Elizabeth Olsen Faces an Impossible Afterlife Choice in 'Eternity'
In her latest film, Elizabeth Olsen portrays a woman who must make a decision that will last forever. After a long life, she enters an afterlife where she must choose between two great loves. This new romantic comedy explores what happens when death isn't the end, but a new beginning with an impossible choice.
It seems Elizabeth Olsen has found a niche playing women grappling with profound loss in extraordinary situations. Following her turn as the heartbroken Scarlet Witch in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she's once again exploring similar emotional territory in the new romantic comedy Eternity. She portrays Joan, a woman confronted with a monumental decision after she dies.
A Pattern of Grief?
Olsen tells GamesRadar+ that any connection between her roles wasn't something she "consciously think of". During a sit-down in London with co-star Miles Teller to discuss the movie, she explained her motivations. "I also don't even mean to pick projects that are about grief, and I did all of them for different reasons," she says.
She points to her 2024 Netflix drama, His Three Daughters, as an example. "With His Three Daughters, it was my friend Azezal Jacobs who directed it," she continues. "He was kind of trying to prepare himself for his parents' passing, because they were getting quite old, and it was almost like an emotional preparation for him, and I loved getting to work on that with him, with Natasha [Lyonne] and Carrie [Coon]. With this, it felt more about a continued life as opposed to just grief."
An Eternal Dilemma
The world of Eternity presents a unique take on what comes next. After you pass away, you're given a single week to decide where—and with whom—you'll spend the rest of time with no chance for a do-over. This sets up an incredible predicament for Olsen's character, Joan.
She discovers that her husband of 60 years, Larry (Miles Teller), isn't the only one waiting for her. Also present is Luke (Callum Turner), her first love who was killed in the Korean war very early in their marriage. Joan is forced to confront an impossible choice, which reawakens long-suppressed sorrow over the life she never had with Luke.
More Than Just a Choice
The decision weighs heavily on the characters. "There's such an emphasis on, 'Where do you want to go, which eternity do you want to choose?' And at the end, really, it's about, 'But who do you want to spend it with?'" Teller adds. "And I think that's beautiful."
Eternity is now playing in US theaters and is scheduled for a UK release on December 5. In the meantime, moviegoers can look forward to the other upcoming movies on the way in 2025 and beyond.