callum Turner), Joan’s first husband that died in ‘the war’ (but not one of the cool ones). When Larry dies suddenly in a pretzel related tragedy, he wakes up on a train arriving at the junction, not realising he is dead or where he is and it takes a meeting with his Afterlife Consultant, or ‘AC’ (the impeccably hilarious Da’Vine Joy Randolph) to really grasp the reality of his situation. He’s advised of the rules; in 7 days he must decide where he will spend eternity, and which person he will spend it with. For Larry the latter is easy, he’s spent over 60 years loving one woman and expects to spend his afterlife doing the same, but when Joan arrives a few days later, the decision is not so easy. Soon after being reunited with Larry, Joan sees Luke who has been waiting at the junction for 67 years for the two of them to be reunited. Now Joan is faced with the dilemma; does she pick the love that served her for over six decades, or the one she never got to fully experience? What transpires is a battle between two men whose greatest love just happens to be the same woman.

There is so much brilliance in this film, and I believe that it’s one that is going to take several viewings to take it all in. So many ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ jokes that will have you cackling, from the way that the gateway to the afterlife is setup like a giant expo, with other world salespeople trying to get you to buy into their eternity to the endless posters for your eternal options like ‘1930’s Berlin World…..with 100% less Nazi’s’ or ‘Man Free World’…..but that one was at capacity. It’s been a while since we’ve had a genuine Rom-Com that is as heavy in the comedy as it is in the romance, which is fully aided by the performances throughout.

Miles Teller executes this beautiful balance between his ordinary ‘everyman’ persona, and a deep romantic soul, which really endears you to his Larry. Whereas Callum Turner has you empathising with the life that was lost with Luke. Elizabeth Olsen channels a peak 90’s era Meg Ryan but with more layers. She has the uncanny ability to convey a lot without saying much at all and Da’Vine Joy Randolph pairs perfectly with John Early as competing AC’s, both trying to get their client an eternity with Joan. The acting is so perfectly executed that there isn’t a weak point throughout. Paired with some brilliant writing, this film soars beyond anything I’d dreamt of.

When it comes to reviewing films, there is something that can elevate any rating for me. If the filmmaker can break my heart, they’ve achieved something incredible. It’s probably the only time in life I will applaud a broken heart. But I think we’ve all had those experiences in films, where you feel a moment so deeply, so viscerally that it’s as if it were happening to you. When the sobbing becomes uncontrollable, and you don’t know how you’re going to make it through to the credits. The beauty of film is its ability to affect you in such a way, but then be able to heal you again, that’s the magic of good writing, better acting and brilliant cinema. It’s for this reason, and the execution of all of the above in Eternity, that this currently sits as my favourite film watching experience of the year. I laughed hysterically, I cried uncontrollably, and I appreciated my own ‘big ordinary love’ just a little bit more as a result. This film is beautiful, funny, warm and not getting nearly enough plaudits at the moment. I don’t only encourage you all to see it, I IMPLORE you to. Instead of re-watching Love Actually for the 99^th time this Christmas, go on an emotional journey with Eternity instead………or like, watch both……….yeah probably do that. Afterall, the more love in the world, the better, am I right?!

Eternity is in cinemas now.