Eden (2025)
Directed by: Ron Howard
Premise: Based on true events. In the early twentieth century, Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his partner (Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby) have settled on an otherwise uninhabited island to write a manifesto. They are joined by a German family (Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney) looking for a fresh start and later by an aristocrat (Ana de Armas) who plans to build a hotel.
What Works: Filmmaker Ron Howard has had a varied career with some upbeat and optimistic movies such as Apollo 13, Willow, and Parenthood accompanied by a few dark titles including The Missing and Ransom. Eden is in the latter camp and it’s one of the more mature and sophisticated titles in Howard’s filmography. This story of survival recalls the nature-themed features of Werner Herzog. Eden is rooted in hope as three groups of people settle an undeveloped island. They have fled Europe following the horrors of World War I, hoping to start a new society free of the corruption of the old world. The filmmakers have a brutal and unsparing regard for that undertaking. Eden captures the difficulty of settler life and how it is complicated by human fallibility. The actors are game for the material and the whole cast is terrific. Jude Law plays Dr. Friedrich Ritter, a misanthropist writing a manifesto, and Vanessa Kirby is his partner Dore who gradually loses faith in Ritter. Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney are cast as Margret and Heinz Wittmer, a well-meaning couple raising their children. The filmmakers use Sweeney especially well, picking up on her reactions to illustrate the subtext. Ana de Armas plays the Baroness, an aristocrat with designs to build a hotel. She emerges as the villain of the story and de Armas is terrific in the part. This is a very attractive cast but the actors are willing to be grubby in a way that supports the themes and gives the picture credibility. Eden offers a lot to think about. Driven by the characters, Eden dramatizes ideas about society and human nature in a way that is dramatically engaging and with a growing sense of violence and doom.
What Doesn’t: Eden is filmed with a dim visual tone. Every shot looks like it was created with a filter, muting the colors. As a result, the imagery is consistently washed out and sometime ugly looking. The visual style is appropriate to the tone of the film but it’s also obvious. The travelers have come to the island armed with idealism and the expectation of a better life. The cinematography immediately communicates the violence to come and there is no evolution in the visual style as circumstances get desperate. This has a flattening effect on the drama.
Bottom Line: Eden is Ron Howard’s best film in over a decade. It’s an entertaining thriller but the filmmakers and the cast follow the material into very un-Hollywood places. The movie is feral but thoughtful and would benefit from multiple viewings.
Episode: #1062 (August 25, 2025)