‘Eddington’ Review: Ari Aster’s Pandemic Thriller Might Just be His Masterpiece

The Definitive Movie About 2020

In this turbulent decade, no filmmaker has dared to go where Ari Aster went with ‘Eddington’. And that’s because no one else has a clue how to. Or they just don’t want to face the ugly truth of what really happened in 2020. COVID-19 fractured the political and societal landscape in the United States to a degree that has never been reached in decades, maybe even in the history of this country, with polarization amongst regular people becoming the new normal. We just don’t know how to be good people anymore. And that’s what Aster is trying to preach throughout the two-plus hour runtime of ‘Eddington’.

Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) is the sheriff of the small town Eddington, New Mexico who’s fed up with masks. He refuses to wear them (partially blaming his asthma), which sparks outrage from some small-business owners, and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), a hypocritical, out of touch bureaucrat whose main issue is getting an AI-like datacenter approved.  

These are the least of Joe’s problems, however. He has serious marital issues with his wife, Louise (Emma Stone) (the first scene shows him watching a YouTube video about how to approach a partner and discuss pregnancy), a burdening, conspiracy-obsessed mother-in-law, Dawn, (Deirdre O’Connell) who quite frankly thinks he is pathetic. His living situation is extremely sub-par, not being able to eat breakfast in peace because of the nonsensical rambling’s from Dawn. 

We all have relatives or close family friends like her: Chronically online, looking for an outlet to voice their radical opinions. Social media rotted people’s brains right from the very start of the pandemic. Conspiracy theories became less conspiratorial and more accepted, with voices on the fringe having their thoughts make their way into mainstream spaces. Societal division has been growingly rapidly because of the small little icons we call apps, sitting on our phone and lurking in our minds everyday, even more so in recent years. Apps like Twitter (or X, if you really care) have become a cesspool, a home to racist, parasocial weirdos that have their tweets amplified ever since Mr. Musk took it over. 

This is one of the reasons Joe Cross runs for mayor. He wants his voice to be heard, much like those who feel society has left them behind and taken them for granted. Cross’s thoughts don’t necessarily escape his car sometimes, and he’s just spewing out all of this information into the void. His campaign vehicle (also his police cruiser) has a bunch of signs on it that encourage people to vote for Cross, with some that attack Garcia. One of them that stands out reads, “Your being manipulated.” Aster’s genius really shines here. He understands the current state of political theater. He knows that certain people running for office are dumber than a bag of bricks, but their message resonates with people who are easily convinced of extremely false, ultimately fake information. 

To be fair, a lot of these people online, like Cross, are living in their own echo chamber, but the fact that some government officials actually acknowledge them shows how far we have fallen as a country, and it’s quite dangerous.

Aster’s use of social media and the way he employs it in certain scenes is incomparable. 

He frames the phone in such meticulous ways, most notably in the scene where Joe is announcing his candidacy for mayor on his IPhone. There is so much empty space around him, the phone centered in the shot while he is speaking into the small, selfie lens. Louise in turn watches on her laptop, and we see her reaction to the video on the black side of a laptop as the video plays in the center. 

Minor Characters Turning Major

There’s a lot going on in ‘Eddington’. Some of it’s for better, some of it drags down the film at points. But the characters are bursting off the screen, and all seem like real people you’ve seen before. 

The first character we meet is a homeless drifter, Lodge (Clifton Collins Jr.), who’s rambling on and on about nonsense as he walks into the town of ‘Eddington’, past a planning sign for the datacenter. Lodge may not seem like it at first, but he is easily one of the most important characters (particularly seen through his interactions with Cross) in ‘Eddington’. 

Homelessness (along with mental health) has been an increasingly apparent issue in the past decade, and no one really has a solution for it. It’s either ignore them or make them disappear, which would be incredibly unethical and borderline maniacal for anyone to do. 

During a scene where a protest is commencing, Lodge finds himself in between them and police officers, but no one is truly acknowledging him. It’s either, “I don’t have any money,” or, “Get out of her.” The homeless, and people with serious mental health issues, are ultimately shunned by “normal” society and left for dead (in this case, literally). It’s fascinating how Aster explores this issue, and I can understand how it doesn’t work for some. 

Genre Bending 

‘Eddington’ clearly shows its influences and is not ashamed to do so. The dark, prickly comedy presented in Coen Brothers movies like ‘No Country For Old Men’ and ‘Fargo’ are seen in ‘Eddington’, as is the western side of the former. 

The second half of ‘Eddington’ dives deep into the western genre and plays like a scene straight out of a video game. The camera sits behind Cross as his paranoia increases in the midst of a shootout, almost putting the audience in his shoes. 

David Elrich, a film critic at IndieWire, described ‘Eddington’ as the first truly modern western, which more or less hits the nail on the head. There has been nothing like it in recent memory, and it will stand the test of time because of it.

Aidan Reidy

Aidan Reidy is a writer who’s currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in motion pictures screenwriting at the University of Miami. He is passionate about the entertainment industry and enjoys watching most genres. He is interested in every aspect of filmmaking ranging from technical aspects like editing and sound mixing to acting and directing styles. Hollywood Insider’s commitment to substance-filled articles rather than gossip columns attracted him to the website, creating an enjoyable environment for him to write in and aligning with his personal values, as well.

Aidan Reidy

Aidan Reidy is a writer who’s currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in motion pictures screenwriting at the University of Miami. He is passionate about the entertainment industry and enjoys watching most genres. He is interested in every aspect of filmmaking ranging from technical aspects like editing and sound mixing to acting and directing styles. Hollywood Insider’s commitment to substance-filled articles rather than gossip columns attracted him to the website, creating an enjoyable environment for him to write in and aligning with his personal values, as well.