When's the last time a trailer made you think about mortality and who you'd ghost your spouse for in the afterlife?
That's the gamble A24's playing with the newly released trailer for Eternity, a romantic afterlife dramedy that blends celestial visuals, melancholic comedy, and the kind of impossible love triangle that would make even Nicholas Sparks roll his eyes—before admitting it kinda works. The film stars Elizabeth Olsen as Joan, a recently deceased woman who suddenly finds herself choosing between two dead husbands: her lifelong partner Larry (Miles Teller), and her first love Teddy (Callum Turner), who died young and has literally been waiting for decades in the afterlife's equivalent of a diner booth.
Yes. It's that kind of premise.
Directed by David Freyne (Dating Amber, The Cured) and co-written with Patrick Cunnane, Eternity makes its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this fall, before opening in select U.S. theaters on November 21, 2025, via A24. This is Freyne's most ambitious leap yet—from indie gay coming-of-age dramas and Irish zombie thrillers to cosmic romance about eternal decisions. Bold move. But judging by the trailer, it might just pay off.
Trailer Analysis: Vintage Heaven, Eternal Dilemmas
Visually, Eternity leans hard into a charming, vaguely mid-century afterlife aesthetic—think Beetlejuice by way of Wes Anderson, with just a whisper of The Good Place's conceptual neatness. Pastels, deco signage, glowing clocks. The framing is meticulous. Soft-focus vignettes bleed into symmetrical tableaus, suggesting a purgatory designed by a graphic designer on a deadline. Every frame is loaded with emotional symbolism: Joan floats between her two lovers—one dressed in muted greys, the other in sunlit military garb—like an old soul caught in a reel of memory and regret.
But it's not all wistful framing and Pinterest theology. The trailer opens with a line that sets the emotional tempo:
“A lot has happened in a week! You died! I died! I've just been reunited with both of my dead husbands. And I have to pick where to spend eternity?!”
That's Olsen—always good at walking the tightrope between anxious sincerity and bemused resignation. The script seems to know it's flirting with melodrama but sidesteps it with wit and restraint. What could've been cloying plays instead as tender, oddball, and human.
Casting: Chemistry in the Afterlife
Casting Olsen was the keystone here. She's proven time and again—from Martha Marcy May Marlene to Love & Death—that she can carry internal conflict without slipping into theatrics. Teller, playing the dependable Larry, brings his usual quiet volatility, while Turner is exactly the kind of wounded romantic this setup needs—boyish, frozen in time, and just slightly insufferable.
Also worth noting: John Early (who lights up every frame he's in), Betty Buckley, and Oscar-winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph round out the supporting cast. If nothing else, expect pitch-perfect line deliveries and sly scene-stealing from the margins.
Industry Context: A24's Late-Year Bet
A24's decision to slot Eternity into the fall festival corridor, with a November 21, 2025 theatrical release, signals confidence in the film's emotional resonance. This isn't a January dumping ground flick—it's a carefully timed awards-season sleeper, targeting critical hearts and potentially the indie spirit category if it catches. The afterlife-as-romantic-metaphor genre is underutilized, and when it works (A Ghost Story, Wristcutters: A Love Story), it tends to linger with audiences longer than expected.
A24's slate for 2025 is already heavy on cerebral fare, but Eternity gives them something sweeter—still smart, still stylized, but with a gentle core. If the festival response at TIFF is strong, this could very well be their Her for this cycle. Not loud, but lasting.
Final Take: Love in Limbo
There's a sentimental charm humming underneath Eternity—and it's not forced. It's the kind of quiet genre-bender that could have easily collapsed under its own whimsy but instead seems grounded by earnest performances and thoughtful direction. If the film expands on the trailer's emotional palette and doesn't get lost in concept, it could resonate far beyond the art house.
As a trailer? It works. It's modest, well-scored, cleanly edited. It doesn't oversell. And Olsen sells every beat.
Whether it'll stick the landing in November is another question entirely—but for now, Eternity earns its place on the must-watch list for TIFF 2025.
Will you choose to watch? Or are you still stuck deciding between your own cinematic soulmates?
