Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
By the second minute of ‘Eden’, I was already sniggering at Dr. Ritter, who talks of ‘pain’ being the true meaning of life. But there he is, on a remote island, having escaped Germany and the vagaries of war, politics. Basically, he is away from the real challenges and pains of life. But it’s exactly what Director Ron Howard and co-writer Noah Pink set to expose: the double standards and chicanery of Ritter, a famed explorer abroad, but nothing but a pretentious prick at home. Although the central conflict in ‘Eden’ explores how “love thy neighbor” may be the hardest commandment to live by, even in paradise.
Loosely based on true events, the film stars Jude Law as Dr. Ritter, who travels to an uninhabited remote island with his partner Dore (Vanessa Kirby) to write a “radical new philosophy” that will “save” humanity. Their quiet life as the only residents of the island is disrupted when Heinz Wittmer (Daniel Brühl) arrives with his wife Margret (Sydney Sweeney) and their son Harry (Jonathan Tittel), the latter suffers from tuberculosis. Soon after, a glamorous Baroness (Ana de Armas) lands on the island with three companions, determined to build a hotel. ‘Eden’ then follows how these few isolated inhabitants struggle with scarce resources, a hostile climate, wild animals, and, most of all, each other.
Dr. Ritter and Dore aren’t interested in sharing their island with anybody, so they do their best to inconvenience the Wittmers. But to the couple’s surprise, the family thrives and survives, possibly better than them in the wild, harsh surroundings. And the arrival of the theatrical Baroness serves as annoyance to all of them.
While there isn’t necessarily a primary antagonist or villain in ‘Eden’, Ana de Armas (‘Knives Out’, ‘Ghosted’) brings some color to the dark survival tale, and is comically entertaining as a scheming, hedonistic trouble-maker. There’s an interesting scene that occurs at a luncheon, where the Baroness boldly likens herself to Dr. Ritter. He dismisses her with arrogance, yet the irony is clear, they indeed are mirror images in their vanity, ambition, and superiority complex.
Felix Kammerer (‘All Quiet on the Western Front’) and Toby Wallace play Rudolph and Robert respectively, two young men serve as both partners and subordinates to the baroness. Despite his short part, Felix Kammerer stands out as a young man utterly infatuated with the glamorous Baroness, only to be crushed by the harsh reality of island life. He quickly unravels, reduced to a sobbing boy desperate to go home. He is perhaps the most relatable character in ‘Eden’ for anyone who cannot fathom abandoning everything to survive on a remote, unforgiving island without the basic comforts of mainland living.
On the other hand, the stark contrast between the three women on the island becomes one of Eden’s most compelling ingredients. Vanessa Kirby’s Dore is intelligent, strong-willed, and industrious, an intellectual wholly invested in Dr. Ritter’s belief that his book will change the world, even while living in his shadow. Unfortunately, her character is under-explored, and needed more screen-time to really tick.
Sydney Sweeney’s Margret shares Dore’s resilience and work ethic, but lacks the same philosophical ambition; she is gentle and grounded, a shy yet devoted wife and loving stepmother who believes that “family is everything,” a sentiment Ritter mocks cruelly. And then there is the Baroness, a storm at sea, she is volatile, theatrical, and determined to command every man around her.
Though the islanders are all Caucasian and speak the same language, they still distrust and despise each other, showing that surface-level similarity does not guarantee unity. The island becomes an arena of survival, and power struggle, where hunting, deception, and killing are fair play.
With a 2 hour runtime, ‘Eden’ is scenic, tense, with a talented ensemble cast steering its tensions. However, given that there are at least five primary characters, there isn’t enough time for their character development. This might’ve worked a little better as a 5 or 6 episode mini-series, with each edition carrying the tale forward through a different character’s POV.
One way to sum up the film would be this: unlikable people doing un-relatable things. The climax is tragic, sad, and leaves the viewer interested in finding out the real stories of the people who inspired the film.
Rating: 7 on 10. Watch ‘Eden’ on Prime Video.
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