Film Review – Eden

August 21st, 2025 | POSTED BY Allen Almachar

The title of Eden (2024) is a not so subtle reference to the biblical “Garden of Eden.” It was a supposed paradise, but through greed and corruption, man was banished from it never to return. It doesn’t take a genius to see the parallels here, in which we find a group of people traveling to an uninhabited island in hopes of creating their own heaven on Earth. But just as Adam and Eve could not prevent themselves from being tossed out of their idyllic home, so too do our characters find difficulty creating a utopia out of scratch. Their “Happily Ever After” is wrought with struggle, distrust, betrayal, and disappointment. It’s like watching a house of cards being slowly built, knowing sooner or later it’ll all come crashing down. The only question is finding out who will be the first one to fall.

This might be director Ron Howard’s most cynical and bleakest film to date. He – along with screenwriter Noah Pink – take a true story and construct a narrative that is brutal, pessimistic, and strangely funny. In a place where resources are scarce, you would hope that people would band together to survive. Eden argues the exact opposite. There is a Lord of the Flies situation brewing here, where the worst part of human nature comes out once desperation sinks in. We meet a group of people, most of whom have fled the ravages of WWI in hopes of starting new lives, get their entire existence shaken once they face the reality of their situation. How the delicate balance between them unravels makes for a funny yet frustrating experience. We watch people whom we think are smart make idiotic decisions. Whether that is intentional or not is not so clear.

There are three opposing sides to this triangle. The first is with Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law) and his wife Dora Strauch (Vanessa Kirby). The two have left their native Germany for the isle of Floreana (part of the Galápagos Islands). There, they have renounced their old ways of living, with Ritter hoping to write a grand manifesto that will change the way people think and thus save humanity. Friedrich and Dora’s exploits have made headlines, inspiring countless followers. Among their devotees is Heinz (Daniel Brühl) and Margret Wittmer (Sydney Sweeney). The Wittmers have arrived on Floreana – along with Heinz’s son Harry (Jonathan Tittle) to learn from Friedrich and Dora and to settle down on their own. This development bristles the Ritters, as they have taken pride in their isolation. Things only get more complicated with the arrival of Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (Ana de Armas). “The Baroness” is a flamboyant character, who describes herself as “The Embodiment of Perfection.” She travels with boxes filled with clothes, jewelry, and any other pieces to show off her vanity. The Baroness is persuasive – proven in how she is carried to the island on the shoulders of her two lovers (Toby Wallace, Felix Kammerer).

What starts out as an inconvenient yet mutual understanding devolves into a shady game of cat and mouse. Harsh weather, depleting food and water, and increasing distrust causes all involved to question and eventually betray one another. The narrative is based on a true story, yet the details of what occurred is shrouded in mystery. The writing and direction does a decent job of making an educated guess, filling in the holes with assumptions that seem plausible given the severity of the environment. Friedrich and Dora think of themselves above everyone else, but once things go south, they get a healthy dose of humble pie. Heinz and Margret seem out of their element once they arrive, but through hard work and determination are able to flourish, which only leads to jealousy amongst the others. And as for The Countess, she is willing to say and do anything that will keep her radiating with glamor and influence. No one truly believes that she will open a luxury hotel on the island as she claims. Once that fact hits her, there’s no telling what she will do next.

Howard’s direction – coincided with Mathias Herndl’s cinematography and Matt Villa’s editing – depict Floreana as anything but inviting. The terrain is harsh and rugged. There are only a few springs that provide fresh drinking water and the weather can change from scorching hot to monsoon rainfall at a moment’s notice. Wild dogs and pigs threaten to eat crops and livestock. Disease threatens from every angle. Howard aims to amplify how difficult it was to live here, and to show the physical strain taking its toll on the characters. The camera routinely pushes in on a closeup, taking in every expression and facial tick. Characters suffer against the elements and each other. There is no bigger example of this than with a scene involving Margret. I won’t go into details, but this extended sequence, in which Margret must endure physical and emotional turmoil, highlights just how alone they all are. We get an up close and personal view of Sydney Sweeney’s face, as she exhibits the torture of the scene. Howard opts to not cut away, but to stick with it from beginning to end. It’s a brutal moment that runs a bit too long, probably on purpose. If the intent was to make us uncomfortable, the scene accomplishes that with flying colors.

The cast matches each other in terms of performance. They all have something to offer and are different enough to make for a compelling dynamic. Jude Law is very good as the strung out, exasperated doctor/philosopher. His delusions of grandeur has affected Dora, to the point where their toxic relationship is on the verge of imploding. Vanessa Kirby fills Dora with conflicting traits. She would not be on the island if she didn’t believe in Friedrich’s work, yet the seeds of doubt are starting to be planted. There’s a growing resentment between them, despite the fact that they are the only ones who truly understand each other. As much as Friedrich and Dora exude bitterness, Heinz and Margret express compassion. Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney are tasked with characters that might seem plain at first, but we slowly come to see the strength they encompass. They are far smarter than most would assume, maybe even calculating. This is especially true for  Margret, who becomes more of a player in the game the further things go along. But the standout is Ana de Armas. As The Countess, de Armas eats scenery like chewing gum, going for the biggest and most exaggerated gestures. The character is a diva, and de Armas fills that description with her over the top delivery. Above all else, at least de Armas looked like she was having a blast making this movie.   

Eden is a good film, but not a great one. The mounting tension heads towards a point we can see coming from a mile away. How everything resolves, where all the pieces fall into place like a perfect jigsaw puzzle, operates a bit like Movie Writing 101. Whether what happens in the film is what actually happened in real life will probably never be answered. Thus, the overall result leaves us a bit unsatisfied. Still, the strength of the acting, combined with Ron Howard’s darker turn as a filmmaker, makes this worth a visit. It’s a getaway that plays less like a tropical holiday and more like a vacation from hell.

Ana de Armas, Daniel Brühl, Eden, Featured, Felix Kammerer, Jonathan Tittle, Jude Law, Lord of the Flies, Mathias Herndl, Matt Villa, Noah Pink, Ron Howard, Sydney Sweeney, Toby Wallace, Vanessa Kirby