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For some, the year 2020 was a fever dream. It was an unusual time, but the world continued to spin, and it still does. Grounding writer-producer-director Ari Aster’s (The Strange Thing About the Johnsons, C’est La Vie, Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid) latest feature film in the heat of the Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was, at the least, a bold choice. Eddington is everything that time was, and amplifies it for Aster’s most dramatic film yet.
The strangeness of this film is terrific. It feels empty as characters walk through the titular town, very much like 2020 was. Set in Eddington, New Mexico, in late-May 2020, Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) vie for the mayoral seat, and things go wildly awry.
The film’s inherent political aspects are morbidly hard to ignore. Eddington is somehow fundamentally designed to make audiences uncomfortable within the first ten minutes of the film. Nonetheless, this is a great aspect, and something that has become a staple within Aster’s filmography.
The Digital Age
We are living in an ever-evolving digital age. Somehow, we have never been more disconnected than we are today. COVID changed so many things, too. Eddington plays into so many of the peculiar fears and absurd ideals that the pandemic drove out. The film, along with the town itself, feels lifeless at times. It is as if there’s nothing around or no one to be with except online.
Screens, and therefore the World Wide Web, are constantly present in quite literally nearly every frame of Eddington. It’s almost exhausting, but of course, it’s all purposeful. Aster’s absurdity is on display during the entire runtime. During a protest (or riot, whichever you actually believed them to be) scene, Sheriff Cross carries a ringlight the entire time. He eventually uses it in a proceeding scene, but the ringlight motif itself is powerful in Aster’s own way. The character is a cop, yet he doesn’t need to carry this. Why? The ludicrous act continues to add to the questioning of everyone’s behavior. It’s another aspect of how exhausting the film is supposed to feel. Screens themselves are inherently exhausting. However, as the film’s bleak ending seemingly suggests: ultimately, life goes on regardless.
The Quest for Revenge
Spoilers to follow from this point.
Certainly a neo-Western film, Eddington doesn’t follow its typical conventions. What is one willing to sacrifice for payback of a simple, albeit impulsive and asinine gesture? In their fight for power, Cross eventually interrupts a gathering at Garcia’s house, with Garcia impulsively slapping Cross in front of the entire party. In turn, Cross uses a sniper rifle to assassinate Garcia and his son, Eric (Matt Gomez Hidaka), later that night in their home. He covers up his involvement and frames one of his deputies, Michael Cooke (Micheal Ward). This scene is where the film truly begins to heat up.
There aren’t exactly any answers by the conclusion of Eddington, but rather bewilderment. Cross’s revenge fest ends with him permanently disabled, in the most ironic manner. However, sometimes things just happen, and life goes on. That happened with the pandemic, with the town juxtaposing that as well. The film’s Antifa-esque third plot is almost like a short film within the overall film. However, Eddington‘s runtime might be daunting in terms of what can be put on the screen. There is almost too much going on, for better or for worse.
Eddington‘s Ending
Cross experiences his own crash-out, which began with Garcia’s murder. This culminates in a machine gun defense against unknown extremists, and he’s eventually cornered. Eric’s friend, Brian (Cameron Mann), arbitrarily saves Cross, and so the attacks end. The entire sequence is oddly necessary, but feels almost too off-putting. Aster’s tonal shift is something akin to Joel and Ethan Coen’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men, with the early parts of the film a polar opposite.
In the stark ending, Cross’s wife, Louise (Emma Stone), eventually leaves him for enigmatic cult leader Vernon Jefferson Peak (Austin Butler). In the film’s final moments, a YouTube video reveals her to be pregnant with Peak’s child. It’s quite depressing considering the opening moments contained Cross watching a different video about how to convince your partner to have children. As twisted as it is to even need to watch a video like that, Louise’s actions are also dark. However, she is ultimately happier. As with Cross, now being cared for by his mother-in-law, Dawn (Deirdre O’Connell), life goes on for these two characters, specifically, in very different ways.
Austin Butler’s Role
Perhaps, my biggest complaint with Eddington is the use of these two characters. Butler plays against Phoenix so well, almost better than Phoenix. Peak is ultimately your garden variety cult leader, but Butler seeps into the role similar to his role in Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts’ Dune: Part Two. Butler’s charisma continues to excel on the screen and is one of the film’s best parts, even being so underutilized. This is especially true alongside Stone, who has had one of the most interesting modern careers, as well. She is so reserved yet so sunk into this shell of a woman, who clearly has some mental illness that she refuses to confront. This cast is particularly standout for an Aster project.
Technical Elements
In this digital age, with many modern films shot on stages or green screens, Eddington‘s saving grace is its on-location shooting in the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. The location also serves to juxtapose with the feeling of the film, as a proposed AI data center is set to be built just outside the town as the film begins. Eddington‘s final shot, being of this completed center (made entirely with VFX), is its own subliminal messaging about where society might be headed.
Production designer Elliott Hostetter’s (Spring Breakers, The Neon Demon, Waves, We Are Who We Are, Bones and All, Aggro Dr1ft) set pieces are subtly loud and in-your-face, but you just can’t quite see if you don’t truly pay attention. Nevertheless, audiences are bound to learn more with repeated viewings. Eddington might be the only Aster film that isn’t as bleak on a repeated viewing.
Additionally, director of photography Darius Khondji’s (Se7en, Panic Room, Okja, Uncut Gems, Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Mickey 17) cinematography is paranoia-driven. The shots of the landscape are some of the most eye-catching amongst Aster’s films. The camera doesn’t move if it doesn’t need to, and the tracking shots feel innate. Music composers Daniel Pemberton (Molly’s Game, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Slow Horses, Black Mirror, Materialists) and Bobby Krlic’s (Midsommar, Calls, Returnal, Beau Is Afraid, Beef, Blue Beetle, Snowpiercer) score fuels the film’s Western atmosphere but is slightly underused. Lucian Johnston’s (Hereditary, Midsommar, Causeway, Beau Is Afraid) editing is used in the right areas, particularly in the film’s final act with all of the gunfire and framing.
Final Thoughts on Ari Aster’s Eddington
Ultimately, Eddington will be one of the year’s most divisive films. However, that is the point! The film does well when acting as a satire on almost all of society, but the tonal shift is hard to distract from. There is much to enjoy within Eddington, though. The script’s comedy is unexpected and keeps the story engaging because it seeks to remind audiences that this is a satire. That era of time was quite weird, too. Much of what occurred didn’t really make sense, in the way that everything felt exaggerated and exhausting. While the film can come off in a similar light, it still somehow seems to get a reaction from the audience.
4/5 stars
Ari Aster’s Eddington is now playing in theatres nationwide!
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