Ungodly ‘Eden’ is survival at its most unfittest
The Galapagos Affair ranks as one of the 20th century’s most intriguing mysteries, one involving manipulation, betrayal and accusations of murder served up with a generous side of kinky sex. It’s little wonder that it piqued the curiosity of Ron Howard, a lifelong aficionado of true-life stories of extraordinary people pushed to the limits, whether it be Jim Lovell in “Apollo 13,” John Nash in “A Beautiful Mind,” David Frost in “Frost/Nixon,” or James Hunt and Niki Lauda in “Rush.”
Dr. Friedrich Ritter may not be as renowned as those folks. But his story is no less compelling, evidenced by Jude Law’s portrayal of a man whose vision of Utopia could not withstand the volatility of human nature. Every man has his limit, and in the ironically titled “Eden,” Ritter’s comes when his concept of an idyllic society collapses like a house of cards. All it took was a little push from a handful of self-serving newcomers.
Howard and writer Noah Pink do an excellent job of setting the stage for their version of a weightier “White Lotus,” but then go astray, unsure whether to depict the ensuing conflict as campy satire or slow-burning suspense. The result is a somewhat discombobulated mess, rife with shameless emoting by a stellar cast of A-list stars.
It all begins in 1929, when Ritter and his life-partner, Dore Strauch (Vanessa Kirby), flee a fledgling fascist Germany for the solitude of Floreana, a deserted island in the Galapagos. Initially, their social experiment proves blissful, a perfect setting for Ritter to pen his philosophy of godless self-sufficiency and for Dore to find a modicum of relief from her crippling multiple sclerosis. Alas, Ritter, to his detriment, can’t help boasting about what he and Dore created, regularly filing missives to be published in the homeland.
Unwittingly, the Shangri-la he describes eventually lures intruders. First to arrive is the ambitious but impossibly naive Wittmer clan of Papa, Heinz (“Rush’s” Daniel Brühl); his much-younger wife, Margret (an unrecognizable Sydney Sweeney); and their tuberculosis-stricken son, Harry (Jonathan Tittel), who they hope will also benefit from the healing climate.
No sooner do they settle in, after a less than hearty welcome from Dore and Doc, when the egomaniacal Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrbom (Ana de Armas) arrives on scene, accompanied by her two hedonistic toy boys, Rudolf (Felix Kammerer) and Robert (Toby Wallace). Like the Howells of “Gilligan’s Island,” they haughtily strut about like they own the place, which is precisely the presumption the Baroness operates under as she announces plans to erect the “world’s most exclusive hotel” on the premises.
Her priority is to divide and conquer by deviously pitting Ritter and the Wittmers against one another. Thus, the wheels are set in motion for a series of petty, feather-ruffling incidents that gradually fan smoldering tensions and explode into full-blown violence.
Witnessing the disparate personalities clash is entertaining, even gripping at times, but Howard fails to rein in a cast eager to crank their performances up to 11. Moderation is simply not an option. Think Faye Dunaway in “Mommie Dearest.”
How are we to consider any of their machinations credible when the cast, especially de Armas, is consistently hamming it up with highly dubious German accents? You don’t know whether to be appalled or amused. And what’s up with Law parading around with his junk on full-frontal display and Kirby getting intimate with a burro? It borders on silly, undercutting any chance of taking it seriously. Yet, the story is so screwy and debauched, it’s near impossible to resist.
Charisma has a lot to do with that, and this cast has got it in spades. By far, the most disarming is Sweeney, who has more than blue in her genes; she’s got grit, especially apparent in a harrowing 5-minute scene in which Margret flails about the family’s encampment until single-handedly giving birth surrounded by a pack of wild, ravenous dogs. Kirby is right up there, riotous as a woman who likes her sex calculated and her canoodling with her prized burro uninhibited.
The males, interesting as they may be, are no match for the trifecta of Sweeney, Kirby and de Armas. Law comes closest, projecting Ritter’s open disdain for his new neighbors, cunningly (and comically) mocking their cluelessness. As for Brühl, Wallace and Kammerer (so dynamic in “All Quiet on the Western Front”), they have so little to do that they threaten to fade into Floreana’s stark, unforgiving landscapes, where water is in limited supply and danger seemingly lurks around every corner.
It’s all captured in menacing detail through Mathias Herndl’s evocative camera shots, deftly accentuating the contrast between the island’s unique natural beauty and the ugliness of its human inhabitants. Meld that with Hans Zimmer’s eerie score, and you have the perfect atmosphere for jealousy and evil to fester out of control.
While “Eden” in no way ranks among Howard’s best films, it does have its moments, despite its extravagant 129-minute run time. Sure, it’s whacky and over-indulgent, but I can’t say I was ever bored. And for a late-August release, that’s tantamount to high praise. But like Ritter’s illusion of a real-life paradise, “Eden” is doomed to the same fate as its biblical namesake. And like Eve and the forbidden fruit, Howard’s lurid existential exercise bites off more than it can chew.
Movie review
Eden
Rated: R for language, violence, graphic nudity and sexual situations
Cast: Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl, Felix Kammerer and Jonathan Tittel
Director: Ron Howard
Writer: Noah Pink
Runtime: 129 minutes
Where: In theaters Aug. 22
Grade: C
