August 29, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Ron Howard
Culture Representation: Taking place from 1929 to 1934, on the Galapagos island of Floreana in Ecuador, the dramatic film “Eden” (based on real events) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with one Latin person) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Several settlers on the remote island of Floreana have various conflicts with each other, which get worse as food resources become scarce.
Culture Audience: “Eden” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and filmmaker Ron Howard, and are interested in dramas based on true stories, but this movie is disappointing and mostly dull.
Watching the shallow historical drama “Eden” is like being stuck on a miserable island with pretentious and/or predatory people. Although the characters are based on real people, most of “Eden’s” cast members have obvious fake accents. That’s not the only problem with “Eden.” A story that should be mostly suspenseful is instead mostly sluggish, with a clumsily handled showdown crammed in toward the end.
Directed by Ron Howard and written by Noah Pink, “Eden” had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie takes place from 1929 to 1934, on the remote Galapagos island of Floreana in Ecuador. “Eden” is a dramatic version of real events, but the dialogue and direction make it look like a slightly pompous soap opera.
“Eden” (formerly titled “Origin of Species”) is told in chronological order and begins with a caption stating that in the year 1929: “The world economy has collapsed in the wake of World War I. Fascism is spreading. People are desperate for a way out.”
A German botanist named Dr. Friedrich Ritter (played by Jude Law) and his lover Dore Strauch (played by Vanessa Kirby) have relocated to Floreana to isolate themselves and to live in their own version of utopia. Dore has multiple sclerosis that has made one of her legs disabled. Friedrich has convinced Dore that living on the island can cure her multiple sclerosis. This unrealistic medical prediction is one of many indications of how out-of-touch Friederich is.
The caption in the beginning of the movie further states: “The world learns of Ritter’s isolated existence through his letters, picked up by the rare passing vessel. Ritter’s mission: to write a radical new philosophy that will save humanity from itself.”
Friedrich, who is atheist, is often seen typing letters that have his rambling anti-government philosophies. For example, Friedrich says in one of his rants: “Democracy leads to fascism, which leads to war.” The movie often shows Friedrich talking out loud to himself as he writes pretentious drivel such as, “What is the true meaning of life? Pain. In pain, we find truth. And in truth, salvation.”
For someone who wants to be “left alone,” Friedrich as a hypocritical way of showing it. Allowing his letters to be picked up by passing vessels is an indication that he definitely wants attention from the “outside world.” By the time the story begins in “Eden,” Friedrich’s letters have gotten media exposure, and he has become somewhat of a cult folk hero for disillusioned people who want better lives for themselves.
Not surprisingly, some people who know about Friedrich and his island existence have sought him out on Floreana. Two of these devotees are a married German couple named Heinz Wittmer (played by Daniel Brühl) and Margret Wittmer (played by Sydney Sweeney), who have sold all of their belongings to relocate to Floreana. The Wittmers hope to learn more about utopian living from Friedrich.
Heinz and Margret have moved to Floreana with Heinz’s son/Margret’s stepson Harry Wittmer (played by Jonathan Tittlel), who is 14 years old. Harry’s deceased mother was Heinz’s first wife. Soon after arriving at the island, Margret tells Heinz that she’s about three months pregnant.
Margret can be heard in voiceovers reading letters that she has written to her unnamed mother, who is never seen in the movie. Based on these letters, Margret’s mother seems to be stern and judgmental, because Margret gives an apologetic explanation for why Margret has radically changed her life by moving to Floreana: “I’m sorry for leaving without saying goodbye, but I cannot handle another lecture about marrying a man broken by the war. I am simply doing what you always taught me: supporting my husband.”
Friedrich’s voiceovers and Margret’s voiceovers somewhat clutter up the movie. Over time, these narrative choices for the film become more apparent because Friedrich and Margret (who’s a lot tougher than she looks) are the “alpha” partners in their respective relationships. However, these voiceovers don’t offer much substance to the overall movie because the depictions of these main characters are still very superficial.
Friedrich and Dore are standoffish to the Wittmers when the Wittmers first arrive on the island. Dore is especially skeptical that the Wittmers won’t be able to adjust well to the Foreana’s rough terrain. Food can become scarce. People on the island often have to deal with some of the island’s wild animals (such as packs of feral dogs) that want the same food. Floreana is also a tropical island that has deadly creatures, such as poisonous snakes.
