ETERNITY (2025) review
written by: Pat Cunnane and David Freyne
produced by: Trevor White and Tim White
directed by: David Freyne
rated: PG-13 (for sexual content and some strong language)
runtime: 114 min.
U.S. release date: November 26, 2025
As long as humans have been sentient beings, there has been a curiosity about the unknown, and no subject has been more pondered than death. Of the many questions surrounding the subject, the biggest is what happens after death, often curiously referred to as the “afterlife”. In movies, the afterlife is often much more complicated than heaven or hell, and that’s usually because there’s a staging area that determines where we’ll spend it. That process frequently involves looking back on how a life was lived, as in the rom-com “Defending Your Life”, the 1991 classic from Albert Brooks. In the new rom-com, “Eternity”, co-writers Patrick Cunnae and David Freyne (who also directs) pose a specific afterlife question: “Where would you choose to spend the rest of your afterlife?”
Dying is hard enough, but add to it the immense pressure of determining your own “forever place”. It’s nice that choosing is even an option, and while “Eternity” doesn’t get into the minutiae of such a task, there are some rules established. Probably the most essential rule to keep in mind is that once you decide on your eternity, there’s no turning back. Clearly, there are reasons why the best afterlife movies are often comedies.
“Eternity” opens on the side of life that has heartburn, allergies, and terminal illnesses, as well as gender reveal parties. We’re introduced to an adorable, argumentative elderly couple, Joan (Betty Buckley) and Larry Cutler (Barry Primus), who are driving to one such family gender-reveal party. Larry amusingly thinks such events are ridiculous, much like kindergarten graduation parties. Joan laughs off his annoyed comments with the kind of patience she’s developed over the 67 years they’ve been married.
Obviously, they’ve had their share of ups and downs being married that long, and they’ve recently decided it’s probably time to let the entire family know about Joan’s current cancer treatment. Knowing what the movie is about, one would think that Cunnane and Freyene would write a vehicular collision that sends one of them to the great unknown, but thankfully, that doesn’t happen, and such a subversion is welcome this early on.
Before any gender is revealed, Larry chokes on a pretzel and dies. The next thing he knows, he is on a train arriving at a station called The Junction. It’s a bustling hub, filled with diverse people of all ages and races, most of whom are as confused as Larry as he exits the train. It’s a waiting area for the deceased, and that’s something that Larry initially has a hard time accepting, mainly because he was supposed to be at Joan’s side during her cancer treatment. Confused and curious, Larry (who now looks like Miles Teller) asks those who bump into what’s going on and gets the same reply each time: “Wait for your AC” or “Your AC will be right with you.”
Larry waits and waits for his AC, that’s Afterlife Coordinator, to appear, and once that happens, he is briefed on what is going on. One thing his AC, Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), tells him is that everyone who arrives at The Junction shows up as the age at which they were happiest while alive. Some senior citizens show up as 9-year-olds, while Larry is pushing forty, rather than ninety. He has all the memories of the life he shared with Joan, but he’s younger, and that’s just as overwhelming as this strange location. Anna explains that this is a place where you choose an “eternity”, a place where you’ll spend forever. It’s not exactly clear if you’ll age in this eternity, but one can assume you’ll stay at the age you arrived in. One clear thing is that whatever eternity you decide on, that’s it. There’s no turning back or changing your mind. If you attempt to leave, you’ll be banished to a place called the “Void.”
Larry isn’t quite ready to make a decision yet, though. He’d rather wait for Joan to join him, knowing it will probably be soon, considering her condition. Anna provides him with hotel-like accommodations and lets him know where the bar is (which is where he meets bartender, Luke), and that he has a week to decide his eternity. No pressure. Freyne makes a point of showing all the options Larry and other deceased deciders have available to them. Sometimes they are displayed in booths on what appears to be a convention floor, and sometimes we see poster advertisements in the background. Some of these themed realms are quite humorous, such as “Capitalist World” and “Weimar World (“Now with 100% less Nazis!”)”, while others seem initially enticing, like “Beach World” or “Mountain World”, and then there’s the wildly popular “Man Free World”. Most of the options in this agnostic look at the afterlife are ones in which we wouldn’t want to spend six months, let alone an eternity. A place like “Museum World” might initially seem enticing, but when we see a nameless escapee from that realm being chased down by security, screaming how he “can’t stand looking at those paintings”, it becomes clear that maybe these dead folks need more than a week to choose a place to spend forever.
