By George & Josh Bate
A trio of the movie industry’s most in-demand leading actresses (Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, and Vanessa Kirby) headline a Ron Howard movie co-starring underappreciated acting gems Jude Law and Daniel Brühl. One would think a film bolstering such a gripping logline would be one of the year’s most talked about movies, but, instead, Eden quietly hits U.S. theaters on August 22 after making its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. This is a shame ultimately as Eden overcomes a sluggish start and finish by compelling as a psychological survival thriller full of mind games, manipulation, and intrigue.
Based on a true story, Eden takes place on the isle of Floreana (part of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador) in the late 1920s. After Germany’s economy was decimated in the wake of World War I, Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law) and his wife Dora Strauch (Vanessa Kirby) flee their homeland to start a new, isolated life on Floreana. Unfortunately for them, their isolation is short-lived as they are soon joined by Margaret (Sydney Sweeney) and Heinz Wittmer (Daniel Brühl), another German couple wishing to make a peaceful living on the island. Soon after, Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (Ana de Armas) makes her way to the island alongside her two lovers and a servant as she plans to build a luxury hotel on the island. Now, for the three groups of settlers, although the challenges of living on an island prove arduous, they are surpassed by the psychological torment and deception fostered by one another.
Initially playing more like a generic survival movie, Eden takes some time to get going before it evolves into psychological thriller territory. At 129 minutes, Howard’s film would have benefited from 10-15 minutes or so of trimming on the front and back ends, but, once the psychological warfare at the heart of the film kicks off, the renowned director masterminds a captivating watch. This shift from routine to captivating occurs upon the entrance of Ana de Armas, whose self-described Baroness character serves as the behind-the-scenes antagonist covertly causing all sorts of mayhem and conflict. From then on, Eden serves as a fascinating examination of the self-destructive and selfish nature of human beings, our unfounded capacity to create problems out of nothing, and how we are one another’s worst enemy far more than the environment around us.
Howard carefully paces Eden to ensure that the psychological warfare between the three groups builds organically. Every second that goes by, the audience becomes increasingly privy to the tension rising among the characters, largely manipulated by de Armas’ character in the background. There is a sense of real intrigue that comes along with this pacing as it is clear the manipulation, deception, and psychological warfare is heading in a deteriorative direction for everyone involved – almost like the audience is slowly watching a train crash we know is going to happen.
The screenplay from Noah Pink ensures that Eden takes on a winding narrative with a story that constantly throws new sources of tension into the mix. For those (like us) unfamiliar with the true story behind the film, a great unpredictability exists from scene-to-scene as it is unclear just what direction the mind games between the three groups are going to head in next. Eventually, the main resolution of these mind games works well and effectively ramps up the tension, although the film drags out its ending after this resolution and loses steam after its big emotional climax.
Marking an interesting creative decision, screenwriter Noah Pink opts against delving into the backgrounds and true motivations of the characters throughout this journey, instead leaving any and all character development to occur on-screen. Given that these characters are based on real life people, it would have been interesting to learn more about what drove these different figures to make such a radical decision in moving to an isolated island. Instead, Eden seems less interested in who these specific people were, perhaps with the exception of Law’s Dr. Ritter, and more interested in portraying a more general picture of the destruction wrought from clashing psychologies and personalities.
These clashing psychologies and personalities are brought to life by strong performances from the five leads, despite four of them being hindered by distracting accents. Law, Kirby, and Sweeney all deliver lines in questionable German accents that take some getting used to, while de Armas adopts a strange continental accent that changes throughout the film. A testament to the strength of the performances, however, the actors manage to persevere through the accent difficulties, each crafting a compelling and unique player in the story. The standouts are Law and de Armas, the former playing a toothless, ecocentric, and slightly mad doctor to unsettling effect and the latter showcasing her range as a delightfully duplicitous villain.
VERDICT: 7.5/10
Based on a fascinating true story, Eden sees director Ron Howard masterfully juggle an A-list cast in crafting a winding, intriguing, and compelling psychological survival thriller. After a sluggish start, the film kicks into gear upon the introduction of Ana de Armas, who showcases her range as a delightfully duplicitous antagonist, and the transition of the film from survival thriller more so to psychological thriller. The mind games and psychological warfare that dominate the proceeding movie serve as a gripping examination of the self-destructive and selfish nature of human beings, our unfounded capacity to create problems out of nothing, and how we are one another’s worst enemy far more than the environment around us. The narrative is always twisting and turning, with new sources of tension regularly thrown in the mix until an effective resolution to the conflict. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t quite know when to end, losing steam after its big emotional climax before petering out with a muddled conclusion. The five lead performances throughout this journey are phenomenal, despite Law, Kirby, Sweeney, and de Armas being hindered by questionable and distracting accents. In addition to the impressive de Armas, Law stands out amongst the cast, playing a toothless, ecocentric, and slightly mad doctor to unsettling effect. Hopefully, Eden gets the attention it deserves, despite its quiet roll out. A film from such an esteemed director bolstering such an impressive cast could have easily disappointed, but, instead, it excels with its psychological mind games and damning examination of humanity’s twisted, self-destructive nature.