‘Eternity’ Star Elizabeth Olsen on Death and the Afterlife
At the premiere of A24’s romantic dramedy “Eternity,” Elizabeth Olsen reflected on mortality and her personal thoughts about death. The film, in which she stars alongside Miles Teller, touches deeply on questions of love, loss, and the afterlife.
A Story About Love Beyond Life
In the movie, Olsen portrays a woman who has died and must choose where to spend eternity — and with whom: either her first husband, portrayed by Callum Turner, who perished in the Korean War, or her second, played by Teller, her partner of over six decades.
Elizabeth Olsen’s Reflection on Death
“I’ve had this kind of plotted out from a very young age,” she said. “When I was in high school, I dreamt of being a very old lady on the coast of England, alone actually. I might have had an animal, and it would be like foggy and wet and kind of cold, and I would go on long walks and I would be in a small town that had one of each thing you need — one bakery, one coffee shop, one fishmonger, one cheese shop, one community center, one theater. It was always just me because I like meeting new people and I like being part of a community, and I always imagined I would die alone.”
When asked about the idea of solitude in her imagined future, Olsen laughed and admitted she wasn’t sure what it all meant, but it had been a consistent part of her youthful vision of the end of life.
Miles Teller’s View
Teller expressed a more hopeful take on the afterlife, saying he wished to be reunited with friends and family he had never met, emphasizing his desire to keep things simple even beyond death.
Author’s Summary
At the “Eternity” premiere, Elizabeth Olsen shared her lifelong reflections on solitude and mortality, contrasting Miles Teller’s serene hope for reunion after death.