Eddington

Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) are at odds in Eddington (Distributed by A24)

2020 was a year where the size of our national divide was made frighteningly apparent. The COVID pandemic seemingly brought out everyone’s worst instincts. Masks, social distancing, police violence, riots, Black Lives Matter, peaceful protests, ANTIFA, etc.; everything became ripe material for personal arguments that drove viewers to partisan news coverage, ended friendships, pushed family members away and reinforced how stark the split was in this country. Ari Aster, who has become a force in horror thanks to Hereditary, Midsommar and Beau is Afraid, has decided to tell the story of the year 2020 in microcosm in the satirical black comedy Eddington.

He uses the goings-on in a fictional small town in New Mexico to retell the events of 2020 America. The result is deliberately confrontational, but almost completely hollow. He has his characters use the buzzwords of the time as they debate the issues we are all familiar with. However, it doesn’t go anywhere. Aster brings these things back into focus to get a rise out of the audience, which it does. Then it just sits there on the screen, with no resolution, no insight, nothing to say beyond how messed up everything was (and remains). There is some good stuff here, yet it ultimately isn’t worth the trouble.

Joe Cross is a sheriff barely holding on. His wife doesn’t like being touched, his mother-in-law is constantly spewing conspiracy theories and his town is suffering due to the pandemic. He opposes the shutdown mandates being put forward by Mayor Ted Garcia and, on a whim, announces he will be running against him. Their conflict brings old wounds to the surface and moves the small town even closer to the edge.

Eddington (144 minutes, without the end credits) is packed with provocative ideas that all loop back to the same central premise: America is divided by anger and fear because nobody takes the time to listen to anybody else. This leads to desperation and violence. Okay, we already knew that. He displays it effectively, with uncomfortable dark humor and a little tension, but there is no next level where Aster makes us consider things from a different perspective. There is no real commentary here. It is mostly a story of panic and chaos that mirrors what the world went through five years ago.

This is a well-made movie. The cinematography by the great Darius Khondji is fantastic, making Eddington seem first like a small town anywhere, then like a postapocalyptic hellscape. The desert landscape is at once both isolating and hiding the destructive outside world just beyond the horizon. Aster is a gifted filmmaker and this has a bit of an epic scope to it. He is trying to capture a moment when the American unease exploded. He does that successfully, even if his writing isn’t particularly sharp.

The performances are quite good, especially Joaquin Phoenix as Sheriff Joe and Pedro Pascal as Mayor Ted. Phoenix is incredible as a man who sees his town falling apart thanks to decision-making that he does not think represents the citizens. His home life is a mess, so he suddenly decides to run for mayor. To protect his wife, his town and make a point about what people really care about. His arguments against his opponent (mainly the dangers of wearing a mask and various deep state conspiracies) are unformed and aggressive, very much in the spirit of what politics has become. Phoenix is compelling in every scene, despite occasionally coming off as a concept far more than as a person.

Pascal doesn’t get much of a backstory to work with. We find out very little about him. He is clearly a liberal mayor, in support of the lockdown, mask mandates and social distancing. However, there is an implication that he doesn’t necessarily believe in any of those things, just using them for political cache. Though that is never explored. While Pascal tries his hardest to get some substance out of this guy (his conversations with Phoenix are probably the best in the entire movie), there isn’t a lot there.

That is kind of how I feel about Eddington as a whole. It looks great, the cast is strong (also including Emma Stone as Joe’s wife, Dierdre O’Connell as her mother and Austin Butler as a sort of cult leader) and the narrative is decent enough. Aster assembled these pieces and then threw them at the screen. It is already a divisive movie about a divisive period of time. For what purpose? I have no idea. Some people will see a masterpiece. I see emotions prodded merely for the sake of it.

2¾ out of 5

Cast:

Joaquin Phoenix as Joe Cross

Pedro Pascal as Ted Garcia

Emma Stone as Louise Cross

Dierdre O’Connell as Dawn

Matt Gomez Hidaka as Eric Garcia

Luke Grimes as Guy

Micheal Ward as Michael

Cameron Mann as Brian

Austin Butler as Vernon

Written/Directed by Ari Aster