Movie Review: Eden

I do my best to avoid learning what others think about a film before I see it, so as not to let their opinions influence my own, but sometimes some of that information slips through regardless. Such was the case with director Ron Howard’s latest, Eden. I didn’t see any actual reviews thankfully, but the middling Metacritic score did manage to cross my radar and left me feeling unfortunately unenthused about watching it. Having now done so I don’t know why others were so lukewarm or even unapproving of the movie, as I found it to be thoughtful and engaging.

Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law) and his partner Dore Strauch (Vanessa Kirby) fled Germany in 1929 for the Galápagos Island of Floreana so that they might find a better way for humanity to exist in the world. Friedrich occasionally sends letters back to his home country where they have begun to be published in newspapers, making the pair unwitting celebrities in their homeland and inspiring others to follow in their footsteps.

The first to do so are husband and wife Heinz (Daniel Brühl) and Margret Wittmer (Sydney Sweeney), along with Heinz’s son Harry (Jonathan Tittel) with a previous, now deceased wife. Having heard that the natural environment of the island has been doing wonders for Dore’s multiple sclerosis, they are hoping for similar results for Harry’s illness. For their part, Friedrich and Dore are rather nonplussed to have neighbors and so do what they can to set the small family up for failure.

Sometime later, the Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (Ana de Armas) makes an unnecessarily extravagant arrival, accompanied by her two lovers, Robert (Toby Wallace) and Rudolph (Felix Kammerer) and her servant Manuel (Ignacio Gasparini). She proclaims that much of the island now belongs to her and that she intends to develop an exclusive hotel on the beach, though her poor preparation and hedonistic tendencies mean that she quickly runs out of supplies. Like an insufferable reality TV show contestant, she makes it very clear that she was not on Floreana to make friends with her thoughtless behavior, leading the island’s other occupants to find common ground in the need to be rid of her party once and for all.

From the opening title cards that reveal the story’s basis on the accounts of the survivors, it is immediately clear that things will not end well on Floreana. Noah Pink’s screenplay doesn’t shy away from how challenging making a go at life in such an untamed environment can be, but perhaps unsurprisingly there proves to be no greater threat to a peaceful existence than fellow humans.

All three parties on the island have their own agendas, many of which are at odds with one another, and so each plots and schemes to ensure that they are the last ones standing, should it come to that. The cast all give superbly nuanced performances, but it is the trio of women who really shine. De Armas is riveting as she executes her dangerous and debauched machinations, managing to imbue an easily dislikable character with at least a shred of humanity. Kirby and Sweeney are both awards-worthy in their parts, often expressing volumes with only a look and keeping the viewer glued to their every move as it becomes increasingly apparent that they are the ones who truly hold the power here.

Howard isn’t known for showy direction so there aren’t really any moments that inspire awe, despite the abundant beauty of the island. He does maintain a steady drumbeat of suspense however, as the story progresses towards its inevitably tragic conclusion. Every bit as intellectually stimulating as it is thrilling, Eden feels primed to launch discussions much the same way a good book does for a club. Whether ruminating on man vs. nature, man vs. man, colonialism, excess, or the pointlessness of supposedly noble endeavors taken on for ignoble reasons, Eden leaves one with much to think over. It may not be perfect, but we don’t get a lot of thrillers like this in theaters anymore, and this is certainly one to savor. ★★★★