Eternity

The rom-com genre is a shadow of what it once was. Where we once found many of the film world's most iconic scenes and moments, we now find a genre overwhelmed with quite frankly forgettable garbage. It's because of this that a flick like Eternity comes across as such a breath of fresh air.

This charming and emotional film has quite the simple premise and plot, with it using the tried and tested dynamic of a love triangle and how that imposes complications on those involved. It's a movie that doesn't rewrite what we expect or know about rom-coms, rather it looks to take familiar elements and ensure they are properly and thoughtfully constructed, ultimately leading to a truly memorable and provoking whole.

At its core, the idea of Eternity is to test what we as viewers understand about life after death. The main body of the film revolves around Miles Teller's Larry and Elizabeth Olsen's Joan, a couple who were married for 60 years in life and now are faced with the challenge of what to do in the afterlife for the rest of eternity. It might seem like a fairly clear cut decision to the uninitiated, but a handsome spanner is thrown into the works as Callum Turner appears as Luke, Joan's first husband who died when he was young during the Korean war. This leads to a situation where Joan has to decide between her two husbands. Does she settle down for eternity with the dreamy man she never had the chance to build a life with, or instead look to continue on with her faithful and flawed husband who defined her living life.

Again, it's nothing unique here, aside from the fact that this all happens in the afterlife. It's a familiar romance but it works effortlessly because of the fact that the core trio are so perfectly cast and have such great chemistry that every scene is a delight. It's an emotionally complicated and morally complex film that asks questions about things the majority of us never remotely think about, and while that could lead to a movie that's a bit too heavy to enjoy, the dialogue and narrative is written and performed so spectacularly that it's fun and light.

There's something to be celebrated about a rom-com in the mid-2020s that is actually both romantic and hilarious, but Eternity manages the feat. It will have you laughing out loud at the perfectly-timed snide jabs and jokes, all while leaving you with a tear in your eye during the phases that are most emotional. I've mentioned it multiple times already, but I cannot stress enough that this film isn't creatively unique, it just does all of the core things that we expect from a rom-com truly well. It's a treat to watch from start to finish, and the casting and performances and even the interesting setup should mean that everyone will have a blast with this quite tight sub-two hour effort.

For a rom-com these days to provide three distinguished and refined characters that are far from perfect and then have all of them collide in meaningful and memorable scenes that leave you wanting more, there's not much else you could ask for from Eternity. The competition isn't great in this genre at the moment, but I'd be hard-pressed to name a better rom-com that has premiered over the last couple of years. Seriously, if you're searching for a sweet and funny film to watch, you won't go too far wrong with Eternity.