By Sarah Osman

The problem is that, as Eternity goes on, the film starts to feel as if it is taking an eternity.

Eternity, directed by David Freyne. Screening at AMC Theatre, Somerville Theatre, Landmark Kendall Square Cinema, and other movie houses around New England

Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner in a scene from Eternity. Photo: courtesy of TIFF

I’m working on a novel set in the afterlife, so I was intrigued by the premise of Eternity. Essentially, Larry (Miles Teller) dies, only to learn from his afterlife coordinator Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) that he has one week to pick a place in which to spend all of eternity. Initially, Larry decides to wait. His wife, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen), has cancer and is slated to pass away soon. Then he decides to pick an eternity and leave his wife a letter explaining where he went. But Joan shows up, and there’s just one small hiccup: Joan’s first husband, Luke (Callum Turner), has been working as a bartender in the in-between for the past 67 years, waiting for Joan to appear. Joan is given one week to decide — which husband will she spend eternity with? Once you pick an eternity, you can’t leave: no toggling. If you opt out of eternity entirely, you spend the rest of your time (if that exists) in the dark void.

The first half of Eternity has some light and playful moments. Watching Larry navigate his way through convention center booths advertising different eternities is amusing. The standouts include Studio 54 (which offers free lines of cocaine) and the Women Only eternity, which (unsurprisingly) has a waiting list. Teller plays Larry with perfect old man energy; he’s crotchety, but content that he can do squats (when you die, you go back to the age when you were your happiest; for Larry, that’s 35.) When Joan arrives, she asks Larry to give her some time to think. He agrees and goes off for a nap, a reaction typical of most long-term marriages. Meanwhile, Randolph squabbles with Joan’s afterlife coordinator, Ryan (John Early), about which husband is the dreamier.

The catch is that, as Eternity goes on, the film starts to feel as if it is taking an eternity. The second half of the film moves at a slow pace, focusing, with too much patience, on Joan’s struggles with her decision. Olsen does her best to sell Joan’s romantic misery, but how long can watching someone torn between two loves go on? The indecision wears thin. As for the rules of the celestial setup — they are never explained. Why can a person live in only one eternity for eternity? Why can’t everyone, like in good old Christian heaven, regardless of their actions, end up in the same infinite area? Eternity‘s concept of the afterlife feels as if it was burped up by a rom-com AI.

Ironically, it often feels as if Luke and Larry have more chemistry with each other than they do with Joan. So why don’t the guys run off together? Joan has a gal pal whom she’s known longer than either husband; wouldn’t she want to spend eternity with her? Why don’t they all just pick one eternity and spend it together? Oh, that is against the rules …

Eternity taps into valid romantic dilemmas. What happens if you never get over your first love? Or if you never got to spend a life with them because your life was tragically cut short? What kind of sacrifices do we — or should we — make for the ones we love? But these questions are skimmed over or botched. It’s not the actors’ fault—Olsen, Teller, Turner, Randolph, and Early are all clearly having fun, doing their best navigating an uneven script. The film’s windup is satisfying, but there are too many dithering detours along the way.

A primal rule of fantasy: if your story is going to call for complex world-building, that world must be well-built. A number of films and TV shows have dealt with the afterlife with nuanced humor and genuine pathos: The Good Place, Defending Your Life, and Coco among them. Eternity is not one of that angelic company.

Sarah Mina Osman is based in Los Angeles. In addition to The Arts Fuse, her writing can be found in The Huffington Post, Success Magazine, Matador Network, HelloGiggles, Business Insider, and WatchMojo. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is working on her first novel. She has a deep appreciation for sloths and tacos. You can keep up with her on Instagram @SarahMinaOsman and at Bluesky @sarahminaosman.bsky.social.