Eddington (dir. Ari Aster)

By: Adam Freed

There are a diversity of perspectives held regarding the bold auteurist stylings of writer and director Ari Aster’s growing filmography, but calling the work “boring” is certainly not one of them.  The fascinating mind behind Hereditary (2018), Midsommar (2019) and Beau is Afraid (2023) returns with what is his most audacious and likely divisive film thus far, Eddington.  Set in the tiny town of Eddington, New Mexico during the early stages of the Covid-19 global pandemic, Aster’s modern western focuses on local sheriff, Joe Cross, performed to perfection by Joaquin Phoenix (Joker, Napoleon), who finds himself at odds with small town mayor Ted Garcia.  Garcia, a local politician in the midst of a reelection campaign,  is captured by the seemingly omnipresent Pedro Pascal (Materialists, The Mandalorian).  The root of the duo’s conflict runs deep, but is exacerbated by the coronavirus’ unique ability to divide people and families based on the information that they chose to believe at the time.  Cross’ conservative ideology runs afoul of Garcia’s more progressive approach to town management, and what ensues is a dynamic and anxiety-inducing exploration to the divisiveness that has grabbed America by the throat.  

Returning audiences to a world of hand sanitizer, masks and drive through testing centers is not exactly the recipe for a feel good evening at the cinema, yet this provocation is exactly the type of backdrop in which Ari Aster thrives.  What is most striking and evocative about Eddington, is that despite being a 2020 period piece, is just how reflective the film is of America’s current state of affairs.  Aster’s fourth film is deeply informed by the corrosive nature of social media’s manipulative algorithms and their influence over malleable ideology.  Eddington is part satire, including countless moments of uproarious evisceration of Joe Cross’ narrow minded conservative thinking.  Evidence of a gifted filmmaker can be found in Aster's refusal to paint characters in black and white, allowing for Cross to possess the complexities of a human being, one who thanks to his masterful portrayal by Joaquin Phoenix, may even earn early sympathy from audiences.  Joe Cross is entrenched in his attempt to preserve his relationship with his wife Louise, captured by an understated Emma Stone (Poor Things, La La Land), a layered stress that on top of a pandemic, police protests, and local politics, is enough to send Cross into a tailspin. 

Where the prior works of Ari Aster, have been thought provoking and ambiguous, Eddington provides more of a clearly defined mirror to society.  This shift doesn’t amount to Aster’s most complete work, but certainly allows for the auteur director to wield a sharper blade aimed at the subjects in question.  To this end, Eddington doesn’t solve any of the problems that it unearths, but also never aspires to do so.  It is therapeutic to laugh at some of the insanity that unfolded just a half decade ago, but behind that laughter are the knowing tears that America’s fever hasn’t broken five years hence.  It would be comfortable to watch Eddington with a sense of relief that the struggles of the past have now subsided, but in reality, watching Eddington feels far more akin to a supervillain origin story that has become America.  Making audiences comfortable has never been Ari Aster’s intent.  This certainly will not be the case at screenings in red and purple states.  It takes a level of courage for Aster and A24 Studios to produce a film that will knowingly alienate a large chunk of its American viewing audience.  This is seemingly of no concern to the provocative director, who like all great artists, feels the compulsion to paint the reality of his experience.  The broad audience response to Aster’s provocation is yet to be seen, but much like the divisive modern media being consumed, it is sure to be met with as much praise as it is impassioned critique. 

Target Score 8/10 - Ari Aster’s covid-era period film Eddington returns the director to his native New Mexico armed with a brilliant cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone.  With his latest offering, Aster offers a blistering satire about the nature of America’s modern illness.