Eden

 

       Ron Howard goes out of his comfort zone to direct this serious adult drama, based on a true story. With flashes of nudity, sex and violence, this is unlike any other Ron Howard film, and he does a remarkable job.

        The film is based on the true story of a group of people who decide to live off the grid on an uninhabited Galapagos Island in the early 1930's. With a screenplay by Noah Pink, based on a story by Mr. Howard and Mr. Pink, the film has the all the qualities of a good book. The characters are rich and interesting and as they say, "the plot thickens" as the story moves forward.

         Jude Law stars as Dr. Friedrich Ritter and Vanessa Kirby is his companion, Dore Strauch. Disillusioned with Germany's growing fascism, the two leave for the Galapagos, where they can live alone and Dr. Ritter can philosophize in his journals about creating a utopia. His essays make their way back to Germany through a mail ship that periodically visits the island. One day Heinz Wittmer, played by Daniel Bruhl, his young wife Margret, played by Sydney Sweeny, and his sickly son arrive, enthralled by Ritter's writing with the intent to settle on the island as well. Not long after, A woman calling herself Baroness Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn also arrives with a few men in tow with the intent on building a hotel on the island. The baroness is played by Ana de Armas.   

         Mr. Howard brings out the best in his already terrific cast. You already expect great work from Jude Law, Daniel Bruhl and Vanessa Kirby but Ana de Armas is at her best as a character you will grow to hate and Ms. Sweeny is almost unrecognizable as Margret and steals the film with her best acting to date.

          Uneasy alliances are formed and broken and tensions begin to rise as everyone struggles to co-exist. It is a remarkable story, all the more interesting since it is based in truth.

           It's an odd choice by the film company to release this film in the middle of August with little fanfare. It's the sort of adult drama usually released in the fall as Oscar bait. Regardless of its timing and distribution, it is definitely worth seeking out for the unusual story, the excellent work of its cast and its fine direction.