Eternity (2025) brings a refreshing twist to romantic comedy by exploring love beyond life itself. The story follows Clay, a man who arrives in the afterlife only to be greeted by his long-lost high-school crush, introducing him to a world of charm, nostalgia, and second chances. What begins as a whimsical reunion quickly becomes a heartfelt journey as Clay navigates the emotional weight of unfinished feelings and rediscovered affection. But the afterlife isn’t as simple as it seems. Clay soon learns that choosing where to spend eternity requires confronting the relationships that shaped him — including the one he left behind with his former wife, Jill. Through humor, tenderness, and emotionally rich moments, Eternity (2025) delivers a modern romantic tale that blends fantasy and real-world dilemmas, making viewers question what love truly means when time no longer exists.
Overview
Eternity (2025) follows Clay, a recently deceased man who awakens in a peaceful, dreamlike afterlife where he is unexpectedly reunited with his high-school crush, Alex. As Clay explores this new realm, he discovers that the afterlife operates on its own rules — including the possibility of choosing where and with whom he wants to spend eternity. The film blends romance and fantasy, using the afterlife as a backdrop for emotional rediscovery and unresolved connections.
Clay’s journey becomes more complicated when the presence of Jill, his former wife, brings back memories of the life he lived — and the love he may not have fully understood. Torn between nostalgia, comfort, and the potential for new beginnings, Clay must confront the relationships that shaped him. Eternity uses its imaginative setting to explore themes of closure, longing, and the choices that define who we are, even after life has ended.
Cast and Crew
Director: David Freyne
David Freyne directs Eternity (2025) with a vision that balances emotional depth and fantasy-driven storytelling. Known for crafting character-centered narratives, Freyne brings a tender yet imaginative approach to the afterlife setting. His direction emphasizes personal choices, emotional reckonings, and the complexity of love beyond mortal boundaries. With his steady narrative control, the film maintains a smooth flow between heartfelt romance and subtle humor. Freyne’s handling of the story ensures that the film feels both intimate and cinematic in scale.
Lead Actor: Miles Teller
Miles Teller takes on the role of Larry Cutler, a man navigating love, loss, and rediscovery in the afterlife. Teller delivers a nuanced performance that highlights Larry’s emotional vulnerability and internal conflict. His portrayal captures the relatable struggle of choosing between past attachments and new possibilities. Teller’s grounded acting style adds weight to the film’s more fantastical moments, making Larry’s journey feel authentic. His presence anchors the narrative, giving audiences a strong emotional connection to the character.
Lead Actress: Elizabeth Olsen
Elizabeth Olsen stars as Joan, a woman caught between two profound loves as she steps into eternity. Olsen brings depth, warmth, and emotional complexity to the character, portraying Joan as someone torn between nostalgia and the promise of renewed happiness. Her performance adds layers to the film’s romantic themes, especially as Joan reassesses what love means when time no longer exists. Olsen’s expressive acting enhances every scene she appears in, making her a compelling centerpiece of the story. Her portrayal ensures that Joan’s emotional dilemmas resonate strongly with viewers.
Supporting Cast
The supporting cast enhances the film with performances that bring humor, heart, and texture to the afterlife setting. Callum Turner plays Luke, Joan’s first love, adding charm and sincerity to the triangle that forms the film’s core. Da’Vine Joy Randolph and John Early appear as afterlife coordinators Anna and Ryan, offering both comedic relief and heartfelt guidance to the characters. Olga Merediz, portraying Karen, adds warmth and grounded energy as Joan’s close companion. Together, the ensemble enriches the film’s emotional landscape and world-building.
Music Composer: David Fleming
David Fleming composes the musical score for Eternity, infusing the film with a blend of emotional depth and ethereal tones. His music seamlessly bridges the human heart with the mystical elements of the afterlife setting. Fleming’s compositions underscore the characters’ emotional arcs, enhancing moments of longing, reflection, and rediscovery. The score helps shape the film’s dreamy and romantic mood, guiding viewers through its softer and more profound scenes. His work elevates the overall cinematic experience with atmospheric richness.
