No matter how you come away from his filmography, you have to respect Ari Aster. A genuine, go for broke kind of filmmaker that embodies what we mean when we say we want original cinema from bold directors who execute their own vision. The result is Aster’s work, and while A24‘s “Eddington” may be his funniest and most straightforward film so far, it is still stuffed to the brim with ambition, chaos, and violence. All things Aster does very well, and regardless of whether or not you enjoy his grand experiments like this film, he will always leave you with something to talk about. Aster really does just put his mind onto the page, beautifully films his ideas, unleashes it out into the world for us to reckon with, then walks away for the chaos in slow motion as we all sit around trying to figure out what the hell we just watched.
Milage my vary on effectiveness, and I understand the desire to want him to stick to his proverbial roots and make as many versions of “Hereditary” as he can until he retires or gets asked to direct a Netflix series. I think this is the wrong take and the wrong thing to do with someone like Aster, a filmmaker who isn’t interested in making the same movie over and over again despite all of them having very similar themes through different lenses. Someone so experimental shouldn’t be contained, and “Eddington” is further proof that we need to continue to let this man’s freak flag fly. Aster’s work requires a lot of unpacking and a lot to undertake, so it’s important to understand who we’re dealing with before we understand what we’re trying to make sense of. At its core, it is moment in time – 2020 at the start of COVID 19 in the middle of nowhere New Mexico – and a mirror held up to those that lived through it and asks us if we like what we see.
It starts as a modern western satire unfolding at a pivotal time in recent history. It takes place in May of 2020 in the town of Eddington, New Mexico amid the lockdowns and mask mandates. Local sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) disapproves of both, which causes him to butt heads with the towns’ mayor Ted (Pedro Pascal) who is seeking re-election with a tech-driven campaign to put a new AI data center inside the town. Joe decides the only solution is to run for mayor himself, and as opposing viewpoints continue to collide, things escalate at a rapid, unpredictable pace between the two men who share more familial secrets and quickly discover the town ain’t small enough for the both of them. As the world around continues to descend into chaos and unknown, the town and its inhabitants will be pushed to the brink as tensions rise, chaos reigns, and violence erupts. It also stars Emma Stone, Austin Bulter, Michael Ward, Luke Grimes, and Deirdre O’Connell.
There’s no denying this is a lot of movie. Aster attempts to tackle every side and viewpoint he can to capture life in 2020, and while not everything comes together across the board he absolutely nails pandemic living. You’d be forgiven if you’d rather not return to 2020 ever again, and while “Eddington” presents it with unsettling precision, you’re much better served if you approach it as the black comedy it’s meant to be instead of some kind of opportunistic provocation. Yes, the film is provocative, but if you’re not careful you can easily miss what Aster is really trying to say underneath the noise of seemingly not saying anything at all. The mirror effect has a tendency to goad audiences into feeling attacked or worse, angry at pushing the line of complex, complicated, and very recent tragic events so soon as a white man from New Mexico. It works better when you accept the atmosphere of the past we lived through, remember the extreme uncertainty that surrounded us and most importantly, that it’s ok to laugh at the most cartoonish versions of it all.
That’s the rub, the key to unlocking the film’s true potential. This film is as funny as it is uncomfortable, and you’re meant to see the reflection and laugh at the cartoonish iterations Aster is presenting. It’s both grounded and fantastical, rooted in reality of small town life reckoning with global chaos but every reaction and response exaggerated ten fold. “Eddington” is a powder keg ready to explode, and those same small town problems mixed with an unknown future has only one conclusion: spontaneous combustion. It’s here where the film starts to reveal itself. The pandemic, mask mandates, conspiracy theories, virtual signaling politicians, internet grifters, Black Lives Matter protests in a 95% white town on the border of Pueblo land, even ANTIFA are all surface level on purpose. This isn’t really about any of it so much as it uses the tumultuous time as a backdrop for something deeper, something that interests Aster more than just reliving a time we’d much rather forget.
“Eddington” is really about a society living online, how much that corrupts us from within, radicalizes us in the worst ways and another warning about how much technology is quite literally ruining the world. As much as the film may feel like a modern western, it’s only that for about half of the film. The second half is a conspiracy thriller, packed with unbelievable violence and outrageous events that feel transported from a different movie if you miss what connects them. So much of how this film is constructed in through screens; cellphone videos, podcasts, YouTube, social media, etc. Everyone is chronically online at a pivotal time of uncertainty, resulting in a toxicity festering beneath the surface that brings out the worst of everyone we meet.
