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'Eternity' review: Choosing a forever partner, after death do you part

Adam Graham, The Detroit News on

Published in Entertainment News

In "Eternity," a sweet, breezy romantic comedy set in the afterlife, a woman must choose between lust and love, passion and stability.

These are the big questions Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) faces when she shows up at death's door. (This isn't a spoiler; it's the premise of the movie.) The movie treats the path to forever like a busy convention hall floor, where the recently deceased are asked to choose the themed fate they will enter into for the rest of their lives. Is it an endless ski vacation, a quiet beach, or a museum with no closing hours, ever? The possibilities are endless, but the dearly departed can only choose one and are then forced to live with that decision forever.

The bigger question, and the one that "Eternity" concerns itself with, is who Joan will spend that time with. Is it her first husband Luke (Callum Turner), the dashing pilot she married when she was young, who died while fighting in the Korean War? Or is it Larry (Miles Teller), her slightly bumbling, somewhat aloof second husband, to whom she was married for 65 years, and with whom she built her entire life?

Lust or love, passion or stability? She can only choose one. So what's it going to be? And who's it going to be?

There's a throwback sensibility to "Eternity" that propels it forward, and it favorably recalls Albert Brooks' 1991 afterlife vision "Defending Your Life." It helps that it's an original adult comedy that takes on some big issues while never clobbering viewers over the head with them; it's lightweight but not without heft, an assured tone that co-writer and director David Freyne sets early and locks in with his actors.

There's also a charming affability to its execution. Teller, who usually plays cocky, overconfident characters, is cast against type as Larry, and he plays up his character's schlubbiness, even if that's not his usual mode. It's not a total fit — perhaps Andy Samberg could have been more of a self-deprecating comic and romantic foil — but it's fun to watch Teller let his guard down on screen.

Turner, who is engaged to pop star Dua Lipa IRL, gets to play handsome, smooth and eternally young — in "Eternity's" vision of the afterlife, characters are forever the age they're at when they're the most happy — even if the script stacks the deck against his character in order to fit its narrative.

Joan's path is perhaps clear to viewers before it's clear to herself, but Olsen does a solid job of volleying the balls that are sent her character's way. Oscar winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph is a delightful presence as Anna, an "afterlife coordinator" whose job it is to help guide Larry to happiness, and who winds up becoming a cheerleader for Larry and Joan to end up together, this time for good.

"Eternity's" greatest strength is its sense of world-building, and the way it eases viewers into its version of life after death. It's a comedy that makes light of the end of our lives, and it's a warmhearted movie for anyone who's ever been in love more than once.

 

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'ETERNITY'

Grade: B

MPA rating: PG-13 (for sexual content and some strong language)

Running time: 1:54

How to watch: In theaters Nov. 26

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©2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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