Joan has a problem. After 65 loving, long and fulfilling years with her husband Larry — as well as with their children, grandchildren and great‑grandchildren — she suddenly sees Larry die, and then she herself dies in the same week. Up until that point was the “easy part” of the story — people die, especially at an advanced age, some sooner, some later. The hard part emerges when Joan arrives in the in‑between world known as “The Junction,” the stop before the afterlife — and finds Larry waiting for her.
But he’s not alone. There also is Luke, her first husband who died 67 years earlier in the Korean War. Now she must choose with whom she wants to spend eternity: Larry, with whom she already shared an entire lifetime, or Luke, the very great but unfulfilled love. Or perhaps she will choose herself?
Watch the trailer for 'Eternity'
(Video: Courtesy of Lev Cinemas)
This is essentially the plot of the romantic comedy "Eternity" from director David Freyne, which currently is being screened in Israel. An important rule in this world is that you arrive in the afterlife in the physical form you took at your happiest moment, giving audiences an exceptionally attractive love triangle. Joan is played by Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel films), Miles Teller ("Whiplash," "Top Gun: Maverick") plays her long‑time husband Larry, and Callum Turner ("Fantastic Beasts," "Mr. Malcolm’s List") plays Luke.
Also appearing are the terrific Da'Vine Joy Randolph ("The Holdovers") and John Early ("Search Party") as rival coordinators working in The Junction who help newly deceased souls adjust to their new status and assist them in selecting which eternal world they want to spend, well, eternity. There are thousands of such worlds: eternal mountain realms, beach and sea worlds, movie worlds, museum worlds, Wild West worlds, Marxist worlds, the list goes on and on.
On happiness, memory and eternal worlds
“Miles and I constantly joke that we’d go back to around age 11 or 12,” Olsen tells ynet in an exclusive interview, reflecting on a happy time in her life she might choose to return to. “I think I peaked at 12. It was a wonderful period. I felt very confident, free, badass and very smart. So maybe if the movie were about me, I’d just take the form of a teenage girl,” she laughs.
“We couldn’t help but joke and talk about the subject,” Teller adds, “because it comes up a lot and it really sits at the heart of the film. But to answer seriously for a moment, I think happiness is made up of a collection of moments: the moment my wife walked toward me on our wedding day, the day my favorite baseball team won the championship. And then there are family memories, like that Christmas when we drove something like two hours to Pennsylvania to be with everyone, all the aunts and uncles and cousins together, everyone just having a great time. So I think happiness is just a combination of those moments. It’s not one specific memory or age where I can say I was happiest.”
With plenty of humor and a blend of absurdity and emotional realism, the film turns domestic routine into cosmic reflection. As a result, a light, charming comedy asks huge questions about fulfillment, regret and the meaning of devotion. It also playfully engages with the elusive idea of eternity and life after death.
“There’s a character in the film whose role is to supply that idea that you can go into eternal life and do exactly what you want, because you lived your life on Earth mostly for other people. Joan’s character is not really that," says Olsen.
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Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller: She is unsure about the afterlife and he is confident
(Photo: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
"I don’t actually have a clear idea of the afterlife. I always thought it could be amazing to be part of a culture that has a more dynamic relationship with the afterlife. For me, it got stuck in Sunday churches, and the ideas of faith that were presented to me from a young age didn’t really include that concept. And even when I explore other cultures, I still don’t know. I don’t really believe in life after death, but I appreciate cultures and people who do, and I’d like to have more faith or connection to it in my life. And if I’m honest, it sounds like a more beautiful way to live,” she explains, describing herself as an atheist since the age of 13.
In contrast, Teller — who is Jewish — says he is at peace with belief in an afterlife.
“I think it’s silly when people try to force something, or even just argue about beliefs about what happens next," Teller says. "I think those beliefs are beautiful. For many in my family, like my grandmother — who lost her husband more than 60 years ago just a few months back — she strongly believes they will reunite in the next life, and that’s very beautiful to me. I think it gives a lot of people strength. Belief can be a wonderful thing. I’ve always been a guy interested in energy, in things you can’t see or define. So sure, whatever works for people and makes them feel better, I’m for it.”
