Eddington
⭐️ ⭐️ (out of 5 stars)
Writer/director Ari Aster had heads rolling as he thrashed his way into the cinematic worlds of audiences with Hereditary and Midsommar. He has developed a style of storytelling that might push the edge of the envelope of taste and appeal. Yet, as a mainstay in the A24 family, the artist has a penchant for making films that communicate his twisted absurdist worldview through cinema.
His latest venture with Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) is set in the fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico, at the height of the pandemic during 2020. Joe Cross (Phoenix) is the local sheriff who is trying to determine how to manage this bizarre world of curfews, facemasks and the ensuing Black Lives Matter movement while caring for his mentally ill wife, Louise (Emma Stone). The difficulties mount as Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) puts in new regulations during his upcoming reelection campaign. These are actions that lead Joe to throw his cowboy hat into the ring as a mayoral candidate who hopes to put an end to the madness brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic that has infected the community and his home. Until protests, online gurus, and unmitigated allegations caused everything to explode around the small town and in the lives of the sheriff and the mayor.
Labelled as a neo-Western that incorporates everything from shootouts, Native Americans and comedic sidekicks, Ari Aster has delivered a less than entertaining statement of the conspiratorial hysteria of the United States. The commitment of the talented cast to this project proves that the director has drawing power for his films. Along with the less-than-subtle digs at America's penchant for perceived cultural sedition, Eddington takes an extreme view of our world and blows it up before our eyes. Reminiscent of Adam McKay's dark comedy, Don't Look Up (2021), this Western fable does less to define the genre and more to put its stamp on modern society and show how we are only a few steps away from chaos.
This is not to say that Aster doesn't get the most out of every actor, as this ensemble cast embodies their characters with a tenacious fervour. Everyone from Phoenix to Stone commits to this over-the-top New Mexico escapade that shows no one wins as they strive to achieve their American dream. The screenplay weaves through this community and delivers the harsh reality that no one is innocent or deserves sympathy, regardless of the scenarios they encounter during this contorted character play. If Ari Aster does anything, he forces the viewers to ask themselves if the reality of their lives is true or if it is a lie they have bought into by their culture.
Eddington, New Mexico, is not where anyone would want to reside, and the film is even less inviting. Unless you are looking for a gnarled description of modern society and have little hope for humanity. A tale that is less entertaining than it is an allegation against all that our world has become.
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Reel Dialogue & Deeper Questions: How do we combat misinformation - how can we know what's true?
We're constantly bombarded with information via email, social media, streaming and podcast platforms, and more. How can we know what's true?
Eddington is an object lesson in misinformation and how it can devastate people's lives and our world. To help you combat misinformation, the Deeper Questions podcast has consulted John Cooke, who has a PhD in cognitive psychology and has devoted his life to understanding how we can be misled by the wrong information, our bias towards one source over another, and our distrust in mainstream media.
