Eden, a 2024 movie directed by Ron Howard, is a tale about a small group of people who settle on Floreana Island, an uninhabited and almost waterless isle in the Galapagos, shortly after the end of the First World War. Based on actual events, Eden is a survivalist story, reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, The Mosquito Coast, and Into the Wild.
Jude Law plays Friedrich Ritter, a German philosopher who settles on Floreana to write a philosophical treatise that will save mankind from itself. Day after day, he types away on his portable typewriter, spouting a mishmash of philosophy that seems to be drawn from Nietche, Marx, Freud, and--who knows--Joseph Conrad. Dore Strauch, played brilliantly by Vanessa Kirby, lives with him on the island as his paramour and muse, hoping to recover from multiple sclerosis.
Baroness Eloise, a beautiful sociopath played by Ana de Armas, arrives on Floreana accompanied by a two-man fan club and announces plans to construct a luxury hotel. She is bad news for everybody.
A married German couple also settles on Floreana. Heinrich Wittmer, a veteran of the First World War, and Margaret, his young wife, hope to build a home and lead an idyllic life far from the corruption and decay of post-war Germany.
Almost all the characters behave badly except Margaret, played against type by Sydney Sweeney. She becomes the movie's sole hero. In Eden's most dramatic scene, Margaret gives birth alone while fighting off feral dogs. Her husband and stepson are away hunting when she goes into labor, and she is too distracted by childbirth and wild canines to discover that the Baroness's two young lackeys are stealing her family's food.
All the actors gave outstanding performances, but I want to focus on Sydney Sweeney, who was recently vilified for appearing in a sexy ad for American Eagle jeans. Sweeney was criticized on several fronts, including the claim that her ad sexualizes women and promotes eugenics.
Suppose you were swept into that silly American Eagle controversy and came away with a negative opinion of Sydney Sweeney. In that case, you should watch Eden, where Sweeney plays a courageous and somewhat plain young mother who stands by her principles in a stressful and hostile environment.
Sweeney has a lot more going for her than great jeans.
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| Sydney Sweeney as Margaret Wittmer in Eden. |