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AppleTV knew exactly what they were doing when they dropped their latest rom-com the day before Valentine’s Day. In hopes of attracting the right crowd ahead of the holiday of love, Apple released Eternity this past week. It stars Elizabeth Olsen (Avengers/MCU), Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick/The Gorge), and Callem Turner (Masters of the Air). Known for its comedies and sci-fi shows, the streamer has also had solid returns from movies, including Highest to Lowest, F1: The Movie, and CODA. So where does Eternity fit in their recent run of success?
via IMDb:
In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with and her first love, who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.
Eternity is one of the rare rom-coms that focuses more on the romance than the comedy. That’s not to say that the humor isn’t there. It’s a character-driven narrative instead of a humor-driven one. The plot does the heavy lifting in this one, and the humor is more down-to-earth. It’s whimsical rather than over-the-top with precarious situations.
A small cast lends the story’s charm and wholesomeness. Even when looking back, the audience doesn’t have to endure flashbacks that clutter the story and characters. Their involvement doesn’t change the story. When we look back at the lives of Joan and Larry, or Joan and Luke, we see them through the lens of “archives” set on a stage with backdrops as if the characters are putting on a play. The payoff of that choice is the connection you have to the characters and their story, without slowing the pace of storytelling.
Instead of a big ensemble cast, Eternity focuses on a few key stories that allow its characters to shine. Elizabeth Olsen does a fantastic job as Joan and is quickly becoming one of those actresses whose movies you watch strictly because she’s in them. The pairing with her, along with both Teller and Turner, has enough on-screen chemistry to keep the audience engaged.
The hardest part of watching any romantic film, such as Eternity, is making comparisons to other films in the genre. People will either expect The Notebook or one of the quirky comedies that round out the genre. Truth be told, Eternity falls somewhere in between. It’s not a complex love story for the ages, but the simple moral of how you decide who you want to spend eternity with solidifies the quality of the movie. Eternity is currently streaming on AppleTV.
