“It’s important to move on.

One ending is only the opportunity for chances at different beginnings in Eternity, a film with a fascinating concept that fumbles the ball before crossing the goal line. The movie has a stellar cast, snappy dialogue like something from an old screwball comedy, and a color palette that breathes extra life into the already luscious production design; you can tell the writing carefully considered what this afterlife was going to look like and how it would differentiate itself from past iterations. But the final third of the picture feels rushed and admittedly confusing. Eternity is a great idea for a film, but a great film it is not.

We quickly learn that the elderly couple we first meet are two of the folks on the poster. The man chokes on pretzels and soon thereafter the woman falls terminally ill. Larry (Miles Teller) rides a train into The Junction, surrounded by others crossing the great divide. Larry walks around confused, looking for his Afterlife Coordinator (his AC) and eventually meets Anna (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who explains things to Larry through basic exposition. He’s dead, this is the stop before eternity, and he gets to choose how and who he’s going to spend his with. He’s ready to choose when in waltzes Joan (Elizabeth Olsen). She understands things a lot quicker than Larry did. Maybe because she’s smarter, or maybe because he abruptly passed and she slowly faded away. They’re both relieved to see each other, until the sentiment turns to surprise as Luke (Callum Turner), Joan’s first husband lost to the war, joins the reunion. He’s been waiting for her. Just Larry’s luck.

It’s impossible to not notice Luke when he enters the room. A steel cut jaw with broad shoulders, he demands your attention even if he only wants it from one person. At The Junction, you can forsake choosing your eternity so long as you take up a job. Luke bartends and waits for his love. It all sounds romantic, which it is, even if we learn Luke hasn’t been a complete angel in the afterlife either. And this is where Joan has to choose: does she forever explore the mountains with Luke or settle for innumerable beach days with Larry. It’s not an easy question, nor is there an easy answer, and for just a moment we almost get to see Joan assure us that not choosing can be a choice too. I would’ve liked to have seen the movie go that route, and something tells me it might have had it not been an American film. Foreign films aren’t afraid to alienate.

For how tidily the movie wants to end, it sprints towards the finish line, and not everything really makes a ton of sense (with one chase sequence feeling like it was pulled out of Being John Malkovich). The last few moments needed to breathe casually, not huff and puff like that of a sprinter. But even with those gripes, my main cause for concern was just how little we seemed to know who Joan was as an individual and not a woman who’s identity is forever tied to a man’s. Had we known her better and had the movie made hard decisions taking the scenic route, I think it might have left more of a mark. It’s a fun, fleeting jaunt as it.

“Eternity is eternity.”

Rating: 3.5 out of 5