David Freyne's 'Eternity' Unlocks the Rom-Com Recipe

It's worth considering what makes a romantic comedy truly work, especially when so many people feel the genre has lost its way. A chorus of voices claims that cinema has forgotten how to make a sharp, witty, and endlessly delightful rom-com. With _Eternity_, however, David Freyne is here to show that the art form is alive and kicking. If you had to describe today's movies, you might use words like dark, slow-paced, and ambiguous. We're living through a time of gorgeous-looking slow-burn films that often leave you wanting more, sparking conversations about how filmmakers seem to value aesthetics over a solid plot. But when you think about the all-time greats in this genre, story is always king and charm is queen. Freyne clearly understands this golden rule, delivering a film so full of warmth it'll make your cheeks ache from smiling.

Drawing from the Masters

It all started with the moodboard. During our interview about the film—where Elizabeth Olsen’s character, Joan, must choose to spend forever with either her long-time husband or the handsome young man who died before their life together could begin—I mentioned _Groundhog Day_. _Eternity_ feels like a spiritual successor, taking a high-concept fantasy idea and grounding it with genuine sincerity and fantastic chemistry. I also brought up the films of John Hughes, who took the classic feelings of growing up and elevated them to an almost mythical status through his infectious writing. The script here, by Freyne and Pat Cunnane, has that same quality, effortlessly moving between total silliness and moments of raw, gut-wrenching emotion.

“Nora Ephron from that period was a huge influence,” Freyne told me, adding another master of the genre to his pile of inspirations. But two filmmakers from an even earlier era stood out as the primary guides. “The biggest influences were Billy Wilder films and Preston Sturges films,” he said. “Those kind of old Golden Era rom coms that had so much heart and humour and weren’t afraid to go for big emotions, which I think we don’t do as often now in cinema.” By looking back to the grandeur of the 1940s and ‘50s, it’s obvious _Eternity_ was aiming for those same emotional heights. Freyne added, “Those old, old Hollywood kind of rom coms were the big, big, _big_ touchstone for me when I was making it.”

Assembling the Ideal Trio

But just like back then, the most vital component for any successful romantic comedy is the cast. It’s all about the Meg Ryans, the Molly Ringwalds, the Marilyn Monroes, the Henry Fondas, and the Dean Martins. In Freyne’s movie, that magic lies in the flawless trio of Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner. Turner plays Luke, the dashing young man who has waited 67 years in an afterlife lobby to reunite with Joan. Teller is Larry, Joan’s grumpy husband for those same 67 years. The two men play off each other with an easy, classic comedic rivalry. At the center of it all, Olsen grounds the story with real emotion, constantly reminding us of the weight of her decision and the film’s core message about love, devotion, and what it truly means to spend a life with someone.

Freyne knew he had struck gold with them. “They really were dream casting,” he said, “It’s kind of who I wanted for the roles, but they don’t audition, you offer them, and I felt so fortunate that they said yes.”

From Anxiety to Authenticity

“I think for me, though, the anxiety was whether they would get on,” he explained, hitting on a critical point: having big names isn't enough. A rom-com lives or dies on the connection between its stars. It turned out the cast bonded on a deep, personal level. Freyne explained, “We ended up having rehearsals in Lizzie’s house, and very quickly I could see them bonding and just having conversations about our lives and our loves, I could see how they were connecting with each other, and I could see that chemistry building.”

Another key ingredient in the formula is boldness. While Freyne brings this with his script and directorial vision, creating an afterlife that is both ridiculous and brilliant, his cast matched that energy. As he admits, “They were so game to they had no embarrassment in going for the biggest loss. They had no ego in anything in the film. And they really just put their hearts and souls into it”. “I was really proud of the script. I think it was really great. But they made it so much more funny and so much more moving than I thought it could be,” he said. That’s surely what any great director would say about a fantastic cast after they’ve created a masterpiece together, getting the formula for big laughs and even bigger heart exactly right.