Eden (2025)

Eden is based on a real life Lord of the Flies like event which occurred early in the 20th century. When differing groups of Europeans, with very different reasons for doing so, attempted to settle on an uninhabited Galapagos Island, this did not go well despite all their high and low ideals. The story is a rather pessimistic examination of our humanity that brings its characters to their knees. I'm just not sure the film does the story enough justice. 

Perhaps director Howard wasn't the right choice for this story. He goes to some dark places I don't remember seeing in his work before, but it always feels like the safety is on, that the story should feel even more unsettling than it does. Eden is about isolation and the inhumanity of desperation. It explores how the rejection of collectivism reduces our humanity and how competition leads to degradation and violence. But Howard always holds back a little. Eden should have been a darker story than it ends up being. 

But what does work is how wonderful the cast is. Armas has some amazing moments and Kirby, Law and Brühl are remarkable. So much of what makes Eden so watchable is the way the cast creates their characters and navigate their relationships together. It ends up being incredibly watchable while touching on discomfort. There is a great scene near the end between Law and Kirby where he ends up pulling her tooth, which is riveting. 

The one weakness in the chain is Sweeney who does a capable job but never feels like she is up to the rest of the ensemble. There were times this pulled me from the story. She doesn't ruin the film but also does not help overcome some of the film's insecurities. 

Overall Eden is a mixed bag. I would not say it is not worth watching. But I couldn't help but think of what a better movie there is to be made out of this story. 

Eden

Starring: Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace, Richard Roxburgh 

Director: Ron Howard

Writer: Noah Pink