A24's New Romantic Comedy Puts Elizabeth Olsen in a Dilemma: Which Hunk Will She Choose?

This year has made it clear that love triangles are increasingly tricky to pull off convincingly in film, and Eternity is the latest example. Following hits like The Summer I Turned Pretty and Materialists, the romantic comedy starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner, hits theaters with a premise that initially promises a fresh take on the trope.

In the film, Olsen plays Joan, who, after dying in her 80s, is transformed back into her younger self and faces a seemingly impossible choice: spend eternity with Larry (Miles Teller), her long-time husband with whom she shared decades and built a family, or Luke (Callum Turner), a man who died young before they could create a life together. This setup, filled with emotional stakes and whimsical afterlife concepts, makes Eternity an enjoyable watch, particularly as a light-hearted recommendation for casual viewing.

However, the movies charm is slightly undercut by the predictability of its love triangle resolution. The afterlife in Eternity is a highly structured place resembling a mix between a train station, hotel, and convention center, where souls choose their permanent worlds, such as Space World for astronomy enthusiasts or Paris World, perpetually set in 1960s France. Once a choice is made, its final, forcing Joan to select between Mountain World with Luke or Beach World with Larry.

The outcome is fairly obvious: despite Lukes charm and years of waiting, Larry is the natural choice. Even minor plot twists attempting to diminish Lukes appeal do little to change this, and Hollywoods casting logic reinforces it, as Teller is the bigger star and unlikely to be sidelined. The film doesnt offer the possibility of all three coexisting in the same afterlife, which could have opened the door for more creative explorations of love and relationships beyond death.

The movies afterlife rules feel unnecessarily restrictive. Allowing Joan to explore relationships with both men or giving them all separate paradises would align more with the freedom that comes with eternity. Larry and Lukes characters, surprisingly open-minded and non-possessive, even show the potential for camaraderie despite their shared connection to Joan, hinting at a polyamorous resolution that the film never fully explores. This missed opportunity underscores a broader limitation in Eternity: the story is charming but constrained by conventional notions of love, even when logic suggests otherwise.

Author: Ava Mitchell