As Ari Aster’s filmmaking grows bolder, his critical reception grows more divided.
Eddington, the writer/director’s most ambitious film, is a surreal, sprawling neo-Western set during the chaos of COVID in 2020. Where his earlier work mined personal trauma, here Aster confronts the collective psychosis of a fractured country.
It’s a film teetering between satire, tragedy, and absurdist horror—and it doesn’t always stick the landing. Yet despite its flaws, it stands as one of the most provocative portraits of American unrest in recent memory.
Eddington features a dramatic climax after the characters are put under unusual stress, as many of Aster’s films do. In this case Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), the anti-masker sheriff of the small fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico, is a proud, old-fashioned main character. After an incident at a local grocery store, he decides to run for mayor against the incumbent, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), a liberal, tech-friendly entrepreneur who had a short affair with Cross’s wife.
Cross resorts to a smear campaign against Garcia, claiming Garcia is a predator, later debunked as a vicious lie that destroys Joe’s credibility. With his reputation ruined, Cross decides the only thing to do is to assassinate Garcia and his son.
The story of Cross and his Jim Thompson-like schemes finds its way to an Antifa super-terrorist group, resulting in the climactic ending of the film: a Rambo-style machine gun shoot-out.
Aster uses the town of Eddington as a microcosm to examine the people, events, and issues of 2020. While Cross is definitely the main character of the film, it is not clear which characters are actually “good.” This effectively removes the viewer’s biases, allowing us to watch how crazy we were (and are).
While the film explores interesting and thought-provoking concepts, it struggles to decide whether it’s satire, tragedy, absurdist noir—or all three. Transitions between tones often feel abrupt or muddled. At nearly 149 minutes, it’s overstuffed.
Aster bites off more than he can chew, and at times the rushed nature of the themes don’t allow for them to fully mature.
That being said, Eddington isn’t a simple parody or a partisan critique. It doesn’t mock one political side more than the other; instead, it steps outside the debate entirely, and that contributes to why the film is so polarizing.
Aster isn’t interested in preaching, unlike other attempts to capture the hysteria of 2020 (see 2021’s Don’t Look Up). He’s dissecting. And in doing so, he captures the confusion, fear, and absurdity of 2020 unlike anything before.
My rating: B+.
Editor’s Note: Eddington is now playing at The SLO Film Center at the Palm Theatre.