Ari Aster’s twisted tale of political chaos and personal ruin is as funny as it is frightening
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
Horror auteur Ari Aster (“Midsommar”) takes on the broken heart (and broken head) of America in “Eddington,” a Covid-era drama about a town driven mad by lies, disinformation, mental illness, hatred, mass hysteria, conspiracies and gun violence. Set just after the shutdown, at a time when the death rate had reached 100,000, we meet Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix in his second collaboration with Aster after the underappreciated “Beau Is Afraid”). Cross’s name suggests both the burden he carries in his job, marriage and family life, and the anger that poisons him. Despite the “mask mandate,” Joe refuses to wear a face mask on the job in Eddington, New Mexico, where he is assisted by two deputies (although Joe is never seen without his white cowboy hat). Joe’s reasons for not wearing a mask (sometimes, he will put one on only to pull it off) have something to do with his rugged American individualism.
Joe’s biggest problem is a ranting, coughing, homeless loner named Warren (King Orba), who breaks into the bar owned by the town’s mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), and gets the better of Sheriff Joe, who uses an inhaler for his asthma, in a scuffle. Ted, who is running for re-election, and Joe do not get along. Soon, Joe announces that he, too, is running for mayor and turns his patrol car SUV into a self-promoting parade float advertising his candidacy.
At home, Joe fares poorly. His wife, Louise (Emma Stone)—Joe calls her “Rabbit”—is depressed and estranged from him. She makes creepy dolls that appear to be the same face over and over again. Louise sells these creations online and spends a lot of time in bed. Joe’s mother-in-law Dawn (Deidre O’Connell) is a fast-talking crackpot and conspiracy theorist, who falls asleep with her laptop whispering in her ear.
The town’s young people, including a smitten teenager named Brian (Cameron Mann), have also succumbed to a craze. In the wake of the shocking death of George Floyd, Brian becomes attracted to a young woman named Sarah (Amelie Hoeferle), who has become radicalized reading Angela Davis. The town’s privileged, white, young people stage a Black Lives Matter protest and chant about “defunding the police.” They get into a confrontation with Joe and his outnumbered police officers.
“Eddington” gets to the beating heart of America’s divisiveness, its psychic roots and regional quirks. Eddington lies on a boundary, if not a fault line, along indigenous territory, and Joe tangles with a Native American police officer (William Belleau) about where a horrific crime scene is exactly and who has jurisdiction. It’s the American story in microcosm. Who has the right to prosecute the massacre occurring on American soil: the perpetrators or the victims? Can we truly identify who they are? We learn that Eddington was once the site of a copper mine. Out of the blue comes a soft-spoken cult leader named Vernon Jeff Peak (Austin Butler, riffing on Manson and Jesus, instead of Elvis). He and Louise have a strong connection. She tells everyone that she had been raped as a child and begins raving about pedophiles. A hush-hush, tech-related, industrial park is about to break ground in Eddington and promises to create a wave of prosperity.
“Eddington” wreaks havoc on our sympathies. If someone told me that Aster is possessed by a demon, I would say that explains a lot. “Eddington” recalls revisionist Westerns, the apocalyptic dreamscapes of Thomas Pynchon, neo-Western novels of Thomas McGuane (Ninety-Two in the Shade”) and modern-day horse operas of Taylor Sheridan (“Yellowstone” et al), although in a more surreal style. A scampering-over-rocks Phoenix doubles down on his running and leaping down stairs in “Napoleon.” See Henry Fonda’s young Abraham Lincoln speak cynically about justice in America, defending two men charged with murder. Also see “Eddington” for the visuals of the great Darius Khondji (“Bardo: False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths,” “The Lost City of Z”).
Even with its narrative issues (lack of character development, for one), “Eddington” is so much more than another crop of silly superhero films. It throws a mirror up to America and sees disaster headed our way. It is the sort of “difficult” visionary cinema we need now more than ever.
‘Eddington’
Rating: R for strong violence, some grisly images, language and graphic nudity.
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Deirdre O’Connell, Pedro Pascal
Writer-Director: Ari Aster
Running time: 148 minutes
Where to watch: In theaters July 18
Grade: A-
Boston Movie News 