By Kimberly Grant
What would you do if you had one week to decide your eternal life? Would you choose a dream vacation for life? Or would you choose your current existence forever?
Eternity, in theaters starting November 26,attempts to help you and Joan (played by Elizabeth Olsen) answer that question.
Joan’s Dilemma
Joan has been blessed to have two great loves in her lifetime. (Some of us would be glad for one.) She ends up with both in the afterlife. Her first husband, the dreamy and hot Luke (Callum Turner) died serving his country in the Korean War. Since then, he’s spent 67 human years in a form of Purgatory waiting for Joan to join him in the afterlife (read: die). Her other choice is Larry (Miles Teller), Joan’s dependable, recently deceased second husband with whom she’s been married to for 65 years. They share children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Both men are eager to spend the rest of their afterlife with Joan. So now she has a choice: Dreamy First Husband Luke or Dependable Second Husband Larry. For some, it would be a no brainer: pick the hot husband. The film attempts to go deeper than that, though.
What Is Love?
The writers Patrick Cunnane and David Freyne (who also directed) want us to really dig deep to arrive at an answer. What is love? Is it the man who’s been in a holding pattern for you for 67 years? Is it the man who has been your life partner for 65 years? Or is it within? Is true love also about loving yourself?
I can’t fully answer the questions in terms of the movie. It would give away the plot. What I would write is that this movie had me thinking about my own life. What would my ideal afterlife look like? Who would I want to be there? Definitely a good point of discussion.
Eternal Life
Part of my afterlife answer lies within my Christian faith. I would like to think I’m going to Heaven and it will look representative of my happy place. Like many Christians, I believe that if we live righteously, we will go to Heaven. Unfortunately, in Eternity there is no Heaven or Hell. All people get to decide on an afterlife of their choosing, no matter if they were good or bad in life. This makes what we do in our lifetime on earth meaningless.
A major component of the movie are Joan and Larry’s Acs, also known as Afterlife Coordinators Anna (Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Ryan (John Early). These are not heavenly angels and they live in a train station that has the look and feel of Purgatory. Recently deceased souls find themselves at this train station as they transition to the afterlife of their choosing; without consideration of what’s in their hearts.
Playing devil’s advocate, it could be argued that Cunnane didn’t want to distract from the main plot by getting philosophical. Or Freyne thought a religious plot point would detract from the overall message. Joan’s choices aren’t about religious beliefs. They’re about love; enduring love. Which love will last an eternity?
It Hits Different
Eternity isn’t a typical movie. It’s about love and being one’s authentic self, as seen with the types of eternities available to the characters, like Paris World, Queer World, Studio 54, Hermit World, Beach World, Mountains, and even Satanic World (Why would anyone want to be there?). Each eternity catering to a specific person’s personality.
Randolph and her awesome platinum blonde hair provide comic relief alongside Early. The ACs have a weird dynamic that seems to work and I like Randolph as an actress. She truly is talented in every role she portrays. In fact, everyone in this film propels the story forward with talented precision.
Did I enjoy Eternity? Sure. Is it something I would watch again? Sure. Have I been spending time thinking about what my Heaven would look like? Absolutely.
You can read more movie reviews by Kimberly Grant (K. A. Grant) here.
