Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

Shadows catches up ’25
Reviews of films I only managed to see late in the game...

On this page: EDEN

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 7.Jan.26

Eden
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5

dir Ron Howard
scr Noah Pink
prd Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Karen Lunder, William M Connor, Stuart Ford, Patrick Newall
with Jude Law, Ana de Armas,Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Bruhl, Sydney Sweeney, Jonathan Tittel, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace, Ignacio Gasparini, Richard Roxburgh, Paul Gleeson, Thiago Moraes
release US 22.Aug.25,
UK 24.Oct.25
24/Australia 2h09

TORONTO FILM FEST

Is it streaming?

Because I grew up in Ecuador,I had an eye on this fact-based drama about Europeans who moved to the Galapagos in the 1930s. Its release was almost invisible. Sure enough, this is a fascinating story that's charged with mystery and intrigue. And the cast is well up for the outrageous goings-on. But it's frustrating that Ron Howard's direction and Noah Pink's script lean into the soapier side of things.

It opens as Heinz (Bruhl) and Margaret (Sweeney) travel from Germany to Floreana island in 1932 with their preteen son Harry (Tittel). They're excited to meet eccentric scientist Ritter (Law) and his wife Dore (Kirby), who have become celebrities back home after moving here to find a cure for Dore's multiple-sclerosis. But Ritter just wants to be alone, so ignores the family as they establish their own self-sufficient home. Then Eloise (de Armas) arrives, claiming to be a baroness, with her three lovers (Kammerer, Wallace and Gasparini) and upsets an already precarious balance.

Survival is very tough on this remote island. No one else lives here, and they are reliant on passing ships for supplies. And the environment isn't friendly either, with packs of ravenous wild dogs and pigs that were abandoned by sailors over the years. Still, it's the clashes between these nine neighbours that lead to disagreements, theft and even murder. Indeed, this is a seriously sordid story that spirals into some extreme nastiness.

The problem is that the film never balances the misery and ugliness with anything else, depicting the worst human impulses while only rarely observing any good ones. Still, the actors gamely attack their roles, creating colourful figures who feel much more complicated than the screenplay implies. Sweeney is particularly notable as the likeable Margaret, who endures a seriously nightmarish childbirth set-piece. This could have been a provocative exploration of the desire to escape to a seemingly idyllic life. But it ends up merely being another comment on how difficult it is to escape awful neighbours.

themes, language, violence, sexuality 29.Dec.25

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