Eddington
Other directors have excellent first four films, but few (if any) feel as ambitious, confident, and varied as Ari Aster's.
Refusing to be pigeonholed as a horror filmmaker, the writer/director followed up the superb Hereditary and Midsommar with the bold, existentially rich epic Beau is Afraid, and now delves deep into the psyche of modern America in the blisteringly funny satire Eddington.
Set in the titular fictional New Mexico town during late spring 2020, Aster’s dark comedy intelligently reconstructs the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the pervading sense of fear and doubt that this unsettling time inspired. Masks and social distancing are still fairly novel at this juncture, and the absence of the coronavirus thus far on a local level has residents divided on the necessity of state-directed mandates, particularly as small businesses suffer economically.
In the middle of the conflict is Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), whose ambiguous personal drama involving Joe’s wife Louise (Emma Stone) gradually comes out in fascinating ways as the Sheriff makes a comically slapdash run for Ted’s office.
As their campaign — or whatever Joe calls his delusional aspirations — intensifies, Eddington introduces character types and behaviors that were prevalent across the country as the nation entered a “lockdown” that in no way resembled the unified efforts in the U.K., New Zealand, and other more civilized countries. In addition to Louise’s live-in, conspiracy theorist mom Dawn (Deirdre O'Connell, The Penguin), the town has its own band of zealous white Black Lives Matter youth activists who are quick to cancel and slow to listen.
Through these extremist depictions — which attract their own exaggerated versions, including a creepy “alternative facts” guru played by Austin Butler — Aster skewers the “did my own research” set as well as the heartfelt yet performative and over-apologetic nature of white liberal allies whose convictions prove tragically shallow and short-lived.
Such honest and accurate critiques likely won't sit well with either humorless camp, but the filmmaker's searing indictment of social-media-induced silos and the dangers of poor communication and ignoring past traumas is as wisely considered a criticism of smartphone culture as modern cinema has produced.
Considering Aster’s heroes, that level of artistic insight into society comes as no surprise. While Beau is Afraid strongly suggested that Charlie Kaufman, David Lynch, and David Cronenberg are his filmmaking North Stars, Eddington doubles down on the Kaufman influence and sprinkles in some Coen Brothers nods while furthering what's ultimately his own distinct vision.
As was the case with Beau, Phoenix masterfully conveys the filmmaker's layered intentions with a dedicated performance that, in a sane world, would make him the Oscar frontrunner for Best Actor. In their handful of shared scenes, Pascal meets him head-on with an all too familiar Nice Guy smarm, and though Stone’s screen time is oddly limited, her presence is powerfully felt in each instance, often wordlessly.
The film’s core tensions come to a rolling boil in a thrilling action set piece reminiscent of No Country for Old Men and fellow contemporary western Hell or High Water. And after flexing his skills as an action director, Aster leaves viewers with a few final surprises that he's been alluding to all along but still play like punches to the solar plexus.
Easily one of the year’s best films, Eddington may feel too soon on the heels of 2020 for certain viewers. But for those willing to wrestle with this pivotal time and laugh a bit at their own behavior, a thoroughly rewarding experience awaits.
Grade: A-minus. Rated R. Now playing at Carolina Cinemark, the Fine Arts Theatre, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: A24)