Production Company
Eternity is produced by Apple Original Films in collaboration with Star Thrower Entertainment, known for their focus on heartfelt, character-driven stories. The partnership results in a polished production that blends intimacy with visual ambition. Their involvement ensures high-quality cinematography, refined storytelling, and strong artistic direction throughout the film. With A24 handling distribution, the movie benefits from a studio known for supporting bold and emotionally resonant cinema. Together, these companies shape Eternity into a film that appeals both broadly and artistically.
Run Time: 1 Hour 54 Minutes
The running time of Eternity (2025) is 1 hour and 54 minutes, giving the story enough space to explore its themes without feeling overstretched. The pacing allows the narrative to breathe, balancing comedic beats with emotionally heavy moments. This duration supports deep character development, making each relationship and conflict feel earned. Viewers are offered a complete emotional journey within this timeframe, neither rushed nor prolonged. The runtime contributes to a well-rounded cinematic experience that engages from start to finish.
Budget and Box Office
Eternity (2025) was produced on a relatively modest budget for a Hollywood romantic fantasy film, with reports indicating it cost around $15 million to make. This budget reflects the film’s focus on character drama, thoughtful storytelling, and intimate performances rather than large-scale special effects. The production financing came from A24 and Star Thrower Entertainment, both of which are known for supporting artistically driven films with efficient budgets. By keeping production costs moderate, the filmmakers aimed to deliver emotional depth and visual charm without the financial pressures of a blockbuster. The budget allowed enough flexibility to hire notable actors and produce a polished cinematic experience while still operating within an indie-leaning financial framework.
At the box office, Eternity has seen a modest commercial performance during its theatrical run. The film grossed roughly $9.6 million domestically across the U.S. and Canada and additional international earnings brought its worldwide total to around $12.3 million, according to industry box office trackers. These figures reflect the movie’s niche appeal and competition from larger holiday releases, yet they are respectable given its specialty-market positioning and limited release strategy. While not a blockbuster by traditional measures, the film’s earnings approach (and in some estimates slightly surpass) its production budget, opening the door for potential profitability through streaming, digital sales, and post-theatrical revenue channels.
Story
Eternity (2025) begins with Joan, a woman who passes away unexpectedly and finds herself in the afterlife—a serene realm that resembles a peaceful, dreamlike version of the world she once knew. Here, individuals are guided through their memories, relationships, and life choices in order to decide where they will ultimately spend eternity. Joan is welcomed by coordinators who explain that the afterlife offers her a chance to reflect on the deepest emotional connections she formed during her lifetime. The world she enters is calm and comforting, yet it holds a weight of introspection that forces her to confront the love, loss, and longing she carried with her.
As Joan explores this new reality, she encounters Luke, her high-school sweetheart and first great love. Their reunion is warm, nostalgic, and filled with unresolved emotions. Luke represents the innocence and purity of Joan’s earliest experiences of love—feelings she thought were long buried. In the afterlife, memories come alive more vividly than ever, allowing Joan to relive moments with Luke that shaped her youth. Their bond resurfaces naturally, drawing her into the simplicity and sincerity of emotions she once felt, creating a powerful pull toward the life she imagined she might have had with him.
However, Joan’s journey shifts when she meets Larry, the man she eventually married in her earthly life. Larry arrives in the afterlife carrying his own emotional complexities, shaped by years of commitment, partnership, and shared struggle. Their reunion is tender yet complicated, reflecting the layered, imperfect love that defines long-term relationships. Through Larry, Joan is reminded of the depth that grows from real-life experiences—sacrifice, resilience, and the comfort of familiarity. Their shared past begins to replay before her: the decisions they made together, the moments of joy, and the fractures that quietly formed over time.
Joan soon realizes that the afterlife requires her to make a profound decision—one that reflects not only whom she loved, but how she loved. She must choose between the youthful passion she shared with Luke and the grounded, meaningful connection she built with Larry. This choice becomes the emotional center of the story, pushing Joan to confront her desires, regrets, and identity. The film delves deeply into how the human heart evolves over a lifetime, showing that love can take many different shapes yet hold equal significance. In the end, Joan’s journey through the afterlife becomes a meditation on the nature of love itself—how it grows, how it changes, and how it defines one’s eternity.
