Warning: spoilers for Eternity ahead.
I’m usually not one for romantic comedies, but when it comes to new A24 movie Eternity, I’m all in. After they die, husband and wife Larry (Miles Teller) and Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) arrive at the junction, which is basically a trade expo to decide where you want to spend your eternity.
There’s a lot of great offers on option – the Yacht afterlife, Studio 54 afterlife and Man-Free afterlife to name a few – but there’s a problem: Joan’s first husband Luke (Callum Turner), who died in the Korean War, has been waiting at the Junction for 67 years to be reunited.
Joan chooses Larry, and that’s the only ‘right decision’ for Eternity director David Freyne
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In the end, Joan chooses Larry… but not without dithering about it first. She initially takes up with Luke, but after spending time with him in the Mountain afterlife, she realizes how much she misses Larry, and how the two have become part of each other.
“I like that people are who question it,” Freyne tells me. “I think both men are really valid. Nobody would regret her going with her first love or choosing to stay with her husband that she’s been with for so long. I think she’s made the right choice.
“It was always the choice I wanted in writing the script and same with Pat (Cunnane), my co-writer. But I like that we have Team Larry’s and then we have Team Joan’s. I like people arguing over it. I don’t think that matters as long as you’re always Team Joan. But for me, it’s right. I think it’s the person that reflects who she is now rather than past love. I think we could have more than one big break up in our lives.”
Hopefully, it’s good news to Freyne that I am definitely Team Joan, but I’m Team Joan in a totally different way. I think Eternity should have ended with the decision she initially made before Larry coaxed her into another one: she should have chosen herself.
With Larry and Luke constantly fighting, Joan decided that the only way their predicament could be settled is if she goes to an afterlife on her own. Later, Larry convinces Joan to give things a go with Luke, though this eventually leads back to their shared eternity anyway.
I wish Joan would have been as Team Joan as the rest of us are. How lovely and peaceful would her eternity have been, trying new hobbies, making new friends and not having to make dinner or pick up after a husband. She could have had it all, forever. It’s 2025 and nobody needs a husband, even if they are literally living in a rom-com.
If Joan does get tired of Larry, perhaps I’ve inadvertently written the script for Eternity 2: The Jailbreak.
Eternity will stream on HBO Max next year thanks to A24’s deal with the platform. Grab the below deal and be ready for when it arrives.
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