A One Mann’s Movies review of “Eddington” (2025, 2.5*, 15).
You never quite know what you’re going to get with an Ari Aster film. And his output is nothing if not divisive: his last film, 2023’s “Beau is Afraid“, absolutely polarized audiences into lovers and haters (I really enjoyed it… but had to think about whether I did). With his latest film – “Eddington” – Aster shows elements of pure genius. But sadly, the overall concoction is a jumbled, thematically-inconsistent, morass that ended up frustrating the hell out of me. A case where ‘More’ produced ‘Less’.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
It’s May 2020 and the US is gripped by the Covid epidemic. The New Mexico town of “Eddington” is currently untouched by the disease. But conflict erupts between the Mayor, Ted Garcia (the ubiquitous Pedro Pascal) and the asthmatic Sheriff Joe Cross (Aster favourite, Joaquin Phoenix) over the wearing of masks in the town. Against the wishes of his troubled wife Louise (Emma Stone), Joe stands against Ted in the mayoral race.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong violence, injury detail, threat, language, brief sex references”.)
Talent:
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Deirdre O’Connell, Emma Stone, Micheal Ward, Pedro Pascal, Cameron Mann, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Luke Grimes, Amélie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Austin Butler.
Directed by: Ari Aster.
Written by: Ari Aster.
Running Time: 2h 28m.
Summary:
Positives:
- Some really interesting and well-shot scenes, when taken in isolation.
- Joachim Phoenix and Pedro Pascal spark off each other well.
Negatives:
- About three different films stuffed unceremoniously into the same film.
- Thematically all over the place.
- At two and a half hours, it tried my patience.
Full Review of “Eddington”:
It starts promising much.
Occasionally, the illustrious Mrs Movie Man and I cast our minds back five years to the madness that was 2020 and 2021. The bizarre stuff: only being allowed out for one walk a day; using antiseptic wipes to clean all of the shopping that got delivered to the house; not a sound of a jet or engine of any kind outside; the weekly banging of the pots and pans to thank the NHS; me doing press-ups on the white line of the A36 (a normally busy UK trunk road). But also the terrible stuff: not being able to see your grandkids; the great mortuary tents outside the hospitals on the news; so many people losing their lives; so many families blighted, not only by the loss but by the inhuman way in which it happened.
It feels like there needs to be a good film made about this time. Sadly, Ari Aster’s latest is not it.
The film starts promisingly with a battle of wills between Mayor and Sheriff over the wearing of masks. We Sheriff Joe takes the side of a fellow asthmatic who can’t breath properly while wearing a mask. We seen the battles going on between the younger “what the fuck” generation and the older law-enforcers. And we also see the rising impact of social media, conspiracy theories and mental health issues that has become a sad legacy of Covid. Louise’s mother, Dawn (Deirdre O’Connell), is crazed with these conspiracy theories, winding up still further the disturbed Louise (Emma Stone), who has suffered some past, unspecified, sexual trauma and now refuses to have sex with husband Joe (Joachin Phoenix).
But then….
If the film had stuck to this knitting and turned itself in as a 90 minute exploration of those themes, that would have been great. But instead, Ari Aster throws about a dozen other themes at the wall to see what will stick. (And most don’t). So we have:
- Covid-based conflict and paranoia;
- the mayoral race between Joe and Ted;
- political intrigue (unexplored) over the creation of a new mega-data-centre in the desert;
- Black Lives Matter demonstrations;
- the true rise of trial-by-social media;
- a tug of love between the young activist Sarah (Amélie Hoeferle), the mayor’s son Eric (Matt Gomez Hidaka) and Joe’s deputy Michael Cooke (Micheal Ward);
- a number of brutal murders;
- the arrival of a Christ-like preacher-cum-cult-leader (Austin Butler) and
- all-guns-blazing Antifa terrorism;
All of this stuff really shouldn’t be all in the same film. It’s just chaotic and disorientating. In particular, the whole Emma Stone/paedo angle seems to sit very uncomfortably within the rest of the story.
Don’t get me wrong, Ari Aster is a fine writer and director and there is some REALLY good stuff in here. This is particularly true in scenes where Ted and Joe are facing up to each other: a scene in the street, where (unmasked) it is Ted that breaks the 2-metre rule; another confrontation over a sound system at a barbecue.
Beau is a Sheriff.
The general trend of the story – a man, being pushed up to and beyond breaking point – also feels very reminiscent of “Beau is Afraid“, made particularly more acute by the fact that Joaquin Phoenix is playing both roles. The film has a pervasive smell of “we’ve been here before”. I think Ari Aster – just for the sake of freshness – needs to choose a different leading man for a film or two.
This is not to say that Phoenix isn’t once again brilliant in the part. He is. (Not to mention his “part” in the part, which is another talking point all on its own!)
Many of the other cast deliver great performances, with Micheal Ward (“Empire of Light“; “The Book of Clarence“) being particularly good as the black deputy caught between his job and BLM demonstrations.
Overlong.
Ari Aster doesn’t seem to do “short” films of late. (“Beau” was 3 hours; “Midsommar”, 2-and-a-half). This film also clocks in at a couple of minutes short of two and a half hours and although I was moderately entertained during some portions of the story, in other parts the inconsistent tone and some slow and tedious sequences actually had me a bit bored.
The film also didn’t know how to quit. There’s a closing sequence that comically mocks the state of current US politics, with the manic Dawn and her crazy ideas now running the show! But it overstays its welcome…. we get the message, and everything past the video being taken at the rally was superfluous in my view.
As I’ve already said, a good, 90 minute film focused on the Covid/Mask/Politics story would have been great.
Summary Thoughts:
This was a bit of a slog. It was really great in places. But (looking back at my previous review) I described “Beau is Afraid” as being “…akin to an overcooked souffle, rising spectacularly before collapsing in on itself in a soggy mess”. And the same can be said about this film.
For me, this was at least three films stuffed into one, with none of them done optimally. If Aster would learn a bit more discipline – a “less is more” policy – then his output could really be world-beating. As it is, I can’t see this movie finding much of an audience.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL6jZqExlIk.
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