In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.

There are a few things you can expect from an Ari Aster film (the writer-director here and behind other films like Hereditary and Midsommar): an intense character study, meta commentary on something outside of the film, and a really gross and violent turn. Check, check, check.

Eddington pits a small-town sheriff, Joe (Joaquin Phoenix), against the mayor, Ted (Pedro Pascal, contractually required to be in everything this year), in the midst of the Covid pandemic. Tensions are already high over mask mandates and social distancing, which Joe finds ridiculous and Ted is legally obligated to enforce, but throw in complicated dynamic with Joe’s wife, Louise (Emma Stone) who dated Ted years before and shit escalates quickly. Throwing gasoline on this powder keg of soapy dynamics is Louise’s mom, Dawn (Deirdre O’Connell) who is a conspiracy theorist of the highest order.

There is a late movie shift into a little ultra violence where the satire of American life is laid on a little thick, Antifa is a real, uber-funded, centralized force that seeks to take advantage of the growing conflict in this New Mexico town, while Louise gets wrapped up with cult leader Vernon (Austin Butler, who Hollywood is still trying to make happen) and his escapades.

It’s hard to know who this movie is for. For one, the Covid stuff, barely five years old which everyone in the world went through, still feels a little too soon. I was getting frustrated with some of the characters based on my own baggage. The antifa stuff felt like a bone thrown to the right-wingers to validate those conspiracy theories but did make the whole film feel a little disjointed. All that aside, the film was engaging. There were some interesting and shocking moments, some funny and cringey ones as well. All of the actors were great with Phoenix and O’Connell being best in show. I wonder if revisiting this in a few years will help temper some of my anxiety from watching the first time.

Jonathan’s grade – C+