Eddington (2025) Movie Review
Eddington (2025) Movie Review
It was really only a matter of time before Hollywood started making movies set during the peak of the pandemic to retrospectively examine and make sense of that time in history. There have indeed been films that have utilized the pandemic as a setting or plot device, but Eddington feels like a large step forward – an A24-backed, star-studded crime drama that not only references the events of 2020, but dives headfirst into the chaos and paranoia of the time. I have been a fan of director Ari Aster for some years now; I’ve loved each of his films, with Hereditary being one of my favorite horror movies ever, and Beau is Afraid being one of my favorite movies ever, period. It felt somewhat random to me that he would step up to the plate as the man for this specific job, especially considering how much of a divergence this seemed to be from his previous work, but if there’s one thing I’ve come to expect from Aster, it’s to not have any expectations.
Eddington follows Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), the sheriff of the titular small New Mexico town who becomes increasingly frustrated by the ways that he feels the mask mandates and safety protocols have disrupted the town’s sense of community. As rule-following mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) gears up for re-election, Cross decides he’s had enough and launches his own mayoral campaign, pushing against the rules of the lockdown with the hope to bring Eddington back to his idea of peace and normality. All the while, the town’s teenagers protest for BLM, Cross’s wife Louise (Emma Stone) becomes wrapped up in conspiracy theories, and Garcia publicly embarasses Cross, which eventually drives Cross to a violent breaking point.
Recently I was reading some of the musings of Paul Schrader, and I stumbled across a comment he made to a reviewer that stuck with me: “You made the mistake that is so tempting to reviewers. You reviewed the phenomenon and not the film.” I suppose in this review I will attempt to do both. There is hardly a way to truly discuss Eddington without getting into the politics of it, and I feel as though I almost can’t help but to also respond to some of the criticisms that have plagued its public reception. I want to start by saying that I sincerely enjoyed the film. It’s an entertaining movie through and through, and about as fast-paced as a neo-western political thriller should be, giving the audience just enough free time to soak up its environment, but never enough to stop paying attention. There are moments of true comedic value; jokes have a level of risk to them that is scarcely seen in blockbuster cinema anymore, even in satire. I got a good laugh out of the part where a homeless man walks through a protest coughing up a storm while everyone else is too busy yelling and arguing to notice. Eddington has a lot of ideas and is kind of all over the place, but Aster makes sure to pay attention to the details, giving every scene a kind of relatability that allows the audience to make sense of what they’re seeing. One of my favorite examples is Katy Perry’s “Firework” playing at the Ted Garcia campaign fundraiser party; it feels less like a needle drop for the sake of a needle drop, and more like the exact song that should be playing in that exact scenario. Phoenix is believable as Cross and turns in yet another strong performance; meanwhile, Pascal is perfect as Garcia, a very realistic character that feels perhaps the most lived-in. Stone is underwhelming as Louise; more should’ve been done with her character. One of my favorite small roles comes from Austin Butler in the shape of Vernon Jefferson Peak, a shady, punchable cult leader who whisks Louise away. The whole subplot of Louise and Peak feels underbaked, but at least it helps to add to the whole “this movie is set in 2020” message, reminding us of how often people got carried away in their own half-realized beliefs. My biggest criticism of Eddington is that it throws slightly too many ideas at the audience. As a final product, it comes across as unfocused. I like what the film is trying to do, and in many regards it succeeds, but it’s not a razor sharp type of thriller, or a cool, sleak small town crime story. It’s classic Aster, with more than a few jarring tonal shifts and unexpected plot turns. There’s so much imagery and so many little moments to latch onto, and while this certainly provides for an engaging watch, I feel as though some of the film’s fat could have been trimmed. The film already has a relatively lengthy runtime, and with that going for it, the subplots and side characters should have more room to breathe than they do. At first I tried to make the excuse on the film’s behalf that its slightly disjointed nature is purposefully reflective of the chaos and confusion of 2020, but that felt like too much of a cop out for a script that isn’t as sharp as it should’ve been. That being said, I don’t think Eddington is a misstep for Aster; it’s somehow his most light-hearted work, and I still think he hasn’t released a disappointing feature yet. I don’t necessarily think Eddington is a truly incredible movie, but it is definitely a worthwhile one. It is my belief that whatever opinion a person may have on this movie’s messages shouldn’t cloud the fact that this is ultimately a well-done thriller that creates a good atmosphere, builds exciting tension, and focuses on realistic, captivating conflicts between realistic, captivating characters.
To make a movie that dares to tackle, to any degree, the sociopolitical turmoil of 2020 is already a bold move to make as a filmmaker. And to make a film that doesn’t necessarily take the most progressive stance possible on pandemic-era topics seems almost crazy to conceive in 2025. It seems that some viewers were bothered by the film’s rather centrist, “both sides are acting crazy” standpoint, as well as the way that the film doesn’t ever really bother to stop and consider the nuances to both sides of the argument. Eddington is a movie that uses white teenagers screaming about their own privilege for laughs. There’s a scene where a man who refuses to wear a mask in a grocery store is kicked out of the store while the other mask-wearing shoppers applaud, and this is not necessarily framed as a good thing. I kind of feel as though the movie doesn’t need to take the task of being especially courteous upon itself. Everyone was there for the pandemic, everyone in their right mind knows that masks were a good thing and that people who were protesting during that time period were doing something undoubtedly noble. I don’t think it’s Ari Aster’s duty to remind us of that, and since when has it been an artist’s job to be politically unproblematic? The movie is certainly not right-wing enough to be politically “dangerous” as a retrospective lens of that time period, nor is it trying to do anything of the sort. It is not trying to be revisionist, it simply looks at 2020 from a different angle than what most educated progressives are probably used to. Eddington is a movie that is attempting to make fun of the virtue signaling of the pandemic era, not a movie that is attempting to blame any specific group on any end of the spectrum for the chaos. It is not a film that is offering much in the way of solution or path forward. Because of this, I think Eddington works better when you consider it as the period piece that it is, a consideration of a time that was not very long ago but the effects of which are still felt. Its unsatisfying ending, while frustrating, does serve as a reminder that these topics are hardly ever fulfilled, answers are rarely truly given, and the era of history that began in 2020 is, in some ways, not over yet.
To go on any sort of political rant was not my intention, but I think it is important to remember that there are no true rules to art, and no director is obligated to make a movie advocating for any specific theme or outlook, no matter what that may be. Eddington is a film that, while maybe not the best of its year, has value in and of itself, and is one that I would recommend. I could see this becoming a sleeper hit down the line with a reevaluation in a few years, perhaps once more dust has settled. Once again, Ari Aster has proved that he is one of the most interesting directors working today, and I eagerly anticipate whatever he puts out next.
