Western Archives - Sean Kelly On Movies

The feud between the sheriff and mayor of a New Mexico town kicks off a powder keg of conflict and protest in Eddington. It is May 2020, and Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) is highly critical of the COVID-19 mask mandates enacted by Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal). This results in Joe spontaneously deciding to run against Ted in the upcoming election, much to the disappointment of his depression-suffering wife Louise (Emma Stone), who has a history with Ted, which conspiracy theorist mother Dawn (Deirdre O'Connell) spread rumours online about. Right as Joe is getting his campaign started, the murder of George Floyd occurs, resulting in tension against the police and public protests, with Joe's black deputy, Michael Cooke (Micheal Ward), stuck in the middle. In addition, Joe's disconnect with Louise increases when he learns she is following the QAnon conspiracies of cult leader Vernon Jefferson (Austin Butler). It is not long until the growing power keg of tension within Eddington results in an explosion. Eddington Synopsis Eddington is a darkly comic western thriller written and directed by Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau is Afraid). The film is a satire of the fear and paranoia that came about during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes both right-wing individuals claiming that mandatory mask mandates go against their freedom of choice, while the murder of George Floyd elevates left-wing (and predominantly white) protests, such as teenagers Brian (Cameron Mann) and Sarah (Amèlie Hoeferle), doing Black Lives Matter protests in the middle of the street. Beau is Afraid star Joaquin Phoenix reunites with Ari Aster as the protagonist Joe Cross, the Sheriff of the town of Eddington, NM, who lets his feud with Mayor Ted Garcia, played by Pedro Pascal in his umpteenth role this year, become very public when Joe spontaneously decides to run against Ted in the upcoming election. Joe believes that he is a much better person than Ted, who is believed to have made back-room deals for an incoming data center. However, it isn't long until the tension in the town of Eddington turns violent. My Thoughts on Eddington As both a director and producer over an eight-year career, Ari Aster has proven himself to be the epitome of the "A24 style" of genre filmmaking. To put it in more simplistic terms, Aster is the master of "elevated horror." This is even true for a film like Eddington, which, despite being classified as a western, is not fully divorced from Ari Aster's horror roots, particularly during the film's final act. Joaquin Phoenix has the challenge of playing the protagonist Joe Cross as an often dislikeable antihero. Phoenix characterizes Joe as a conservative everyman who truly believes he is fighting for people's rights when he decides to run against Ted Garcia. Ted is portrayed by Pedro Pascal as a populist politician who is also revealed as a bit of a hypocrite for publicly enforcing COVID-19 mandates while later being seen having a fundraising gathering at his house. While it can be argued that Ari Aster leans more in support of the left, Eddington's satire points out the satire and contradictions on both sides of the political spectrum. The film keeps it ambiguous who the true villain of Eddington is. While Joe Cross ends up crossing the moral line on more than one occasion, he remains the protagonist of the film right until the very bloody shootout that climaxes the film. While Joaquin Phoenix gives a performance that is worthy of an Oscar nomination, Eddington never fully develops Emma Stone as Joe Cross's wife, Louise. It is hinted that Louise had a traumatic event in her past and that Ted Garcia might be responsible. However, Louise spends much of her screentime in a depressed funk, and it doesn't feel earned when she is revealed to be part of an anti-QAnon cult, the leader of which, played by Austin Butler, could almost be cut from the film with little to no change.. While centred around the COVID-19 pandemic, Eddington ends up being less about the pandemic itself and more about the events of 2020 that led to extremism on both ends of the political spectrum. By the time the end credits roll, there are no real heroes or villains, including at least one character who changes their core beliefs. If anything, this just suggests that Eddington is about exposing how selfish humanity ultimately can be.

Eddington – Fantasia 2025

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