A visual language between realism and surreal fantasy
Freyne, who worked with production designer Zazu Myers, wanted to create a clear, internal visual language for "Eternity" that was both beautiful and intentionally artificial. To achieve this, they combined brutalist architectural design with whimsical painted cliffs and sheets falling over windows that shift the time of day. This familiar yet surreal look reaches its fullest expression in “The Archives,” where characters wander through memories of their lives. Beyond the production elements, these moments give the viewer a sense of witnessing something intimate, almost like a private play.
“That’s exactly the tone David Freyne hoped to achieve,” Olsen explains. “A kind of homage to classic comedies of the past. There are scenes that don’t tell the story gently, aren’t narrated gently and aren’t acted gently. I think we became quite literal in how we present many shades and genres here, and it was a great opportunity to tell a story about something fantastical — this version of the afterlife and The Junction that comprises it — using painted backdrops that wink at and reference films of the past. It allows our performance to feel distant from reality, and it’s a more interesting medium than simply playing it supernaturally and subtly.”
“The memory archive was the first thing Lizzy and I shot,” Teller adds. “So for me it was a great way into the mind and being of the film. We recreated something like our first date, our wedding and then raising a child together, and it genuinely felt like we were doing something similar to a theater performance, but one that was just for us.”
Love triangles and timeless themes
"Eternity" joins a string of recent films and TV shows built around romantic triangles — films like "Challengers" and "Materialists," and series like "The Summer I Turned Pretty" and "My Life with the Walter Boys." Nothing seems to capture the public’s heart like a good love triangle, especially one involving two men and a woman.
“That really seems to be the case,” Olsen tries to explain. “Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be? Maybe it’s more politically correct?” she laughs. “I don’t think it’s something new. To me, the idea isn’t necessarily love triangles, but the idea that someone is torn between two very different paths they could take — and that’s something that’s existed in art forever because I think we all, at certain points in life, feel overwhelmed by possibilities when we don’t know what the outcome will be. I think as an audience it’s satisfying to see someone face that dilemma, because we all do it often in different ways — whether it’s moving to another city, choosing a different job, or parting with someone who was very important to you. Those are thoughts and choices about the life a person wants for themselves, that we all can relate to — and that’s one of the reasons we’re so drawn to love‑triangle stories.”
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Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner in 'Eternity'
(Photo: Courtesy of Lev Cinemas)
“With that said,” she continues, “I think the story in our film is different because it’s about a life already lived. And sure, it’s about eternity, but it’s actually about the reflections on all of the many loves that made your life — our lives — full. And that’s something I enjoyed as a reader, because I absolutely think our lives are the sum of all our relationships, and they’re all relevant and important at different times in life.”
Teller nods in agreement. “It’s a really interesting question and I don’t actually know the answer," he adds. "But I think, as a viewer, it’s nice not to be part of the internal struggle, the headache and the decisions — just not to be part of the choice. In this film, I think it was important to really understand and show that every option Joan might choose is valid and worthy, and to feel like there’s no ‘wrong’ choice for her. I think that’s a strength of the script.”
On their craft and connection
Olsen and Teller are two of the most prominent names in cinema over the past decade. Olsen is best known for her role as Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel universe across six films and two TV series, as well as roles in "Godzilla" opposite Aaron Taylor‑Johnson and the acclaimed series "Love & Death," which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Miniseries. She has six future projects in development.
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Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel universe across six films and two TV series
Teller broke out in 2013 in the coming‑of‑age drama "The Spectacular Now" opposite Shailene Woodley, earning Best Actor at Sundance. He then garnered widespread acclaim for "Whiplash" as young drummer Andrew Neiman. Since then, he has appeared in "Divergent," "Fantastic Four" and "Top Gun: Maverick" opposite Tom Cruise, and currently has at least 12 future film projects underway.
Experience, however, doesn’t eliminate challenges in new roles — and that was true for "Eternity." For Olsen, finding the right tone for her character was difficult, especially given the many cinematic conventions and references woven into the film. “A lot of the relationships between the characters did feel very contemporary to me, so I think tone was the most challenging part for me,” she says.
“For me,” Teller adds, “the hardest part was understanding that for Larry the stakes are unbelievably high. And because the film takes place in the next world, I didn’t want anything to feel too calm or not dramatic enough. Larry has so much energy, so trying to maintain that energy and reach the best outcome for him — to win Joan and understand that’s the greatest thing in the world that could happen to him — the stage for that is enormous. I don’t think I’ve ever had a role where it felt like time itself was so important, and so every scene was very important to me — every scene felt like it was all on the line, which was not easy at all.”