Éire Literature

Most of my writing is usually inspired by new films in theaters or pieces of literature that inspired them. My most recent fixation is the new romance movie Eternity. Over the holidays, I haven’t had much to work with, but for some reason, this saddening film struck a chord with me. It follows a couple who have both recently passed away and are stuck between life and death, deciding where they should spend eternity. The husband, Larry, passes away first and is determined to wait for his wife, Joan, whom he has been married to for sixty-five years. Joan arrives only a week later, after dying from cancer, and is shocked to find herself reunited with her first husband, who died in battle. It’s an amusing premise, but as the story unfolds, it becomes increasingly complex. Joan has to decide who she wants to spend the rest of eternity with. While she’s been married to one for sixty-five years, she never got to have a life with the other. 

As the movie progressed, I started to adore Joan more and more. Her thought process is very realistic to what I would have done myself in her situation, and towards the middle, she chooses herself. She doesn’t want to pick one or the other, so she picks neither. I honestly felt this was the best option for Joan, even though it wasn’t the direction the film was going in. The director uses the trope of first love versus last love. First love is exciting and passionate, but simple and often short-lived. While her last love had hardship and a presumed sedentary lifestyle, it had comfort and peace. Joan figures out by the end, after picking an eternity with Luke, her first husband, that although she was happiest with him, life has so much more to offer. The smallest things, like bickering in the car, raising children, and reminding each other to take medication, can be the things that make life so rewarding. Joan finally realizes the mistake of picking her young love and goes back to find Larry amidst the chaos. The couple finally reunites to find themselves in an abandoned eternity, away from everyone else, and decide to spend their eternity there. 

People my age seem to have a fascination with the idea of first love. Countless people I’ve met seem unsettled by the idea that whoever they are with will never love them as much as they did their first love. This is usually targeted towards male audiences, and the notion that they never truly get over it. It’s a heartbreaking thought that so many in relationships choose to focus on, but this film eased my mind. Audiences assume that she will end with her first love by the way the movie is portrayed, as well as our preconceived notions of the beauty of a first love. First love doesn’t have to be everything we think it is. We can see that the hardship and countless years of shared time brought them closer together than she and Luke ever were. 

Joan’s most important line in the film is when she finally has the courage to tell Luke that she made a mistake; “It was young love, it was everything. But love isn’t just one happy moment, right? It’s a million.” By this point, my eyes were filled with tears by this simple conversation between them. Even though this film has a very fictional plot, the characters and dialogue felt so unbelievably real. With one sentence, everything else clicked into place after so much uncertainty. 

Although young love is full of fun and excitement, spending a lifetime together and learning to overcome hardship is that much stronger. Each character that is depicted in the film is so complex and interesting that we end up rooting for all of them at once. Alongside the first love versus last love, we also have the overwhelming concept of time. Time is brought up again and again as a way to justify their actions or decisions. Joan thinks she should stay with Larry because they have been married sixty-five years, but she should go with Luke because he’s been waiting sixty-seven years. We go back and forth between these options until the answer becomes entirely unclear. This almost feels like a nod to real life; time isn’t the reason we fall in love or stay in love. Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be, and we can’t force them to be. Love is supposed to be and always is complex, and the answer isn’t always clear.