On Nov. 5 A24 hosted an early screening of “Eternity” at AMC Centerpoint 11, marking the first showing of the film in Arizona. Fans gathered together to witness the latest addition to the comedy-romance genre.

Directed by David Freyne, “Eternity” begins by following Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) and Larry (Miles Teller), an elderly couple who have been married for over 60 years. The couple is heading to a gender-reveal party where Larry unexpectedly dies while eating a salted pretzel. Moments later, Larry finds himself waking up in his 35-year-old body in a place called the “junction,” a pitstop between death and eternity where souls have one week to pick which eternity they want to live in. Different eternities include ‘Hello Beach World,’ ‘Men Free World’ (which is humorously at full capacity), ‘Queerworld,’ ‘Studio 54 World,’ and even discontinued worlds like ‘Marxist World.’ The only downside to so many options is that once you’ve chosen an eternity, you cannot change it. 

Although it was not clear how much time had passed, Joan passed away from cancer soon after Larry died and joined him at the junction. There Joan was not only reunited with her last husband, but she was also reunited with her first husband, Luke (Callum Turner), who died tragically in the Korean War. Joan faces the impossible choice of either spending her eternity with her latest husband or her first husband, with whom she never got to live out a life. 

The audience is taken on a rollercoaster of emotion as Joan tries to decide who to spend her eternity with. At times, it seemed like even the audience was unsure who they would choose.  

Elizabeth Olsen beautifully portrays a conflicted character faced with an irreversible decision. Meanwhile, Teller and Turner portray the intense competition between two people vying for the same woman.

In a heartpounding scene, Joan decides to choose herself over the two husbands. However, while trying to accept her decision, Larry recalls a crucial detail. When he arrived at the junction, his A.C. or Afterlife Consultant informed him that when one dies they return to their physical form when they are the happiest. At this moment, Larry realizes that when Joan returned to her happiest self, her hair was longer and different from the way it ever was when she was with him.

In a stomach-dropping moment, Larry realized that his wife’s happiest self was not with him, but with Luke. With this realization, Larry rushes over to Joan before she boards her train to her eternity and tells her to live out her eternity with Luke.

Both Olsen and Teller’s acting realistically expresses the emotional tear between two lovers who decide the best outcome is to live out eternity separated. The wave of grief and realization bound the two talents to their roles in what can only be described as heartbreaking, grounded realism.

During this scene, fans audibly felt the pain Luke was going through, knowing that his wife of 65 years was happier with her first husband. Meanwhile, Joan had to relive the lives she had with her two loves, which only made the choice harsher and more challenging to come to terms with.

However, the story was far from over. As the audience started to feel relatively contemptuous of Joan’s decision, Joan began to realize her mistake. 

Joan and Luke decide to live out their eternity in the mountains. After spending days hiking, cuddling, and snowboarding, Joan confronts Luke with the feeling that living out her eternity with him felt wrong. Although she was happier with Luke, she didn’t build a life with him like she had with Larry. While Luke was her first, passionate love, she never had to experience the hardships that come with being in a long-term committed relationship with him. Luke was the sort of perfect epic love you dream about in the movies, while Larry was the realistic, calming love that you experience in everyday moments with, and that sticks by your side no matter what. 

Luke is distraught after Joan comes to terms with her mistake, and an argument breaks out between them. Once settled, Joan makes it clear that despite what Luke says, she will return to be with Larry. Through his sadness, Luke decided to help Joan escape and find her way back to Larry. 

In the film's conclusion, Joan fights her way back to Larry, putting herself at risk of being sent to the void, an eternal darkness of nothingness where souls that break the rules are sent. Joan sneaks her way around security and finds herself face-to-face with Larry, still waiting for her at the junction. They finally decide where they should spend their eternity – together.

The final act of the film left audiences wondering what eternal love truly means to them. Is it the instant gratification of what could have been with Luke? Or could it be the decades of love and loss experienced with Larry? Who would you choose?