Review
Eternity (2025) stands out as a romantic fantasy that leans into emotional intimacy rather than grand spectacle, offering a gentler and more reflective viewing experience. The film uses its afterlife setting not as a supernatural gimmick, but as a quiet stage to explore unresolved relationships and the emotional truths people carry with them. Its tone is soft, atmospheric, and introspective, inviting audiences to reflect on their own connections and life choices. This slower, more deliberate pace becomes one of its defining strengths.
The performances from the cast elevate the film beyond a simple love-triangle story. Elizabeth Olsen delivers a layered portrayal of Joan, capturing the tension between nostalgia, reality, and longing with remarkable subtlety. Miles Teller brings emotional grounding to Larry, portraying a man shaped by real-world responsibilities and deep, imperfect love. Callum Turner offers a contrasting energy as Luke, embodying the innocence of first love with charm and sincerity. Together, their chemistry fuels the film’s emotional core, making every scene between them meaningful.
Visually, the film creates an afterlife that feels familiar yet ethereal, using soft lighting, warm palettes, and serene spaces to evoke a sense of peaceful limbo. The cinematography reinforces the film’s themes—memories replay like gentle echoes, and the environment adapts to the characters’ emotions rather than physical logic. This artistic choice enhances the viewer’s sense of immersion, allowing the afterlife to function as a symbolic extension of the characters’ inner worlds rather than a literal realm.
David Freyne’s direction favors emotional realism over fantasy spectacle, resulting in a film that feels grounded despite its supernatural premise. His storytelling approach allows the characters’ inner conflicts to take precedence, giving the audience time to absorb their vulnerabilities and motivations. While the pacing is intentionally slow, it suits the reflective nature of the narrative. The film’s structure encourages viewers to sit with its questions about love, regret, and the choices that define a lifetime.
The film’s score by David Fleming adds another layer of emotional resonance, weaving together gentle melodies that complement the story’s introspective mood. The music never overwhelms the narrative; instead, it acts as a subtle emotional guide, highlighting moments of longing, clarity, and rediscovery. Combined with strong performances and thoughtful direction, the score helps the film carve out a unique identity within the romance-fantasy genre, making Eternity feel both intimate and quietly impactful.
Love Beyond Time: Exploring the Heart’s Eternal Echo
Eternity (2025) uses the afterlife not merely as a backdrop, but as a narrative lens through which the deepest layers of human emotion unfold. The film poses a compelling question: If freed from the limits of time, what love would we hold on to? By placing Joan between her past and present loves, the story examines how relationships shape identity long after physical life ends. The emotional landscapes she revisits reveal how memories—both joyful and painful—continue to echo in the heart, influencing decisions even in eternity.
The movie also explores how first love and enduring love can coexist without diminishing each other. Luke represents the spark that awakens the heart, while Larry symbolizes a love forged through shared experiences and imperfection. Through Joan’s journey, the film suggests that the heart is capacious enough to hold multiple truths at once. Eternity ultimately becomes more than a romantic tale—it becomes a meditation on how love evolves, how choices define personal legacy, and how the emotional bonds we build in life carry forward into the spaces we never expected to enter.
Conclusion
Eternity (2025) ultimately delivers a heartfelt exploration of love’s many forms, using the afterlife as a gentle mirror for the emotional complexities we face in life. By guiding its characters through memories, choices, and unresolved connections, the film encourages viewers to reflect on what truly shapes a meaningful relationship. Its quiet tone, thoughtful storytelling, and intimate performances combine to create an experience that lingers long after the final scene fades.
Through Joan’s journey, the film highlights how love can be both transformative and enduring, even when placed beyond the limits of time. Whether it’s the spark of first love or the depth of long-term commitment, Eternity reminds us that every connection leaves an imprint on the heart. In the end, the movie stands as a gentle meditation on choosing with clarity, loving with intention, and appreciating the moments that define our emotional legacy.