Eden

Directed by Ron Howard, Eden follows an assortment of characters, including Jude Law’s Friedrich, Sydney Sweeney’s Margaret, and Ana de Armas’ Eloise, as they attempt to make a life for themselves on the Galápagos Islands. Filmmaker Howard, working from Noah Pink’s screenplay, delivers a slow-moving yet initially compelling endeavor that benefits from its strong performances, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that Law’s commanding, scene-stealing turn goes a long way towards sustaining one’s interest – with de Armas’ mustache-twirling work as a femme-fatale-type also quite engaging and entertaining. And while the novelty of the premise and the picturesque remote locale keep things going for a while, Eden progresses into a padded-out and increasingly underwhelming midsection that proves a test to the viewer’s patience (ie this ultimately feels like a decent 80-minute melodrama trapped within the confines of a bloated two-plus-hour misfire). The inclusion of a compelling final stretch, which finally transforms Sweeney’s dull supporting character into a far more intriguing figure than one might’ve first anticipated, arrives too late to make any real difference, and it is, in the end, impossible to label Eden as anything other than a misguided disappointment.

** out of ****