Eternity

TIFF REVIEW: BY KURT MORRISON

NOVEMBER 26, 2025

5 OUT OF 5 STARS

It’s hard for a topic like death to really find its footing when it comes to film. Of course, it can go the brooding, dramatic route - ala Manchester by the Sea - where you’re left physically and emotionally devastated after watching. But audiences nowadays really seem to be clamouring for something lighthearted. Feel good films don’t have their once ‘dime a dozen’ stature in Hollywood anymore so when one pops up, I feel like shouting it from the rooftops.

In the weeks leading up to the Toronto International Film Festival, Eternity didn’t interest me. I had steered clear of the trailer, but was definitely intrigued by its stellar cast featuring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner, but I had honestly planned to see other films on the evening of the 11th, even up until the day of. But then I found myself in the Thursday night screening, wedged between a lovely retired woman in her late 60s and a 20-something year old male festival goer, not knowing I was about to have one of my favorite theatre going experiences of all-time.

Eternity injects a whimsical look at the metaphysical idea of what the afterlife looks like, by introducing us to Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) and Larry (Miles Teller). After Larry unexpectedly dies and awakens in the afterlife, he eagerly awaits the arrival of his wife so that they can finally be together forever. But there’s one catch — Joan’s first husband, the very charming and handsome Luke (Callum Turner), has already been waiting for her there for more than six decades since his own early death during the war. Granted just seven days to make a choice, Joan must decide between the man with whom she built a lifetime of memories or the one whose future with her was cut tragically short.

Everything about Eternity feels fleshed out and there is a level of ingenuity that I fell in love with, right from the open frames of Larry entering the afterlife. Pat Cunnane and co-writer/director David Freyne’s script not only packs a knockout of a love story but some incredibly good laughs throughout. The jokes about the available types of afterlife continually roll through the entirety of the movie, making for a very fun tongue-in-cheek running joke, while being elevated by picture perfect set and costume design in this pseudo-retro meets nostalgic middle ground. It felt like a kaleidoscope of color from the 1950s and 1960s outfitting the environments that our three leads get to play around in, befitting as we find that they have all gone back to the ages where they were their happiest.

The RomCom has felt so dry over the last few years, with very few great and memorable entries into the genre, but director David Freyne crafts what I believe to be an instant classic within it. I am certain that this film should put him on the map in terms of up and coming writer/directors because as I have said, it's hard to tackle a topic like death and come off as not morbid, but Freyne seems like a seasoned vet with his ability to balance humor and heart so efficiently. It taps into tear-jerker territory so perfectly and a rare occasion where I saw tears rolling down people’s cheeks multiple times throughout the film, not just at the finale. (Myself included by the way - this film reminded me that I am a cryer).

This will become Miles Teller’s ‘Tom Hanks moment’- let me explain. Teller has had a string of liked films for over 10 years now. Ones that didn’t do great at the box office but put his name out there - Spectacular Now, Divergent, Whiplash, War Dogs. Then along came Top Gun: Maverick but that wasn’t HIS movie. I hope and think that Eternity will finally give him this leading man appeal that he hasn’t been able to find yet in his 30’s - ala Tom Hanks, 1993. Hanks had been in a LOT of great movies in the mid to late 80s - *Splash, The Money Pit, BIG, The Burbs - but it wasn’t until 1993’s Sleepless in Seattle where his career took a huge shift, and later that year leading to an Oscar-winning turn in Philadelphia. Everyone I know LOVES Miles Teller. He is a good looking dude but not the best looking dude. The kinda guy you want to sit down and grab a beer with because he is not a pretentious asshole. THAT’S THE TOM HANKS QUALITY, and Eternity will finally prove to people that not only does Teller have comedic chops but he can carry a theatrical release with a prime release date.

Miles Teller and Callum Turner have some seriously great chemistry together, as quarreling husbands to Olsen’s Joan, making for some incredibly funny back and forths where the fellas are taking hard jabs, both physically and verbally at each other - but the movies emotional heartbeats hangs entirely on the amazing performance by Elizabeth Olsen. I have always been a fan of hers, and think she is going to become one of these generational talents whose projects we look forward to for years to come, but my god, this woman can sell anything. There are moments in this film where it is just her alone, and she puts on an acting class. Ugh, I am getting choked up thinking about one right now as I write this. And again, for all the comedic beats that Teller and Turner pack, Olsen is the nucleus of this story about love lost and love found.

I could tell you more about how much I loved Eternity but I do not want to give too much away, instead I want to leave you here with this. I spoke of this being one of my all-time favourite theatre going experiences and that’s thanks in part to my company during the film. Harkening back to the start of my review, I spoke of a retired 60+ year old woman sitting to my right and a young man in his early 20’s who sat to my left. As the film went on and many tears were coming down my face, I turned to the festival goers on both sides of me, both of whom were crying as well and realized that Eternity packs more than just an emotional punch. It speaks to anyone who has ever loved and lost someone, exploring the tender idea of what it means to take a vow and never breaking that promise to the one you love. Eternity is the definition of a surprise standout film here at TIFF 2025 and will go down as one of my favourite movies of the year, and maybe even this decade.