Ron Howard’s Eden

In the 1930's, the Germans had a nasty habit of fighting with their neighbors. That was even true of the small colony on Floreana Island in the Galapagos. Would-be philosopher Friedrich Ritter and his partner Dore Strauch only had six neighbors, but they fought with all of them. The feuding took a scandalous turn that stoked decades of controversy in the German press and spawned three films. One was a French TV movie adapting a Georges Simenon novel transparently based on the case. The second was the classy “true-crime” documentary” The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden. This is the third. Director-producer Ron Howard recruited a famous cast, but like previous filmmakers, he shows strangely little interest in the Germany the Floreanans had expatriated themselves from in Eden, which opens Friday in theaters.

Strauch believes Ritter will save the world with his manifesto, but to contemporary ears, it sounds like a warmed-over fusion of Nietzsche and Rousseau, at least before he goes a little crazy. Heinz and Margaret Wittmer are the next to arrive. The couple seems to have an inkling of how bad things will get in Germany. They also believe their ailing son Harry will benefit from the tropical climate. The Rittmer’s instinctively look down on their square, middle-class neighbors, but they grudgingly start to respect the Wittmers for doggedly scraping out a home for themselves.

Unfortunately, “Baroness” Eloise Bosquet de Wagner Wehrhorn lands several months later, along with her two himbo lovers. She has grandiose plans to build a beach resort, but she is ill-prepared for the conditions she finds. As the self-dubbed Baroness’s supplies dwindle, she and her men set their eyes on the Wittmers’ supplies, making them a direct existential threat to the family. Yet, Ritter probably hates her even more, because of the way the Baroness needles his vanity.

Screenwriter Noah Pink offers explanations for the deaths on Floreana, but in real-life (if such a thing still exists), the truth has yet to be established beyond a shadow of a doubt. That is a large part of the story’s appeal. Regardless, despite its ultimate uncertainty, The Galapagos Affair is a much better film, in part due to a more sophisticated vibe (suggesting comparisons to Michael Bradford’s White Mischief). In contrast, Howard aims more for the overheated tone of an old school primetime soap opera. Frankly, he and Pink frequently neglect the mystery/thriller elements, focusing instead of the island’s festering jealousies, sexual power games, and [not-so]-micro aggressions. Consequently, it is often grabby, but in a lurid kind of way.

Jude Law is certainly fun to watch shamelessly chewing the scenery as the arrogant and wildly self-important Ritter. Daniel Bruhl anchors the film, portraying Heinz Wittmer with dignity and intensity that it maybe does not fully deserve. To her credit, Sydney Sweeney so thoroughly transforms herself into the hardscrabble Margaret Wittmer, a perpetually offended wokester could watch the entire film without getting “triggered”—at least not by Sweeney and her “good jeans.”

Unfortunately, Ana de Armas seems to be auditioning for the role of Norma Desmond in her ridiculously over-the-top scenes as the fake countess. That might be amusing in small doses, but she probably has considerably more screentime than anyone else (even if a stopwatch will not confirm that as fact, it certainly feels true). Regardless, she overpowers the film, in the wrong way. Conversely, Vanessa Kirby weirdly disengages from the drama, only periodically awaking to share acidic barbs with Law, as Strauch. Frankly, the voice-over cast who read the letters and journals of the angsty islanders in Galapagos Affair (including Cate Blanchett, Diane Krueger, and Sebastian Koch) also outshine Eden’s ensemble.

Ironically, the duplicitous and allegedly murderous Floreana residents were not the worst Germans of their era. They weren’t even remotely in contention. Yet, their sins now get a fresh round of speculation, for our entertainment. However, Eden classifies more as a diversion, because it holds viewers’ attention, despite its conspicuous flaws. Recommended for the curious, as an oddball novelty in Howard’s otherwise reliably consistent filmography, Eden opens tomorrow (8/22) in theaters, including the AMC Lincoln Square in New York.