New A24 movie Eternity has redefined the rom-com for the 2020s, and broke out hearts in the process. At its core, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) must decide if she wants to spend the afterlife with first husband Luke (Callum Turner) who died in the Korean War, or second husband Larry (Miles Teller) who she spent 65 years with.
If you think you can guess the ending, I guarantee that you can't (and if I'm honest, I don't actually agree with it). But with so many Easter eggs and cultural references peppered throughout the movie, you're bound to be reminded by something while you watch.
I'd go as far as to say that Eternity has hidden references for multiple movies, but which is the one you should stream after finding out who Joan chooses?
I've got my own idea, but I asked director David Freyne for his take. While his classic streaming pick is currently available to stream for free, his back-to-back cinema suggestion is so unhinged, I don't think I could bear it.
Watch The Apartment after Eternity, says director David Freyne
"I think one of my tonal biggest references for this would have been The Apartment by Billy Wilder," he tells me. " So I would say that, but actually, I say that now and I don't know if I want to be so immediately compared to him."
Regardless, it's a phenomenal choice. Starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, C C Baxter (Lemmon) lens his apartment out for colleagues to have affairs away from their family homes. He soon falls for elevator girl Fran (MacLaine), which complicates his arranges and relationships at work.
Given how many complex romances and exceptional performances there are in The Apartment, I can see why Freyne has chosen it. Frankly, it's a movie any filmmaker would aspire to be half as good as, and as a viewer, you come away with a new frame of mind every time you watch it.
There's good news, too. The Apartment is currently available to stream for free in the US on Kanopy, Hoopla and Plex, with free trials available for Fubo TV and MGM+ via Prime Video. In fact, take a look at the deal below:
You can use the above deal to watch The Apartment for free in the UK, while Australian fans will need to head to Apple TV.
But Freyne isn't done there. "What I would say is Hamnet. See Hamnet, then go see ours as a chaser, as a little dessert. Both really moving, but one's going to make you cry sad tears and the other's going to make you cry happy tears.
"So do that as a double bill. Let get onto Chloé Zhao, see if she's up for it."
As its distributor Focus Features is owned by Universal, there's a strong chance that Hamnet will make its streaming debut on Peacock next year. However, nothing has been confirmed... which is just as well seeing as I can't put myself through all that emotion in one day.
If you ask me, I think the perfect double bill with Eternity is The Truman Show. Different outcomes, but both constructed in versions of a place that doesn't actually exist, artificial sky included.
Luckily for you, US fans can find The Truman show and The Apartment in all the streaming places I've mentioned above, while UK fans will need Prime Video and Australian fans can turn to Paramount+.
As for Eternity, HBO Max's deal with A24 tells us we'll be able to find it there at some point next year. Get prepared with this unmissable Black Friday deal:
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