If there’s one complaint we have about Eternity, it’s that it presents an interesting afterlife that doles out different kinds of all-expenses-paid perpetual vacations, but doesn’t devote more time to exploring said afterlife. It’s why the pacing sometimes feels a bit rushed. Instead, this metaphysical romcom works better as a metaphor about life itself. Sure, Joan’s dilemma between her war-hero first husband and the second husband she built her family with makes it a familiar love triangle. However, the unique setting they’re in provides unique stakes that recognizes how important the choice of spouse can be. After all, it’s the rest of eternal life at stake. Perhaps it is quite tough to fully capture what this afterlife can be, but Eternity depicts its romance with the kind of color, beauty, and sweetness that we’ve missed from the classics.
"Most significantly, Olsen adds compelling layers of tenderness to Joan’s ongoing uncertainty: She genuinely doesn’t know which man to go with, and we believe it."
— Bilge Ebiri
"The cast is game for the challenge, even if their best efforts aren’t quite enough to give “Eternity” the emotional undertow it needs to become more than a semi-charming thought exercise."
— David Ehrlich
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.
