Eternity Synopsis: 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.
After elderly Larry Cutler unexpectedly passes, he finds himself in The Junction, which is a place between life and eternity. He has a week to decide where to spend his afterlife – as there are no take-backs – but he decides to try and wait for his wife, Joan, who is dying from terminal cancer. When Joan finally joins Larry in The Junction, she encounters her first husband, Luke, who died in the Korean War. Now Joan must decide which man she wants to spend eternity with.
This was a movie I had wanted to see when it was released, but with so many other movies coming out, it was challenging to find the time. Thankfully, AMC was still playing it, and my husband and I caught a matinee today. I’m glad we did, because Eternity was just lovely.
Elizabeth Olsen is fantastic as Joan, projecting the perfect amount of warmth, doubt, and emotional honesty that makes you really understand why she’s torn. With Larry, she built a life that spanned over sixty years. With Luke, she didn’t really get a chance to see what their future might have looked like. Miles Teller brings a lot of charm and subtle humor to Larry, playing him as genuinely kind and quietly funny, whereas Callum Turner’s Luke is more of a grand-gesture romantic. Joan has enough chemistry with both men to make her dilemma even more understandable and believable.
Eternity shines in the lighter moments. Within the Junction are ads and salesmen for the various worlds one could spend eternity in. Museum World, Beach World, Paris World… pretty simple stuff, but there’s also eternities like Infantilization World and No Man’s World (all #443 locations are full, by the way). It’s a weirdly playful environment for the story to unfold in, and it adds a lot of levity to the drama between Joan and her two husbands.
I have to give a shout-out to the supporting cast, as well. John Early and Da’Vine Joy Randolph bring heart and humor as Joan and Larry’s Afterlife Coordinators. Randolph, especially, is a scene stealer. I don’t think I’ve seen a project of hers where I didn’t love her performance, and Eternity is no different.
That being said, Eternity still falls into some familiar rom-com tropes. The beats are a bit predictable, and the rules of the afterlife are seemingly stringent and unbending… that is, until the plot requires something different. It wasn’t egregious enough to ruin the movie, but it dulls some of the emotional stakes.
Ultimately, Eternity is charming and heartfelt. It’s a thoughtful film that may have you considering what you might have done in Joan’s shoes. It touches upon the moments that make a life, whether they’re grand and romantic or small and nuanced. I left with a smile on my face, so for that, I definitely recommend Eternity to anyone who loves the genre.
Watched: 01/04/2026
Notable Song: Sixty-Seven Years by David Fleming
