Writer-Director Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar) has a penchant for making his audiences uncomfortable. And that’s pretty much what he does for about two and half hours with his latest film Eddington. Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal headline this COVID-era neo-Western mish-mash that centers on small town Sheriff Joe Cross (Phoenix) whose rivalry with the town’s Mayor Ted Garcia (Pascal) snowballs out of control consuming everything in its wake. Included in the maelstrom are a youth-led Black Lives Matter protest following the killing of George Floyd, the sheriff’s wife (Emma Stone) being drawn into cult (led by Austin Butler), his conspiracy nut mother-in-law getting in the way, his ill-advised run for mayor, and ultimately LOTS of blood and gun fire.
Set in the tiny fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico, where everyone knows everyone, the film kicks off with the town’s only homeless man disturbing the peace at the Mayor’s bar and Joe coming to take care of it only to get in a physical fight with the guy, that’s videoed and shared on social media. Later he’s called to the scene where a man is being kicked out of a grocery store for not wearing a mask. Joe’s on the man’s side. After all, he reasons, COVID isn’t in Eddington. This is the first hill he decides to stand on, putting him at odds with the Mayor, and ultimately pushing him to declare his candidacy.
Aster throws everything and the kitchen sink into his story: racism, homelessness, right and left-wing politics, sexual abuse, conspiracy theories, Antifa, Native American rights, social media’s reach and influence, corporate greed and all the disagreements that came out during COVID. It is a dizzying mix and that seems to be the point. Joe is walking through this insane world, and it affects every single part of his life, pushing him to react and change and totally lose himself. Even I was confused a lot while I was watching.
This is one of those films that felt like it had a dozen endings, but then kept going. And I can’t really say what it was about. You can’t look away, mainly because Phoenix is such a great actor and you cannot imagine where it will all end. But is it a great film? I am not so sure. I think people who were fans of Aster’s other films are more likely to land on the yes side. I am still trying to process it.
In theaters now.