2020 was a weird year. It affected all of us in ways unexplainable – and perhaps unexplored – to this day. It still seems like there hasn’t been enough serious reflection done in regards to what we all experienced.
But thanks to Ari Aster, we now have our first cinematic venture into exploring how we can begin to make sense of that unbelievably wild time in American life.
Eddington takes place in the fictional New Mexico town of Eddington, where its inhabitants are dealing with the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the film takes place during the most intense period of the lockdown, the film is only sort of about the virus.
The coronavirus is the backdrop, but the film is about so much more. Covid accelerated a lot of the ills that we knew to be true in contemporary American society. The same is true of the dramatic tensions in the world of Eddington.
More than anything else, Eddington is a biting satire. Partially a political satire, but mostly a social satire. The absurdities of modern society are cranked up to 11 and on full display. Most prominently featured is how the internet has warped our sense of reality.
The film’s inciting incident is sparked by Joaquin Phoenix’s Sheriff Joe Cross character overreacting to a brief dopamine hit from receiving some recognition and admiration in a Facebook post. The online world distorts his sense of self and how he chooses to interact with his tangible surrounds. The newfound confidence inspires him to announce (via Facebook video – of course) that he is running for mayor of Eddington!
What follows is a hilarious dark comedy full of Ari Aster’s signature twists and turns. Along the way, everyone across the political spectrum has jokes made at their expense. Self-righteous conservatives, ambitious and corruptible neoliberals, performative progressives, and kooky conspiracy theorists all clash, collide, and confer within Eddington. All are equally absurd, and their actions equally laughable.
However, unlike something like Alex Garland’s Civil War, Eddington doesn’t hide behind a “both sides bad” sentiment to avoid having an actual thesis it would like to communicate. Aster isn’t shy about sharing his thoughts. And he does it with a directorial flourish that keeps things fun and interesting throughout the proceedings.
Some of the more intriguing elements of Eddington are in its commitment to being a modern day Western. However, unlike Westerns of old, Eddington has no interest in Americana myth building. Aster is convinced that modern American life is far too goofy to mythologize in any way.
The characters that make up Aster’s story, however, are more than happy to attempt their own forms of self-mythologizing. Much of it done through their online personas. A bit of meta-storytelling about the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.
How often do we wake up and immediately grab our phones? What’s the damage done to our psyches when we doom scroll through major world updates, silly memes, and life updates from family and friends? Why are we so compelled to take out our phones to record any moment of even slight intrigue?
Eddington is meant to make us examine these questions about ourselves as much as it wants us to laugh at these ridiculous characters navigating through them. Among them, in addition to Sheriff Cross, are mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), Cross’ wife Louise (Emma Stone), and a great bit role by Austin Butler as Vernon Jefferson. All representing different factions of our curious COVID and post-COVID times.
But surprisingly, one of the most fascinating characters is the homeless man who wanders into town at the beginning of the movie. Although he is mostly harmless, and desperately in need of help, he’s met with animosity by pretty much every other character who encounters him. Although every character exhibits qualities worthy of ridicule, they all have kindness in their hearts. How that kindness is put into practice is where the tensions of their interplay arise. Yet and still, none are able to extend that kindness to the individual who could probably use it the most.
In the end, everything in the world of Eddington is a grift. It’s the only absolute truth cutting through the world of the film. And it’s a sad reflection of our real world.
The pandemic era humor draws you in, but Aster quickly expands the notion of what the film will be capable of exploring. It’s all a wild ride, and one that certainly serves as critical text for this critical time in American life.