There are no heroes in the digital age, and “Eddington” forces us to sit with unlikeable people for the entirety of its runtime. Joe Cross means well at the start, but as things continue to unravel – so does he. But unlike other films that would switch perspectives once it’s revealed that our main character is not a hero, Aster doubles down on our surrogate and forces us to stay with him even after his whole world spirals out of control. The paranoia buries its roots deep within everyone, and explodes in a thrilling and violent ending meant to remind us that most of the time, there are no answers. Especially when our search for them leads us to the find them on the internet, a tool weaponized across the entirety of every character we meet. Yes, there are a lot of characters and a lot of ideas and lot of events that Aster is trying to tackle, but if you can sit through the uncomfortable set up and remember that none of us had answers at the time either, the big dark joke of it all begins to take shape.
There’s obviously a lot here thematically, and “Eddington” doesn’t quite tackle them all perfectly. But man, does Aster know where to put the camera and get the most out of his performers. There’s such an assuredness and confidence to Aster’s work, and the way the camera is almost never still only amplifies the sweeping sense of dread and unknown during a time when everything felt that way. Every piece of craft works to keep things constantly moving and constantly unnerving. The camera sweeps and moves and never settles, Daniel Pemberton and Bobby Krlic‘s simmering score keeps us on edge, Lucian Johnson’s editing brilliantly splices screens and cinematic action and Darius Khondji mesmerizing cinematography all work to bring this film to life and keep you gripped and engaged. You don’t have to like everything the film is doing, but it’s works hard to be a movie you simply can’t look away from.
Asking “what does it all mean” is the wrong question and not what “Eddington” is interested in answering. Like the 2020 setting itself, we didn’t know what anything meant and we all just tried to find ways to process. Here, making the internet the number one way in which everyone tries to find answers can only ever ensue more chaos and fan the flame of misinformation, causing an overreaction and exacerbating of an already tense and susceptible environment.This film is purposefully overstimulating and meant to incite a reaction, and if you’re not careful you can easily get carried away fighting against the wrong thing. It’s what’s underneath it all that ends up being the most interesting and much more humorous than you would expect. Powered by a stellar cast who are all dialed into Aster’s vision, once the real ‘Eddington” reveals itself it becomes something you can’t escape and simply have to discuss with other people.
Aster’s work will always be divisive; he’s a divisive filmmaker who makes what he wants in the way he wants to make it and we all are left trying to makes sense of it all. I’m genuinely thankful he exists and I’m glad we have such an unrestrained creator making movies and experimenting with genres. “Eddington” was never going to be for everyone and that’s ok because Aster doesn’t make films for everyone. He’s got ideas and the ways in which he sees the world and knows how to put that onto the screen. He really does just put it out in the universe and let the chips fall where they may. We need more of this, more risks and bold swings from directors and filmmakers who’ve got a lot of things to say. They don’t all have to work, but we are better because the exist.
I could probably dig even deeper into more of what I found, what worked and what didn’t, get more granular with characters (there’s a ton of them in this movie and we didn’t even cover most of them at all) and expound upon one of the most unrelenting and insane violent endings you’ll see all year. But we’d be here all day and this already approaching 2000 words, so let’s just lead with a few last minute thoughts.
If you’re worried about the overexposure of Pedro Pascal, don’t worry. “Eddington” is so busy you won’t have time to eye roll at him being here and while he plays a pivotal role in the movie, he’s a small part in a larger picture. That also applies to Stone and Bulter, both of whom are very important to overall story but are often under seen because so much of the film is through Phoenix’s POV. This film really is funny, you just have to be ok to laugh at things and people that aren’t necessarily funny on the surface. This film has a lot in common with “Cloud,” another film that serves as a bleak but darkly funny indictment of internet culture, capitalism and technology. Both films also conclude in insane, unexpected firefights and while they aren’t set in the same time period, have a lot to say about the similar themes. Lastly, “Eddington” has one of the funniest needle drops of the year, a pop banger completely in contrast with the context of the scene it’s in.
“Eddington” is bound to have its detractors, and honestly most of the criticisms are warranted. It’s a big swing and even bolder execution from a filmmaker who dives head first into both with complete abandon, and that approach is always going to draw lines in the sand. Though I feel good about what I think this film is trying to say, I’m still not entirely sure what to do with a film like this.
I think I can say I landed positively on “Eddington,” and I get the sense that if I’m able to get past revisiting 2020 in feature film form, this one will grow on me after a rewatch or two.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
“Eddington” is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
