Controversialauteur Ari Aster revisits the COVID-19 pandemic’s most divisive issuesinEddington,an absolutely bonkers Neo-Western satire that’s both hilarious and disturbing. The film takes right-wing and conspiracy-theorist talking points and sets them on fire: Picture an unholy stew of anti-mask activists and vaccine deniers, angrily raging against a raging mob of Black Lives Matter protesters and armed Antifa terrorists. By using a small Southwestern town as a microcosm of our worst societal instincts,Aster exposes the lunacy of deep fracturesdriven by jealousy, hatred and blind ignorance in a time of collective trauma.
Set in May 2020 in fictional Eddington, New Mexico,Joaquin Phoenix stars as asthmatic Sheriff Joe Cross. Joe has problems on the home front with his mentally ill wife Louise (Emma Stone) and her QAnon-obsessed mother, Dawn (Deirdre O’Connell). Joe wants to start a family, but the sexless Louise has zero interest. Dawn has moved in due to money problems, and her constant spewing of COVID-19 conspiracies exacerbatesa growing professional rift between Joe and Eddington mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), who briefly dated Louise decades ago.
Bloody Extremists
Ted adheres to strict pandemic rules instituted by the state’s liberal governor, meaning that everyone in Eddington has to wear masks, stay six feet apart and aren’t allowed to congregate in groups. Joe rejects Ted’s beliefs, and refuses to wear a mask. He thinks the danger of COVID-19 is overblown, a ruse by the government to seize control of citizens' personal lives. An incident at the local supermarket brings their mutual animosity to a head, and Joe decides to run for mayor against Ted and bring “freedom” back to Eddington.
Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid)uses key supporting characters to stoke the flames. This is especially true of Joe’s subordinatesMichael (Michael Ward), a Black police officer, and Guy (Luke Grimes), a racist who’s openly hostile to liberal values. This already-volatile situation is made worse by Eric (Matt Gomez Hidaka), Ted’s unruly teenage son, who’s pursuing Michael’s ex-girlfriend and enjoys riling up law enforcement. The stage is set for outside agitators to make a precarious situation exponentially worse.
Aster’s well-written first act gives his muse,the always brilliant Phoenix, time to simmer with anger and resentment. Ted represents everything that Joe despises on a primal level. He doesn’t know what really happened between Louise and Ted, leading to bitter suspicions that fuel his desire for confrontation. You can see the shackles breaking as Joe becomes fully committed to destroying everything that Ted stands for. But Ted is no pushover, and battles Joe’s increasing aggression with equal vigor.Pascal, who has little screen time relative to Phoenix, portrays Ted as an exasperated politician, parent and business owner. He has big plans for Eddington, and won’t allow a rube like Joe to thwart them.
In these scenes, Aster fires the opening salvo of an ugly racial discourse that increases the ballooning COVID anxiety. Eddington should be far removed from the problems tearing America apart, but instead it transforms into a lightning rod that attracts dangerous elements.Eddingtonwould be a great satire if Aster had stuck to his guns and continued to smartly skewer the ridiculous extremes that ruin any chance of calm mediation. Instead, he shifts the narrative towards bloody retribution, completely losing the insightful thread.
One can argue that Aster’s vision of death and anarchy is the only logical conclusion of fanatical zealotry. That would be the case if Joe’s actions weren’t so easily attributed to him. Ted and his army of followers were always dubious of Joe’s intentions. The idea that the simpletons in Eddington would be so caught up in their own agendas that they’d let Joe run amok isn’t supported by the earlier exposition. Aster acknowledges this by introducing another officer from the neighboring Native reservation who’s wary of Joe from the start.
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Aster’s tendency for wild third-act theatricsturnsEddingtoninto a nonstop melee of mindless gunfire, explosions and grotesque carnage. What was a thoughtful and savage satire devolves into rampaging slaughter, which parachutes into the film from literally out of nowhere.Eddington’sclimax goes maniacally off the rails, but will still have viewers' eyeballs glued to the screen for every incendiary frame. The last shot is jaw-dropping, delivering one last gut punch to a truly deserving protagonist.
Eddingtonis produced by A24, Square Peg, and 828 Productions. It will be released theatrically on July 18th from A24.
