Eddington Movie Review

It’s late May 2020. We pick up in a small town surrounded by Native land. Joaquin Phoenix plays a sheriff named Joe Cross. He’s married to his gal, Louise, played by Emma Stone. Allow me to mention that this is considered a contemporary western, which has elements of dark comedy.

Eddington is directed by Ari Aster, who made the horror films “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” and also the heavy drama, “Beau is Afraid.” “Beau is Afraid” also stars Joaquin Phoenix. Aster is well-known as a horror director but is also well-liked for his dramatic films. “Dream Scenario,” starring Nicholas Cage, earned him a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, his highest ranking to date. With “Eddington,” I just wish he knew the direction he was headed. This is clearly a drama, but incorporating horror elements may confuse his audience, setting them up for something that never materializes. But if that’s your jam, you have plenty of it here to frolic in.

We’re in a story about a small town living through COVID-19. Aster recreates what we were going through during that time very well. You’ll appreciate what you see, but we recently experienced it, so it wasn’t terribly interesting. But it works some, since you can relate. It was the first thing ever to happen to Gen-X outside of sex scandals, really. Ari Aster’s horror background explains the tone. It’s dark and heavy. The script features comedic elements from the characters, such as Dawn, his live-in mother-in-law (Deirdre O’Connell), who is constantly grumbling conspiracy theories in the background. His relationship with his wife isn’t going so well, but that’s barely touched, and Stone, along with Austin Butler, are underused. Shame. However, Joe’s relationship with the mayor, played by Pedro Pascal, turns ugly when the sheriff finds he can’t and won’t be dictated to.

There’s something that happens halfway through that improves the movie tremendously, and we needed more of this. It’s a touch insane, but since it took so long to get there, it may lose you before you even get to it. I hope it doesn’t because you’ll be the better for it, having seen what this is all about.

I can’t say enough about Joaquin Phoenix here. He takes you to another place. “Eddington” was not what I thought I’d get, generally speaking. I was expecting more, dramatically, and wished Aster had been clearer on the direction he wanted to go. Also, I’m not sure anyone is ready to watch a two-and-a-half-hour movie about COVID. Too soon, perhaps. Give us more of what we haven’t lived. When it kicks into high gear, you can’t complain, but with too many yawn-inducing segments, this is, at best, an at-home watch.