Before moving to Floreana, Heinz was a personal secretary to the mayor of Cologne, Germany. Considering that Friedrich despises bureaucracy, you can easily predict his contempt for Heinz. Friedrich’s animosity toward Heinz grows even more when Heinz proves to be a better farmer than Friedrich.
However, the Wittmers definitely have difficulty adjusting to their new environment at first. Friedrich and Dore have an attitude that the Wittmers need to fend for themselves. There’s a scene were Dore coldly makes this comment about the Wittmers to Friedrich: “They’re clearly suffering.” And then, in the next sentence she abruptly says to Friedrich: “Shall we fuck?” It’s an example of the movie’s awful dialogue.
The island gets more residents with the unwelcome arrival of a seductive diva who loves to be the center of attention. She calls herself “Baroness” Eloise von Wagner-Bousquet (played by Ana de Armas), who has a murky background but clams to be a wealthy royal from Europe. It’s implied that the Baroness is a con artist with a phony identity.
The Baroness is accompanied by her two lovers, whom she treats like servants: Robert Phillipson (played by Toby Wallace) is an extrovert. Rudolph “Rudy” Lorenz (played by Felix Kammerer) is an introvert. The Baroness is a manipulator who likes to make Robert and Rudy compete for her affections and attention. She’s also very high-maintenance and expects to always have the best possible food on the island, even if Robert and Rudy have to steal from their neighbors.
The Baroness and Margret clash with each other because they are complete opposites. Margret is offended by Baroness’ bawdy talk and indiscreet expression of sexuality. The Baroness has a dog named after the notorious sexual sadist Marquis de Sade. Margret is the type of person who gets upset just by seeing adults naked.
Most of “Eden” is about how all of these people have a very uncomfortable existence on the island. Jealousies, resentments, hunger and greed all get mixed into an emotional cauldron that reaches an exploding point. Friedrich isn’t the only delusional egomaniac on the island. The Baroness talks about her big plans to build a luxury resort on Floreana. It’s an idea that Friedrich and Dore obviously hate.
Unfortunately, “Eden” is a display of bad and unconvincing accents by many of the cast members. The worst offender is de Armas, whose stilted delivery is too affected, even if she’s portraying a con artist. Sweeney’s German accent isn’t consistent, although she does make the necessary effort to depict her Margret character as more interesting than Margret first appears to be.
Law gives a compelling performance as the brooding and sulking Friedrich, but like most of the “Eden” characters, there’s not much depth to Friedrich’s personality. Brühl (one of the few “Eden” cast members who is of German heritage in real life) doesn’t have an accent problem, but his character is written as too bland. Kirby doesn’t have much that she can do to give inscrutable and moody Dore any charisma because Dore is ultimately living in the shadow of Friedrich.
“Eden” stumbles by mishandling the irony of how Friedrich, who hates bureaucracy and rules, wants be the leader of this motley community, and he expects others to follow his unwritten rules. Instead, there are disjointed scenes that are meant to be provocative, but the impact is diluted by cringeworthy conversations or performances that look too manufactured. And there’s a childbirth scene in the movie that looks utterly fake.
One of the worst aspects of the movie is how unrealistic the costume design looks for characters who are supposed to be living on a remote island for a long period of time. The island doesn’t have laundry service or beauty salons, but you’d never know it from how polished everyone and their clothes look. Dore’s slightly messy hair is about the only thing that comes closest to what realistic hygiene would look like on a remote island with no basic amenities. A big part of the story is about the characters experiencing starvation because of the island’s food shortages, yet all the characters in the movie look very well-nourished.
“Eden” goes around in circles with repetitive fighting and betrayals until the inevitable descent into mayhem where not everyone gets out alive. By the time the movie comes to its messily contrived end, viewers will feel like “Eden” is an empty exercise that didn’t tell enough about the real people involved. For a more meaningful account of the real story, watch the documentary “The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,” which was released in 2014, and directed by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller.
Vertical released “Eden” in U.S. cinemas on August 22, 2025.
