Director Ari Aster is no stranger to taking on innovative projects. For example, 2019’s “Midsommar” is a drug-fueled journey through grief through the lens of a Scandinavian summer festival. However, his most recent film, “Eddington,” just may be his most audacious film yet, one that seeks to achieve a truly singular, albeit unfeasible, vision: condense the madness of 2020 and decades of tension with political and law enforcement leaders into a 140-minute runtime.
One of the first major pictures set during the COVID-19 pandemic, “Eddington” blends elements of traditional westerns, political dramas and conspiracy thrillers, with darkly comedic undertones that capture the inanity of each day in lockdown. The film’s plot centers on Eddington sheriff Joe Cross, played by Joaquin Phoenix, as he puts together a campaign for mayor of the town. In his crosshairs sits the incumbent, Ted Garcia, played by Pedro Pascal As the film progresses through its first act, it seems as if the conflict between Sheriff Cross and Mayor Garcia will take center-stage as the film’s underlying conflict.
While the race between Cross and Garcia provides the primary motive for the pair’s behavior throughout the first half of the film, a more sinister challenge looms on the horizon. An artificial intelligence developer known as “solidgoldmagikarp” — a nod to one of the earliest prompts used to confound AI models — looks to build a data management facility outside of Eddington. A hyper-realistic reflection on the world that exists today, the film seeks to hold a mirror to the fast, unpredictable nature of modern day society. However, rather than break down the socio-political consequences of the issues that categorized the year 2020, Aster merely points to certain touchpoints as significant historical events.
What complicate the conflict between Cross and Garcia are the slew of eccentric and explosive side characters. Joe’s wife, Louise Cross, portrayed by Emma Stone, becomes entranced by a viral internet cult leader, played by Austin Butler, who promises an escape from her sequestered domestic life. Mayor Garcia’s son becomes romantically involved with a politically-active protester whose ex-boyfriend is on the police force. Sheriff Cross’s deputies struggle with their roles as police officers in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and a rise in anti-police rhetoric within the town. While each of these characters are interesting and contain immense room for development, none of them are properly fleshed out or given the proper time to realize their potential.
As people are forced to stay inside or wear masks, citizens begin to grow restless, directing their frustration at government and law enforcement leaders alike. The depictions of the town and its residents draw frighteningly accurate comparisons to the angst felt during the pandemic with many of the featured townsfolk being spiteful, jaded and fundamentally flawed. To the film’s credit, it does a remarkable job of returning its spectators to an ugly period of recent American history, one that continues to shape the country as it is today.
What the movie lacks in its development of characters, it makes up for in spades in its enormous scope and unprecedented concept. From conspiracy theories about Tom Hanks to tackling the concept of white guilt, “Eddington” does not shy away from many of the difficult questions that arose just over five years ago. This ambition is ultimately the film’s downfall, with Aster biting off more than he can chew both narratively and thematically. In trying to capture all of the significant events that took place in early 2020, events built upon years of tensions within government and law enforcement structures, into a single film, “Eddington” seeks to accomplish a fundamentally impossible goal.
These visual components are complemented well by the creative liberties taken with western genre tropes and conceptions of traditional storytelling. Rather than a lone stranger wandering into town — à la “A Fistfull of Dollars” — “solidgoldmagikarp” takes the place of the mysterious outsider in a new land.
Flipping a stereotypical western idea on its head, “Eddington” also incorporates Native Americans in more active, plot-relevant roles with William Belleau’s Officer Butterfly Jimenez, an honest police officer of the Pueblo Tribe who investigates the rivalry between Cross and Garcia. Sheriff Cross is often seen donned in a white cowboy hat, used as a symbol in classic westerns as an indicator of a moral hero and protagonist. “Eddington” complicates these ideas, however, by portraying both law enforcement officers and political leaders as morally gray, corrupt figures, bringing into question fundamental ideas of right and wrong, an innovative approach to the western genre.
The film is not without its strong points, particularly in terms of its technical and sound design components. The nearly-abandoned town of “Eddington” has the desolate, destitute quality that characterized many small towns in the United States during the pandemic, orchestrated by cinematographer Darius Kondji. With hauntingly quiet sequences and barren landscapes that reflect on the abandonment of small-town America — contrasted with an eccentric, maximalist climax unlike any other film — “Eddington” truly is a feat of style and craft.
There is no doubt that “Eddington” is a feat of technical craftsmanship and unique storytelling, with a message that can best be conveyed at this particular time in human history. However, with tonal falterings and a lack of cohesion across the 140-minute runtime, the film ultimately feels lost both in what it wants to say, as well as how it wants to say it.
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