Ron Howard has long embraced his identity as a versatile filmmaker, crafting a wide range of films over the past 40 years, from tales about mermaids, astronauts, and firefighters to explorations of the Da Vinci Code, the Grinch, and Pavarotti. However, at the Toronto Film Festival premiere of his latest film, Eden, Howard stated that this project stands out as his most unique work to date—and he's right, though perhaps not for the reasons he believes.
Eden, which is based on events that took place 100 years ago on one of the Galápagos Islands, is a challenge to define. While marketed as a thriller, it feels more like a grim survival story akin to Robinson Crusoe meets Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, with unsettling overtones of Nietzschean philosophy. It’s undeniably different for Howard, featuring elements like sex, murder, and animal slaughter. Yet, the real difference isn't the odd subject matter—it’s that Howard, typically a master of relatable storytelling, became so consumed by the material that he lost his usual touch, resulting in a film that is, unfortunately, quite terrible.