When Joan (now played by Elizabeth Olsen) finally arrives at the new arrival area, she and Larry are elated to see each other again, and Larry works fast to figure out which eternity they can spend together. But seconds after Joan reunites with Larry, she also sees her first husband, Luke (Callum Turner) – yep, the bartender – who had perished in World War II. She is overwhelmed as feelings long buried now resurface as she’s faced with the opportunity to reconnect with someone she thought she’d never see again. Her own AC, Ryan (John Early), recommends she choose Luke over Larry, after all, the bartender has become well-known after waiting for Joan for 67 years.
With Larry’s hope dashed, he scrambles to woo his wife all over again. Yet Joan already has had a whole life with Larry, with children and grandchildren, the kind of life she never had with her first love, Luke. Now she has to choose which of the two she’ll spend forever with.
Joan’s decision may seem easy to some, and her dilemma will definitely prompt viewers to ask themselves what they would do in her shoes. It’s natural to have “What If?” thoughts and feelings about a certain someone from the past, someone who, for whatever reason, you wound up not spending decades with. But then there’s that person you spent decades with, building a life together and experiencing joys and persevering through hardships.
When I first saw the trailer to “Eternity”, it looked quite cheesy and a rehashed update of “Defending Your Life”, and it feels so good to be wrong. Freyne brings this fascinatingly strange take on the afterlife with great care and specific details that are pretty relatable. Larry is elated that he can do squats again, a movement he can no longer do in his elderly body, and he’s happy to share this joy with Joan. Revolving the storyline around Joan’s big decision could’ve easily been seen as punishment for the character (and possibly viewers), but the screenplay doesn’t dwell on any of Joan’s struggles. Instead, we get a sense of what a rebooted courtship would look like for the trio. It’s easy to understand, and even side with each character caught in this confusing triangle without any judgment whatsoever.
Joan does wind up getting the opportunity to spend time with each of her gentlemen callers, which provides their own distinctive experiences and unexpected revelations. Whatever she chooses, whether it’s a quiet cabin in the wilderness with Luke or a beach vacation with Larry, she also has to figure out not just who to spend forever with, but also what happiness is. Is it something someone describes to you, or can you only tell it once you experience it yourself?
Whatever and whatever Joan decides, she’ll also have to contend with the feelings that come when she experiences “Archive Tunnels”, which are located in every realm. These places offer ticket-buyers a chance to watch highlighted moments from their lives that stand out. Most of them are wonderfully sweet and tender moments, while some are emotionally poignant, which are hard to relive yet unforgettable. One can easily get addicted to walking through this hall of memories, and neglect living out the forever world that’s been chosen.
Joan gets some added perspective when her elderly friend, Karen (Olga Merediz), from their HOA, kicks the bucket. She turns out to be one of the only characters who appear in the afterlife at the age they died. It turns out she was the happiest in her twilight years, confidently and comfortably embracing who she truly is. Her demeanor helps Joan make her decision, but even then, it’s still something she has to be sure of in her heart.
“Eternity” becomes something more profound than anyone really expects going in. There’s mild levity and relationship comedy present throughout, but it’s incredibly touching and satisfying to see Olsen’s Joan navigate such an unwinnable situation. The ending is a fitting matter of the heart that Joan must come to on her own. Cunnane and Freyne have crafted an impressive screenplay with “Eternity”, one that’s brought to life by a fantastic ensemble cast, and culminates in a charming and thought-provoking feature that is bound to elicit some rich discussions afterwards.
RATING: ***1/2
