‘Eden’: Paradise Is Just Out of Reach in Ron Howard’s Melodramatic Galápagos Island Thriller

Sandra Miska

For his latest feature, survival thriller “Eden,” Oscar-winning director Ron Howard found inspiration in the gripping real-life story behind the settlement of Floreana, a small island in Ecuador’s Galápagos Archipelago. Set in the 1930s, during a period in which Germany and other countries were still dealing with the devastations caused by World War I, “Eden” follows Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law), an eccentric German physician and philosopher who fled civilization along with his partner, Dore (Vanessa Kirby). His goal was to find some sort of enlightenment that he could use to help save humanity. Although Friedrich values his solitude, his hubris lead him to write to newspapers back home about his supposedly groundbreaking work, and the resulting articles inspire other lost souls to follow him to Floreana, putting a wrench into the good doctor’s plans to create a lasting utopia. 

Sydney Sweeney anchors “Eden” as Margret Wittmer, a young German woman who arrives on Floreana with Heinz (Daniel Brühl), her older veteran and PTSD-ridden husband, and Harry (Jonathan Tittel), his young son from his first marriage. It is Heinz who is taken with Friedrich, and Margret obediently follows. After receiving a chilly reception from Friedrich and Dore, the former makes sure to set them up on a part of the island not conducive to homesteading, but despite this, the Wittmers end up thriving, even surpassing Friedrich and Dore. This leads the doctor to say some unkind things to Dore, who suffers from multiple sclerosis. Sweeney taps into different sides of Margret, and underneath her submissive wife exterior is a steely, determined woman. Her status as a badass is eventually cemented after she gives birth all alone surrounded by wild dogs.

The couples’ uneasy but peaceful coexistence is disrupted by the arrival of Eloise (Ana de Armas, absolutely chewing the scenery here), a so-called baroness with big plans to build an exclusive hotel on the island. With her comes her interchangeable boyfriends, Rudolph (Felix Kammerer) and Robert (Toby Wallace), as well as architect Manuel (Ignacio Gasparini). At first glance, the Baroness is entitled and spoiled, someone you would not expect to last long away from civilized society. However, she proves to be conniving, even dangerous, and an engrossing power struggle ensues.

Law and Brühl are both top-notch actors who give fine performances, but the women are the ones who carry this film. Kirby stuns as Dore’s resentments towards her man simmer to a boiling point, and she has a great scene with Sweeney in the third act. Little information is given about her life pre-Floreana, though we gather Friedrich once wooed her with his brilliance and the promise of a new life, but the emperor has no clothes. Law expertly brings out his character’s frustrations and fragile masculinity, especially after the self-aggrandizing doctor eventually abandons his lofty goals, even destroying his typewriter in a fit.

Despite the melodrama, being a tad too long, and containing repetitive scenes, “Eden” tells a compelling story about human nature, survival, and how harsh realities get in the way of idealism. Eventually, the first key player is eliminated, and while there are more interesting developments that follow, “Eden” loses a bit of its momentum from that point on. But Howard doesn’t disappoint, and the eventual ending is satisfying. He even tacks on an epilogue revealing the fascinating fates of the survivors.

“Eden” releases Aug. 22 in select theaters.