^{By: Amanda Guarragi}

In recent years, romantic comedies have made a resurgence in theatres. Audiences have craved authentic romances that explore different avenues. 

Not everyone can be lucky enough to find the love of their life, but when they do, it can also be a difficult decision. Sometimes people are plagued by making decisions based on what could have been. We all want to be able to live two different lives and see where different paths could have led us. 

Sadly, reality does not work like this. However, a romantic comedy with magical realism can present these ideas in a playful and impactful way.

Eternity, directed by David Freyne, is a unique concept that A24 has added to their library. We meet an elderly couple, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) and Larry (Miles Teller), who are bickering on their way to their granddaughter’s party. They are prepared to tell their children that Joan has an illness. 

In a turn of events, Larry chokes on a peanut and dies that day. He passes through to the other side with a white flashing light and is transported to this middle plain that resembles a train station. 

Larry turns into a younger version of himself and meets his afterlife coach Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph). This middle ground feels like a waiting room for those who died and are waiting to select their version of heaven. 

Larry must decide which afterlife to choose, but struggles because he promised Joan he’d be there for her death. While he waits, Anna explains that he can’t stay for long and must choose one door to spend eternity in. Sadly, if Larry makes his choice without his wife present, she won’t be able to join him afterwards when she does pass away.

While Larry waits for Joan, he meets a bartender named Luke (Callum Turner), who resembles Joan’s late first husband, who died in the war. Larry then worries that when Joan does pass through, who would choose to spend eternity with, him or Luke? 

Co-writers Patrick Cunnane and David Freyne explore the decisions people make in relationships. Many have no idea if they’re making the right choice, and almost everyone is fearful of making the wrong one. 

When Joan eventually dies from her illness (shortly after), she arrives at the train station and is forced to choose between the two. The love triangle trope is always interesting to play with, and Freyne builds two strong bonds between both couples. 

The relationships are laid out in front of the audience, and Freyne adds depth with a memory bank called “The Archive”, which is used as a festival attraction for those who have chosen an eternity. 

The performances from Olsen and Teller were delightful. They portrayed years’ worth of time spent together through their chemistry. It felt like Larry had to prove that he was the right choice for her all over again, which is romantic in itself. Teller has never been more charming than he is in this role. 

In contrast to Luke and Joan’s relationship, which felt like a newfound romance because of its awkwardness and anxious delivery of dialogue towards each other. Turner and Olsen had a different chemistry, and the way their romantic adventure unfolds explores memories of joy, but great loss. 

Freyne highlights the love of both couples in stages and how outgrowing people and situations can be a reason it won’t work. Everyone’s first love can be the most devastating in hindsight, but the most invincible in the moment. Eternity balances both of these feelings through the grieving process, and Joan has to accept the right offer.

The romantic aspects are sweet because both of her husbands attempt to win her over, and Olsen’s comedic moments were fantastic. Olsen’s over-the-top hysterics in finding herself again and testing what the right decision would be made her the highlight of the film. 

Her afterlife coach, Ryan (John Early), was sabotaging Larry and rooting for Luke while Anna was doing the opposite. Early and Randolph worked well together and made this tough decision playful for the leads.

Freyne crafted a whimsical film in which the magical realism aspects seeped through the production design as well.The rooms were lavishly decorated to suit the newcomers, and backdrops were used to change the day into night. He presents a fantasy world that many think of daily. Where do we go after we die? What would life between look like? What is our ideal afterlife?

It was a nice touch to have pamphlets and pop-ups in the train station to entice people to visit their world. Those moments were woven into Olsen’s experience as she, for the first time in years, thought about what she wanted for herself.

Eternity is an imaginative film about second chances, and the meaning of relationships is deconstructed. Freyne explores the scope of a lifetime and the importance of choosing the right partner for the rest of your life. The fantasy elements help expand the humour and the possibility of multiple lifetimes after death, which is also why the romantic comedy will become a comfort for audiences.