In Eddington, New Mexico, gritty small town sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) grapples with the rapidly changing landscape as the world goes through the major paradigm shift we know as 2020. Eddington’s mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), supports the governor's mask mandates and complies when citizens spark civil unrest, gaining media attention. Cross decides to run against Garcia in the race for mayor. He intends to represent conservative values in Eddington, but between the changing landscape of the world outside, his waning relationship with his wife Louise (Emma Stone), personal history with Ted Garcia, and losing authority over his community, his descent into madness is only exacerbated with every shortcut.

 

Ari Aster’s fourth feature is a pretty steep departure from his earlier work, both in tone and setting. It’s a period piece from a very real, very recent time that we haven’t fully digested. While it's not a political thriller designed for you to choose a side, you might feel the desire to, and that's what Eddington challenges you to consider. Aster’s earlier films earned him a reputation as a director of nightmarish horror films, but Eddington is much more grounded, and quite frankly, hilarious. The audience at my screening joined in numerous moments of roaring laughter and equally amounts of justified gasping. It’s easy to forget how rewarding a communal theater experience can be, and this is just the type of movie that deserves a shared experience.

 

Watching Eddington is like looking into a snow globe that gets darker and darker until the glass becomes a mirror. The general unrest and collective anxieties from the pandemic resulted in a lot of odd behavior we should definitely be reviewing. While the town of Eddington is small and inconsequential, despite its internal turmoil, it invites the viewer to take notice of the real consequences that happen when we get too hung up on introspective drama.

 

I urge you to see this in theaters while you can, starting July 18th.