What happens when we die? For decades, countless pieces of film and television, spanning across genres, have been formed to ponder the possibilities of the afterlife.  A24’s Eternity has now joined their ranks.

Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) and Larry Cutler (Miles Teller) have been married for 65 years. When Larry dies suddenly, Joan’s illness causes her to follow just one week later. However, she is soon faced with an impossible decision. Upon her arrival to the afterlife she discovers that her first love has waited 67 years to be reunited with her. Joan must choose who she will spend her “eternity” with. Will she choose to spend the rest of all time with Larry, or will she return to Luke (Callum Turner), who left her widowed after a short but loving marriage? Even worse? Once her choice is made, she won’t be able to go back or change her mind. As Larry and Luke fight to be the one that Joan chooses to stay with, she must consider what it means to love and be loved.

I can’t possibly overstate how much I enjoyed this movie. Though the subject matter is existential in nature, this film finds an incredible emotional balance between comedy and drama. It is overarchingly a comedy, though it manages to create hard-hitting moments and gains more severity as the story progresses. It covers the importance of living in the moment and the sacrifices that come with such an all-encompassing love. It maintains its levity by creating characters who increase the comedy of the situation rather than harping on the intensely emotional aspects of the situation they’ve found themselves in.

While Joan is undoubtedly the main character of the story, Larry has significant growth to undergo as he watches his wife battle between her options. Where Joan must struggle to decide between her two loves, Larry struggles to accept that he might not be her choice. He has to come to terms with the tragedy Joan has faced as it might become tragedy for him as well.

The set design for this film was incredible. The production design team surely had no easy task creating many small glimpses into potential afterlives for the characters to choose between. With a heavy use of practical sets and effects, they were able to make the film feel more organic and raw. Both comedy and drama rely significantly on the setting and surroundings of a story, and this movie benefited from those elements greatly.

At moments, I felt that I knew what choice Joan was going to make before it happened. The film makes a huge attempt to throw you off and keep you alongside Larry and Luke in the unsurity of what will happen. The film plays into what the viewer values as well. Do you value what was or what could have been, if given the chance?

Overall, Eternity was an incredibly enjoyable and unexpectedly moving watch. It’s not every day that a film asks you to confront what life, love, and loss mean to you, and this one did so exceptionally well.