EDDINGTON

Aster grew up in New Mexico. He drove around the state to get a feel for the hostile atmosphere having to deal with isolationism, the mask mandate, racial unrest as a result of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter. He also wanted to explore personality conflicts and perceived conspiracies at the time to include in this script. Aster knew that once Joaquin Phoenix met the crusty Sheriff he wanted the actor to emulate, he’d be in and that’s exactly what happened. This is one macho movie. There’s a lot of rage under the surface always ready to explode.  

Aster and his Cinematographer, Darius Khondji, give the film a dark tone, even when the sun is shining. There’s a cast and grainy texture that leaves nothing too distinct or bright. He uses long pans of the landscape following characters as they go from place to place.

Joe Cross (Phoenix) is the Sheriff of Eddington, New Mexico, tooling around town in his decked out patrol car. It’s covered in awkward and misspelled campaign signs against his popular, affable cool, good guy opponent, Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) who abides by mask up mandate. Sheriff Joe also has little regard for the Federal government. Cross adamantly refuses to wear a mask, no matter who pleads with him, including the owner of a grocery store, it’s customers and even police. The Mayor fights with the Sheriff to wear a mask and as their conflict grows, so does violence.

And they have history that also involves Cross’ wife Louise (Emma Stone) who has her own issues. She’s easily convinced of conspiracy theories from her mother Dawn (Deirdre O’Connell) and watching charismatic internet cult leader Vernon (Austin Butler). These three, are not very likable characters, and are dramatically underused in the film. But they highlight use of the internet, cell phones and messages that stir everybody up. Plus, there is a land grab in the works to build a hyperscale data center called “Solidgoldmagikarp” that is causing even more friction.

Aster sets the climactic action is in the dark of night where it’s intentionally hard to identify the characters, except for Sheriff Joe who alternately becomes both hunter and prey. British composer and music producer, The Haxan Cloak’s Bobby Krlic (Snowpiercer, The Alienist: Angel of Darkness) and composer/actor Daniel Pemberton (Spiderman: Spiderverse, Birds of Prey, Steve Jobs)  provide twangy Western sound for the setting, but there’s also silence in scenes creating discomfort waiting for something terrible to happen. 

Aster’s Phoenix as Joe gets more paranoid, jealous, and obsessive. Packed with painful memories of the pandemic era, Aster presents almost too much to absorb, until the jaw-dropping denouement with plenty of gore and guns; big ones. Worth a watch? Yes.

A24     2 hours 28 minutes     R