The Wasteland Reviewer

Eddington (2025) Written Review

Who wants to turn the clock back and remember all the 2020 memories during the Pandemic? Yeah…no one. This was such an unfortunate and traumatic event in the lives of so many people. But there were so many wild things that had happened during that time and certainly could be leveraged for a thrilling story on the big screen. Ari Aster is certainly known for his horror films so making a neo-western set during the Pandemic seemed like an interesting new twist on what audiences expect from his work. An all-star cast, a rising star auteur director, and plenty of uncomfortably relevant themes make Eddington a film that will be getting a lot of attention. 

Does Eddington deliver on the auteur filmmaking that we expect from Aster? This film certainly explores a variety of tones and genres. The film certainly tackles some serious themes with Aster’s dark ominous approach to storytelling. Aster has some tricks up his sleeve and plenty of dark humor. Aster is a filmmaker with a dark twisted sense of humor. The way he captures the natural hypocrisy of people on both sides of the aisle delivers some of the funniest moments in film this year. But what really stands out in the film is Aster’s approach to the camera. The tension that he builds is unnerving at times. Aster also leans on his penchant for horror but the horror hits differently this time around. There is nothing supernatural about the horror in Eddington…all the horrors are things we see on a day-to-day basis all over the news and social media. Horror really does hit a lot differently. The filmmaking itself is simply exquisite with two scenes that stand out including the masterfully crafted and endlessly intense climactic shootout. The way Aster leverages western motifs and subverts them throughout Eddington gives it some extra layers of depth. The score from Daniel Pemberton and The Haxan Cloak is impressive mix of atmospheric and ominous tones with some key western motifs which subtly weaves the horror/thriller vibes in with the neo-western structure and setting. 

Aster always has plenty to say, right? Eddington is stacked to the gills with themes, perspectives, and ideas to process. This is a film set in 2020 and really leverages as many relevant American cultural touchstones as possible. One of the biggest frustrations with this film is a challenging one. In the year 2025, when you try to get super relevant with things and are trying to comment on the world around us, you must compete with X (a.k.a. the artist formally known as Twitter). So many of the comments made by the characters in the film related to mask, social distancing, and Blacks Lives Matter all feel derivative of X discourse (amongst other social media discourse). That puts a film in a tough spot when so much of its dialogue feels like it is torn from social media which makes it feel less fresh. When Aster turns things up to another level, he finds more humor and impact in the dialogue of his characters. Aster does a great job of navigating the flaws of all perspectives presented related to the Pandemic with gives the film more credence. The commentary that Aster really delivers on is the influence and negative effects of technology and social media. Subtler and biting, the front row seats to the destruction of a family, multiple relationships, and loss of life stemming from this delivers such a captivating and impactful perspective. There are a lot of moving pieces in this film which leaves some of them undercooked (which the Q-focused child trafficking elements and cult elements feel undercooked enough that they could have easily been left out of the film). 

How does the narrative come together to deliver a compelling experience? The film opens with the perspective of an obviously infected unhoused person. This character turns out to be an interesting trigger to so much of the action while representing the looming danger of the world around us as well as the physical manifestation of it arriving “at our front door”. This disturbing figure is the domino that triggers all the unhinged elements of this wild story. The core conflict between Joaquin Phoenix’s Joe Cross (the sheriff of Eddington) and Pedro Pascal’s Ted Garcia (the mayor of Eddington) is compelling enough to anchor this film down but the real conflict is the internal struggle of Cross himself. He has tension with Garcia. He has tension with his paranoid, conspiracy theorist mother in-law (Deirdre O’Connell). He is even more tension with this trauma inflicted wife (Emma Stone) who is flirting with a cult and its leader (Austin Butler). The core conflict of ideologies and the law enforcement versus politician conflict is what really shines. The story escalates to unexpected and dangerous places making for a thriller, twisted, and compelling climax. The familial tensions (especially all the Qanon cult elements) feel underdone. But there is a whole subplot centered around young people getting involved with social justice work and protesting that connects to the mayor’s son and one of the sheriff’s deputies. Outside of the thematic work, this part of the film feels so needless. The plot certainly leaps to near ridiculous places, but the anchoring presence of Cross makes this overarching journey so compelling. 

Does the cast help elevate the wild material from Aster? Phoenix is one of the best actors of his generation and he shows why in Eddington. There is an awkwardness and insecurity that lies underneath the surface with Cross and Phoenix is the perfect actor to instill that. His intensity and rage burn through at times as well and Phoenix sells fear quite well as this narrative spirals His kind and softer public façade gives way to a desperate and angry man underneath. He is not in the film that much but still leaves an impression. The same could be said about Stone who delivers an unnerving and uncomfortable performance. The dead eyes and distant presence are just perfect (and Stone nails it). O’Connell is an interesting and unexpected addition to the film and here paranoid energy really cranks up tension in the film. Michael Ward has a surprisingly large and meaty role as the lone black police officer in Eddington who is caught between a rock and the hard place with his job and his racial background during the rise of BLM. Austin Butler is eerie and unnerving as a cult leader who also makes the most of his limited screen time. There is an extensive supporting cast, but it is important to understand that this is Phoenix’s movie through and through (and he is more than up to the task).

Is Eddington another big win for Aster? That is a tough question. Hereditary and Midsommar were so universally praised but comparatively significantly more straightforward. Beau is Afraid is a wild experience that was quite polarizing. Eddington is more of a Beau is Afraid situation. Aster has big bold ideas and wants to explore many modern societal conflicts (those elements are certainly hit or miss). The action and thrills are top notch, and Aster shows that he can play around a lot in the western genre as well. Phoenix delivers an impressive central performance that will last with you long after the credits roll. This will certainly be too soon for some and too much for others, but it is hard to deny that Aster delivers something thought-provoking with Eddington.