Eternity Movie Review (2025)
A smart romantic comedy about a woman who must choose between her two husbands in the afterlife, Eternity has an excellent concept, but becomes too serious in the third act.
There is something about the film Defending Your Life that is comfortable. I think that it is the way that Albert Brooks presents a story, but there is a coziness to it. Going to an afterlife where you can eat as much as you want, reflect on the existence you’ve just had in a room with other people, and have a realization (as Meryl Streep’s character does) that everyone you’ve left living will be okay – it’s just lovely. Especially the part about eating as much as you want…
Eternity is about Joan, an elderly woman with grown children who has been married to her husband, Larry, for 65 years. When Larry suddenly dies, he ends up in a Hub with an Afterlife Coordinator who helps guide him into choosing which “eternity” he’d like to go to. While this is happening, Joan also dies, arrives at the same place, and is faced with deciding whether to spend her eternity with Larry, or her first husband, Luke, who died in the war when they were both very young.
This is a fantastic concept that I haven’t seen before, and it’s really fun that it’s being explored here. Was your real life – where you argued, got frustrated, and felt exhausted – better than the life you could have had? The one that you imagined if things had just gone differently? We all have that question about something (What if I’d gone to a different college? What if I’d never broken up with that person? What if I’d said yes to that job?) and it’s really compelling to see it play out for Joan.
The first half of Eternity is extremely funny. I laughed out loud half a dozen times. The humor is spicy and clever, and the actors are great. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is a standout as Anna, Larry’s Afterlife Coordinator, and I looked forward to every moment that she was on screen with a brand new blonde hairdo.
There are some really cute moments where Larry and Joan realize that their knees and hips work again, and Anna lets Larry know (specifically) that all of his parts are working again. Also, their favorite clothes from life are in their room closet (and fit!) and there is an eternity for everyone, although the Man-Free world is already at full occupancy.
As you go through the movie, though, the humor element drops out. By the middle of the movie, there are a few amusing moments, but no real laughs. In the third act, everything has become much more serious and almost feels poised for melodrama. I think they were trying to elicit tears from the audience, but I never connected with the film like that. I do wish they’d stayed with the humor because it felt like they hit just the right notes in that realm.
Overall, though, Eternity is a good time. It covers an unexplored subject and has a similar charm to Defending Your Life in the first half of the film. I just wish they’d kept the same tone throughout, but maybe that will bother you less than it bothered me. Either way, it’s worth a watch.
Runtime: 114 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Available: Currently in theaters
