Written by William Townsend
With its release on digital home media, unfortunately before streaming, I finally got the chance to sit down and watch Eddington, Ari Aster’s latest outing following 2023’s Beau is Afraid; here’s my mini-review (spoilers).
I’m not sure that I’ve seen anything capture how 2020 truly felt in such a visceral way as Eddington, the latest film from Ari Aster — the mind behind modern horror classics such as Midsommar (2019) and Hereditary (2016). In his latest outing, Aster takes us into a vision of a community that can’t coalesce on how to address the the COVID-19 pandemic, the state-mandated lockdowns that followed, and the cultural events that exacerbated an already tense climate in late May 2020.
From arguments amongst characters on proper mask usage, to the rise of the arguably disingenuous “anti-racism” sentiment among privileged youth, to the micro-aggressions toward Michael Cooke, the town’s Black deputy played by Michael Ward — the latter of which became less “micro” as the film went on and were largely fueled by Cooke’s fellow deputy Guy Tooley (Luke Grimes), we’re reminded of a tension that bubbled under the society’s surface as we all dealt with the same problem.
Of course, to truly be compelling, a story has to have roots in reality; to wit, the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN marks a turning point in the film as characters’ true selves and inherent biases begin to reveal themselves — one of the most amusing of these is the pronunciation of the phrase as “Blacks Lives Matters”, one of many small nuances that viewers could easily miss, and also this film such incredibly high rewatch value.
Emma Stone also shone as the visibly sullen housewife, Louise Cross, opposite Joaquin Phoenix’s (partnering with Aster again in a leading role following 2023’s Beau is Afraid) Sheriff Joe Cross — a man who seems to make the worst possible decision at every turn as he tries to claim his own sovereignty from a system he believes to be (albeit misguidedly) corrupt. As this unfolds, his wife becomes drawn closer to Vernon Jefferson Peak (Austin Butler), a congenial conspiracy theorist with the charm of a viper, whose motives aren’t entirely clear.
Last, but absolutely not least, and rounding out part of the larger ensemble cast is Pedro Pascal as Ted Garcia, the current mayor of Eddington running for re-election, and foil to Sheriff Cross. Early on, it’s intimated that the two have a connection, however the extent of this only becomes clear as a web that only a small town can weave is unwound, and viewers can only feel helpless as they watch the man be painted by those around him as little more than a politician at every turn.
As multiple storylines converge, the film is brought to a climax I never could have predicted (and thus, will not spoil), but depending on your perspective by the end of the movie, you might consider it to have a happy ending.
All in all, I would score this a 9/10, and would strongly encourage anyone who hasn’t seen this film to watch it as soon as possible — you owe it to yourself to watch a good movie every once in a while.
Unpaid Bill 
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