Richard Crouse

SYNOPSIS: Ron Howard’s “Eden” is a star-studded—Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Jude Law and Daniel Brühl— story of backstabbing, ego and survival set against the unforgiving landscape of a deserted Galápagos Island. Based on a true story, it’s a heart of darkness tale done on an operatic level.

CAST: Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Brühl, Felix Kammerer, Toby Wallace and Richard Roxburgh. Directed by Ron Howard.

REVIEW: Based on a true story, “Eden” is an ambitious psychological thriller from director Ron Howard about a utopia that echoes the savagery and societal collapse of “Lord of the Flies.”

The film begins in the early 1930s with Dr. Friedrich Ritter (Jude Law) and his wife Dora Strauch (Vanessa Kirby) leaving the chaos of post-World War I Germany behind in favor of the solitude of Floreana Island in the Galápagos. Ironically, the misanthropic Ritter spends his days writing a philosophical manifesto about the betterment of humanity.

His dispatches to Europe attract the attention of the open-hearted Heinz and Margaret Wittmer (Daniel Brühl and Sydney Sweeney) who, much to Ritter’s annoyance, arrive with the hope of creating a community on the remote island.

Ritter’s solitude is further interrupted when the flamboyant Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn (Ana de Armas), and her two lovers land on the island with the idea of opening a luxury hotel on the beach.

A tale of survival, jealousy, betrayal, and violence, “Eden” is about the collapse of idealism. Director Ron Howard and screenwriter Noah Pink explore human nature through a jaundiced lens. The film takes its time escalating the power struggles that eventually erupt into violence, building tension as it does so, but a lack of energy in the film’s first half, as jealousy, deception, and betrayal blossom, makes our introduction to the story a bit of a slog.

Despite Jude Law’s full-frontal nudity and grotesque infected tooth, things liven up considerably when the larger-than-life Baroness and entourage show up. It’s a reset for the staid storytelling of the first half. Not only do her hedonistic ways alienate the island’s occupants, but she actively attempts to pit the Friederichs against the Wittmers. Her actions are the match to the powder keg, leading to the film’s more sordid aspects. The Baroness’s luridly glamorous presence adds some much-needed zip and Ana de Armas steals every scene she appears in with a deadly mix of charm and menace.

There is much to recommend in “Eden.” Gorgeous cinematography by Mathias Herndl and a tense score from Hans Zimmer go a long way to sell the story, but slack storytelling mars what could have been a fascinating trip to Floreana Island and the human condition.