Joaquin Phoenix stars in Ari Aster’s fourth feature film.
Unwieldy and utterly unpredictable, Eddington defies easy description, which may be its primary allure. Shot by ace cinematographer Darius Khondji, the film is gorgeous to behold, especially once it moves past a certain point that shall not be spoiled.
Essentially, it’s an intense study of its lead character — he’s the protagonist, but not any sort of hero — who is steadily unraveling under the pressures of modern-day America during the early part of the global pandemic in early 2020. As Sheriff Joe Cross in the fictional small town where everyone knows your name even if you’re not the sheriff, he pits himself against the town’s mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), their differences crystalized on the issue of wearing a mask to protect against COVID.
Really, though, that’s just a MacGuffin as a means to explore Joe Cross’s psyche,
expressed through the grunting physicality of Joaquin Phoenix. He is married to Louise (Emma Stone), but she can barely tolerate his merest touch: his uncertain attempts at marital infidelity are rebuffed firmly. He barks orders at his two blandly loyal deputies — Guy (Luke Grimes) and Michael (Michael Ward) — which they follow blindly. He moves politely in a drunken stupor from one angry encounter to another, deepening his inner hostility toward everyone in town, which is only exacerbated when he announces that he is running for mayor, in a futile gesture to articulate … something.
Writer and director Ari Aster wants to say Something About Modern America, it seems. From a single Eddington viewing, though, it’s never clear what he wants to say or even what his intentions may be; they’re covered with mud and fire and brimstone, and feel akin to an angry preacher in the wilderness, calling attention to all the divisions among people that he sees, which the audience itself can see with the merest glance at the news. And? So what.
Maybe that’s the film’s true message? Maybe it’s: Let’s watch the news together or, better yet, the raw footage, and try to make sense of it all, without any expert commentary offered, and guess what it all means.
While it’s certainly provocative, Eddington avoids any kind of answer to the madness running rampant throughout the world, even in a small town in New Mexico. It’s vaguely uneasy about most things, and its uncertainty makes it ultimately a frustrating experience, a stab in the dark that never finds its target.
The film opens Friday, July 18, in select area movie theaters. For more information about the film, visit the official site.
Dallas Film Now. 