EDEN (2025) review
written by: Noah Pink and Ron Howard
produced by: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Karen Lunder, Stuart Ford, Bill Connor & Patrick Newall
directed by: Ron Howard
rated: R ( for some strong violence, sexual content, graphic nudity and language)
runtime: 129 min.
U.S. release date: August 22, 2025
When it comes to entertaining Hollywood fare, veteran director Ron Howard was once a sure thing, consistently delivering dependable and satisfying movies. Figuring out what his last truly great movie was is anyone’s guess, though (I would say 2013’s “Rush”), since a lot of them are good, but rarely great. At least his choices have been anything but predictable, often selecting to tackle genres ranging from comedies to westerns to thrillers, even venturing into documentaries. It’s been a challenge for Howard to recover from the unintentionally hilarious debacle that was “Hillbilly Elegy” back in 2020, and his latest, “Eden,” doesn’t quite get him out of his slump.
The movie is a period piece set in the post-World War I era, based on the true story of a handful of European settlers who arrive on the isolated Floreana Island in the Galápagos Archipelago, just south of Ecuador. The first to arrive on the desolate island in 1929 is Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law, exuding a frustrated arrogance and game for full-frontal) and his wife, Dore Strauch (Vanessa Kirby), who is afflicted with multiple sclerosis. They’ve decided to restart their lives due to the decline of the global economy and the rise of fascism, and to escape the bourgeois values they believe are infesting mankind. He will spend his days typing away a manifesto, while she will focus on relieving her illness with meditation (and sex). The German couple is ready to rough it out, fully believing in their decisions and writing letters to hand off to nearby ships to keep those back home abreast of their new life.
Ten years pass, and they are greeted by their first visitors, fellow Germans Heinz Wittmer (Daniel Brühl) and his younger wife, Margaret Wittmer (Sydney Sweeney), along with his sickly son, Harry (Jonathan Tittel). They have followed Friedrich’s published letters and were inspired to restart their lives on Floreana as well. Friedrich and Dore are far from hospitable, coldly providing the new arrivals with a plot of land they’ve found to be less than fruitful. They are surprised by the Wittmers’ success, having worked hard to build their own home over time, as well as finding solutions for running water and food. Harry eventually seems to be feeling better, which is perhaps due to the island’s climate.
However, the Wittmers are not naive to the skeptical nature of the Doctor and his wife, showing caution with each interaction with them while maintaining pleasantries. The Wittmers aren’t given any encouragement or helpful advice. Freidrich dismissively states, “Failure is inevitable,” when commenting on Heinz’s desire to create a domestic environment for his family. “Everything on this island can kill you” is the most honest thing Dore shares with the Wittmers, and honestly, the most realistic line uttered in Noah Pink’s (who penned the biographic thriller “Tetris”) screenplay, which he co-wrote with Howard. Eventually, we’ll realize that the indigenous pests on the island will be the least of all threats. They are clearly not the most welcoming hosts. Heinz and Margaret don’t want to exacerbate their relationship with their neighbors, considering they are the only other humans in the vicinity.
That soon changes once a new arrival, Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner (Ana de Armas), alters the landscape. She arrives accompanied by her two lovers, engineer Rudy (Felix Kammerer) and bodyguard Robert (Toby Wallace), along with Manuel (Ignacio Gasparini), an Ecuadorian servant. Right away, this so-called “Baroness” comes across as fake, flaunting her alleged wealth and claiming she has arrived to build a resort called “Hacienda Paradiso” (for billionaires only!); however, it’ll soon be clear that she cannot do anything without one of her manservants. Not long after, Magret becomes pregnant, which adds to the building tension amid the stressful dynamic between these three parties. Everyone will have to determine who can be trusted and what morals to adhere to to survive.
The drama that unfolds on the island is gradual, occurring as new humans arrive. That’s a no-brainer considering it’s initially just Friedrich and Dora roughing it out, and Friedrich will see anyone else as a bothersome annoyance or distraction. He’s a stern man of extremes, hell-bent on committing to writing an original philosophy to the world, one based on his new experiences. As a severe preventative measure, he has extracted all of his teeth to avoid decay or infection, using metallic dentures to chew food. That’s no problem, considering he starts as a vegetarian and a gardener, and can’t imagine hunting for his food. How and why he changes this way of life (as well as his temperament) comes into play once the Wittmers arrive.
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once posited, “Hell is other people”, and we’re reminded of that once Eloise arrives. She is the wrench thrown in the somewhat unstable machinations already in place on the island. Pink and Howard provide de Armas with some broad material to work with, finding the actress chewing into her character and teetering on the edge of overacting. The character proves to be a conniving manipulator, which is on display during a luncheon she invites everyone to after the birth of the Wittmer boy. De Armas’s portrayal is enjoyable at first, but it eventually proves to be a one-note characterization.
There is an interesting moment later on in the movie, when American industrialist Allan Hancock (Richard Roxburgh) arrives on the island with a documentary crew to film the settlers. He comes at a point where just about everyone is done with each other and at the lowest point of desperation. In a pathetic turn, Eloise tries to seduce Hancock, who has ties to Hollywood (stating he owns most of the land in Los Angeles), but is brushed off when he sees through her charade. Eloise is left broken and even more desperate, turning to feral antics that will pose a threat to herself and others.
As the decline of relationships is covered in “Eden”, with food supplies dwindling, acts of theft and violence are inevitable. Most of the actors are given big actor-y moments of confrontation and confession, and too many of these moments veer into soapy territory.
Considering the amalgamation of the long-running reality TV show “Survivor” and an adult version of William Golding’s classic 1954 novel, Lord of the Flies, “Eden” sparks a particular curiosity. The ensemble cast, which is predominantly stacked with all-star A-listers, is also a draw. Considering the cast and the director’s pedigree, you would think we would’ve heard more about the movie after it premiered last fall at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
When the movie concludes, we will discover that this is based on actual events, or at least a culmination of Dr. Ritter’s letters to the civilized world, as well as the respective memoirs written by Dore Strauch and Margret Wittmer. As the end titles approach, Howard includes archival black-and-white reels presumably of Dr. Ritter, Dore Strauch, and the Wittmers, serving as a coda. On-screen texts confirmed that Margret was the sole remaining occupant of the island, dying on Floreana at the age of 98 in 2000. To this day, her descendants operate a resort for tourists on the island. This information, in and of itself, is more interesting than the story that Howard and Pink have delivered with “Eden.”
As a career choice, “Eden” is a commendable big swing for Howard, but it eventually unravels and proves to be an unsteady viewing experience.
I’d be very interested in a documentary that covers the history of the Wittmer family and the resort they’ve maintained all these years. It turns out that there was indeed a documentary called “The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,” released in 2013. If “Eden” did anything for me, it has definitely sparked an interest in checking that out.
RATING: **1/2
