Eden

7.5/10

I was surprisingly really drawn to the story, i found it fascinating and intriguing, and i thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish, the storytelling was strong and kept me engaged the entire time, which is a big plus, and Ron Howard definitely has that good filmmaking quality aspect in the film that are shown.

The cast, on paper, is absolutely stacke, just looking at the names, it sounds like a dream lineup, while i don't have any issues with Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby, i felt that the other three main stars didn't quite deliver their best performances, i've seen Daniel Brühl, Ana De Armas, and Sydney Sweeney doing a really great job as a performer, but in this film, their acting didn't quite hit the mark.

The main issue, in my opinion, was the accents they had to use, acting with an accent is like acting on top of acting, it becomes a double task, you not only have to perform the role but also maintain an unnatural speech pattern, which can be distracting, in this case, i'd say they were decent at best, not terrible by any means, just not as compelling as i've seen them before, Sydney Sweeney, to her credit, did slightly better than the other two, but it's not bad, if it's bad then it's another case, decent is definitely more passable than bad.

The two male co-stars who accompanied Ana de Armas also had similar issues, just a little bit worse, but still fine, there are a few nitpicks here and there, but overall, Eden is a pretty well-made film with a compelling, engaging, and fascinating story, despite its flaws, i found it to be a genuinely interesting watch.

Set in the Galápagos Islands, but filmed in Australia.

I was able to see the press conference that Ron Howard and the four main stars gave. Howard explained that he had the project in mind for a time, worked on it some during the recent COVID pandemic and lockdowns. He knew it would not be a project that a typical studio would go for so he went at it his way.

The movie is a fictional drama based on real people and their attempt to find their own Eden in the Galápagos Islands (filmed in Australia). It doesn't work out as hoped because, in the end, people are people and they can cooperate together for only so long.

This is analogous to the theme that played out in the year 2000 movie, "The Beach" with Leo Dicaprio. As I wrote in my comments for that one, "Even though these 20 or 30 men and women all went to the island for "pleasure seeking", ultimately roles need to be taken, duties accepted, not everyone agrees, jealousy starts to erode relationships, certain people seek power, and when some get seriously injured, "out of sight, out of mind" is the remedy so as not to upset "paradise." In other words, they end up creating on a smaller scale the same world that they sought to escape from. Eventually this "house of cards" starts to fall down, and ultimately everyone realizes paradise is internal, not some idyllic place."

Good for Howard to bring this story to the screen.

An extremely interesting story, based on true events, an accomplished director, a top cast, Hans Zimmer behind the score. A smash hit? At least not at the box office, the budget is not even close to being recouped. In terms of feeling, 'Eden' was not represented in the media at all, apparently these days there is a lack of the muse to be caught up in realistic darkness and human abysses. The only partially resolved 'Galapagos Affair' sheds light on the hopes and utopias of conquering a new land or escaping the old world in order to build an alternative civilisation there, and how human nature buries all dreams again. The supposed heaven turns into a hell of envy, jealousy, selfishness and vanity. Not forgetting the harsh reality of the supposed island paradise. All the supposed and proven events are almost unbelievable, which makes this survival trip all the more fascinating. A real true-crime story. The film adaptation does justice to this, the well-known cast performs excellently and there is little to criticise in terms of craftsmanship. The response does not do justice to the result, so I recommend it.

There is Eden in the title. But Where is the Eden?

The story sets on a beautiful island, should have been bright and vivid colors, but pictures of the movie looks like covered by some kind of filthy substance... well, let's not say that word.

Why are modern Hollywood movies full of grey yellow filters? Several other new films I've watched recently are also like this. Thunderbolts, Ballerina, Lilo & Stitch, all in "ugly color grading". Why?

Nowadays Hollywood films have already been poor quality in terms of story, at least make the picture pleasing to the eyes, not?

Back to Eden, this is a movie based on a true story. The story itself is fascinating enough. "A murder took place in Heaven". Color grading for dark atmosphere is completely unnecessary.

Because by doing this, you're erasing the drama of the story in strong contrast with its background, making it into a ordinary melodrama: "A murder that can happen anywhere"

Furthermore the setting of this story is also a character. What the audiences want to see is a murder story on a picturesque paradise-like island. Without it, the charm of the story will be greatly reduced.

The film industry produces alot of films, and this is a good one. Everything about it was quality. Well cast (and nice to aee Jude Law again), beautiful dramatic filming of scenary as well as dialogue well filmed. Excellent pacing and not predictable. I felt the interactions between the well defined characters was fantastic such that it could easily be made into a stage play. To be honest I feel the whole team deserve to be congratulated on work well done.

Basis of story is a very private and intellectual doctor and his adoring wife go to the Galapagos and then a highly practical German couple arrive, followed by a very devious and morally dubious woman qnd her two lovers. What results is a character interaction which creates tension, drama and some twists.