"There's a far more convincing attempt from the Irish writer-director David Freyne with Eternity, an ambitious afterlife romance that could more neatly play alongside films of the era like Heart and Souls, What Dreams May Come and Ghost. It's not just the thought-through ingenuity of the set-up but also the gloss and grandness of the film-making, an A24 production that feels like it should have the Touchstone Pictures logo at the start."
"In the witty, well-constructed world of Eternity, death is not the end. Once your time in the real world is over, you arrive via train to a 1960s-looking convention centre, at the exact age when you were at your happiest. You then meet your AC (Afterlife Consultant) who will help you decide where to go next. Maybe you want to spend your afterlife on the beach (hello Beach World)"
"or maybe you're a woman who has had just about enough of men (Men Free World is amusingly full up) or perhaps you're a gay man who wants to enjoy the indulgences of the 80s without the Aids crisis (that'll be Studio 54 World). It's a flurry of salespeople all trying to secure your place, a decision that can't be overturned once you're there."
Eternity is an ambitious afterlife romance that channels 1990s high-concept, star-led comedies with fantastical elements. The film opens with the dead arriving by train at a 1960s-looking convention centre, returned at the exact age of their happiest moment, and meeting an AC (Afterlife Consultant) who guides final, irrevocable choices. Options include Beach World, Men Free World and Studio 54 World, presented as a flurry of salespeople vying to secure each soul's placement. The production is glossy and grand, evoking Touchstone-era polish despite being an A24 release. The filmmaker shifts from grounded queer comedy to buoyant fantasy; a character named Larry chokes on a pretzel and dies.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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