Eddington (2025) A24/Comedy-Drama RT: 148 minutes Rated R (strong violence, some grisly images, language, graphic nudity) Director: Ari Aster Screenplay: Ari Aster Music: Daniel Pemberton and Bobby Krlic Cinematography: Darius Khondji Release date: July 18, 2025 (US) Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Austin Butler, Amelie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Cameron Mann, Landall Goolsby, Elise Falanga, Robert Mark Wallace.
Rating: ***
Much like the many controversial topics it touches on, Eddington will most certainly divide audiences. Some will like it; some will hate it. It definitely won’t appeal to mainstream audiences looking for summer escapist fare. We go to the movies to escape from reality NOT to get immersed in it. Also, is anybody really nostalgic for 2020? I should think not.
Written and directed by Air Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), Eddington takes place in mid-2020, a time when the world was put on pause by the COVID-19 lockdown. People were urged to stay at home and mask up if they had to go out. This is where the residents of the title New Mexico town find themselves in this fascinating and bloody dark comedy starring Joaquin Phoenix (Beau Is Afraid) as a small town sheriff at odds with the mayor (Pascal, Gladiator II) over the new restrictions and rules put in place by the government. After a few fruitless discussions, the sheriff Joe Cross decides to run for mayor against Ted Garcia. It’s a decision that snowballs quickly as the world around Eddington spins out of control.
Joe’s personal life is a disaster too. He’s married to Louise (Stone, Poor Things), a troubled woman looking for something to believe in while pushing (sometimes literally) her husband away. Her mother Dawn (O’Connell, The Penguin), a conspiracy theorist who only stops talking when she’s sleeping, lives with them. She’s constantly spouting off about the latest COVID theory, showing Joe and Louise articles she’s printed out. Joe tries with Louise, but she ultimately becomes involved with some full-of-s*** on-line cult leader (Butler, Elvis).
COVID isn’t the only thing revisited in Eddington. We also get to relive the George Floyd murder and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests. When the news of Floyd’s death by cop breaks, a pseudo-activist teen named Sarah (Hoeferle, Night Swim) gets a few others stirred up including the mayor’s own son Eric (Hidaka, Silo) and his best bud Brian (Mann, Mare of Easttown). It’s interesting to hear them talk about their supposed beliefs because they’re obviously regurgitating ideas they read on-line or saw in some viral video. It’s clear they don’t really know what they’re talking about. One of the film’s biggest laughs is Brian’s father’s explosive reaction when the boy lectures him on white privilege at the dinner table.
So how do I feel about Eddington? In my never humble opinion, it’s the most interesting film I’ve seen all year. It’s not without its faults however. There are some pacing issues. It’s a little convoluted. It also tends to meander. It talks a lot without saying anything. But maybe that’s the point Aster is making? A lot went down back in ’20. Some feared it was the end of humanity. We were dealing with a pandemic, a widening racial chasm, anti-police sentiment, Antifa and the rise of viral culture. What did it all mean? How did we get to where we are now? Aster doesn’t provide any conclusive answers which makes Eddington as frustrating as it is fascinating.
The acting is pretty good in general. Phoenix plays a character so pathetic it’s both tragic and funny. He’s not the brightest bulb in the pack. His main platform for his mayoral run is not having to wear a mask in public. He’s someone who definitely needs to wear one. He has asthma which puts him in the high risk category. You feel for him with his pitiful attempts to win his wife’s affections even though she clearly doesn’t even respect him. His descent into mental darkness as he becomes increasingly irrational is deliberate and convincing.
Stone, in the role of Louise, succeeds in creating a character easily swayed by others, especially when it comes to the sexual abuse she supposedly suffered in the past. She has a history with Ted which makes things even more awkward with Joe. The ubiquitous Pascal does a great job in the role. He’s most definitely a politician with the way he makes nice with everybody while hiding a shady side.
The supporting player list, which includes Luke Grimes (Yellowstone) and Micheal Ward (The Book of Clarence) as the only deputies in town, is solid. Butler is criminally underused as a charismatic charlatan who knows all the right buzzwords. The dude has cult leader written all over him. O’Connell knocks it out of the park as the mother-in-law who feeds an already unstable Joe’s anxieties with her constant conspiracy BS. BTW, what is it with Aster and mothers?
Despite its pacing issues, Eddington hums along fairly well thanks to crisp editing by Lucian Johnston and outstanding cinematography from the great Darius Khondji. He captures the look of a Southwestern small town perfectly with the bright days and dark nights. Aster orchestrates some great sequences, a few of which feature violence that’s both shocking and bloody.
It may not be a perfect film, but Eddington is an unforgettable one. It will keep you thinking for days. You’ll want to talk about it with your friends. No, its message isn’t always clear. Aster doesn’t successfully connect all the narrative dots, but he creates a vivid picture.
