Eddington

Its thesis is clear. We're all hypocrites. How the old generation has a stick up their ***, too rigid to embrace meaningful change, while the younger generation-damned from birth by social screens, performs outrage on Instagram in hopes of sleeping with Sarah.

Ari Aster skewers each political perspective, which in turn makes up a large majority of unhappy letterboxd reviewers, ironically complementing the film's punchline. No matter where you stand, it's naive to believe stupidity is exclusive to one side.

All in all, it's a film less concerned with who's right and more obsessed with how dumb it all looks from a distance.

This movie reminds me of a real story of self awareness in light of the worlds ills. In the early 1900s, a newspaper reportedly asked a group of notable writers and thinkers to respond to the question, "What is wrong with the world today?" To which the famous theologian and thinker G. K. Chesterton is said to have replied with a characteristically witty and humble response "Dear Sirs, I am. Yours sincerely, G. K. Chesterton."

Ari Aster has made another horror film. This one is disguised as a modern day Western, Dark Comedy, but this is deep diving stuff that inserts us into a small New Mexico town in 2020 that is at the beginning stages of the COVID pandemic. Joaquin Phoenix is the tour guide - and the ride - who shows us something of what is wrong with the world.

Eddington took me back to feelings of despair that play on in our world. This is a most excellent tragic tale and definitely not a comedy, although the audience will probably laugh in the discomfort of seeing the true reflection of ourselves somewhere in this mirror of blame, conspiracy, narcissism, and social rage.

Somehow Aster keeps this from being preachy while giving us a scare at our own reflections. What wrong with Eddington? It's us.

What a mess of a movie. One thing this did so well was actually show the way how much politics divided people since the start of the pandemic. The way people became passionate about their beliefs and how they reacted to it was pretty spot on, unlike anything else that has been. But this still leans to one side by simply being given more than enough importance and center stage to stupidity as a normal belief system. Even with the aftereffects and hypocrisy being shown by both sides, the root of fundamental belief makes a difference, which, as fit for an American movie, this avoids addressing. Even without considering the political aspect, the narrative structure is a mess. Switching from rivalries, political tensions with satirical undertones, to gory shootouts, the movie swings hard, and at least it's weirdly interesting throughout.

Finally, a film addresses the giant elephant in the room that in the last five years has sent the country spiralling even further into political and identity tribalism, the ascendance of authoritarianism, etc., which the media likes to pretend it never stoked (as if Jan. 6th was all based on one discontented president's rhetoric and not also on thousands of jobs lost due to shutdowns): the Covid-19 Pandemic. The ever busy Pedro Pascal and always adventurous Joaquin Phoenix are great as Mayor and Sheriff at political odds in the tiny town of Eddington, New Mexico (really Truth or Consequences) with mask restrictions that drove many a citizen crazy in 2020-1 (the plot only seems a bit of an overreach by conflating AI into the mix, an issue that really didn't enter the national conversation until late 2022 at the earliest). Emma Stone is very funny as Joaquin's doll-obsessed, frigid wife, and the film has a charming, homespun quality that recalls other New Mexico-set films like "Welcome To Mooseport" and "White Sands" (I tried to be an extra when it filmed a year ago this past April but missed the window, finding only "Welcome Eddington!" marquees at various drive-ins). With NM's usually vibrant film scene slowed to a snail's pace due to tariffs and such (Superman was essentially fighting a fitter, younger Don), it's great we still have challenging, well-written films like this emerging in 2025 among all the usual play-it-safe remakes and reboots. Check out Eddington; at least it'll give you something to talk about.

Eddington has the ingredients of a potentially great movie, but unfortunately, it underdelivers.

Possibly, one reason is that it meanders, as if the director forgot he's making a movie... and not a mini-series. All the main roles are miscast, and the characters don't seem to understand why they are there.

Forget about looking for 'powerful' performances. There are none. How could there be when someone like Joaquin Phoenix has to try and portray a mumbling asthmatic 'sheriff'?

The other big names don't do any better, and their performances are entirely forgettable. If this movie ever gets any kind of award, that would be laughable.