American director as a ten -year -old He dreamed to be like Martin Scorseseand the author of the “taxi driver” himself praised his work after years. Today ARI ASTER is considered one of the the most promising filmmakers of their generationwhich was entrusted to “Heritage. Hereditars”, “Midsommar. In broad daylight” and “Because he is afraid” Budgets that more experienced directors envied him.
The latest film action “Eddington” It takes place in a fictitious town in Nowy Mexico, in the spring of 2020. Coronaviru’s pandemic, political tensions and the upcoming local elections become the axis of the dispute between the mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) and sheriff Joe Crossem (Joaquin Phoenix). Pragmatic Garcia introduces a mask order. Cross, Kowboja archetype – anarchist refuses to comply with “dictatorship of fear”. A server farm construction plan also appears on the horizon, i.e. Metaphor of the “real virus”, which the internet is for the hero.
The director uses the western conflict schedule of two men fighting for power, but Instead of a duel for revolvers, he serves us a war for conspiracy theories. This brilliant but also risky conceptbecause the director deliberately reaches for traumas, which are still fresh. “Eddington” It becomes in fact political and social satire: grotesque fresco on radicalization, information war and the myth of American freedom, which in the face of Pandemic turns into a caricature of itself.
Against this background – full of fear, helplessness and a sense of exploitation – “Eddington” It shows how easily American democracy gives way to the virtual community mixture. Aster wonders whether the beginning of this crisis can be indicated and he admits that there is no one answer. It is rather a stratification of psychological fears, social tensions, political divisions and technological addictions, which ultimately led to the triumph of extreme individualism. The director bitterly reminds that Social media was to promote the dialogue, and in the meantime they became a space of manipulation.
My biggest allegation towards the movie “Eddington” applies to the tone. Aster, stirring a farce with a tragedy, often a needle with too painful topics to treat them with irony. Threads related to protests after George’s death’And Floyd or violence against black heroes arouse the feeling that the director is exaggerating. This is the moment when The film instead of the satire blade becomes an uncomfortable spectacle. Additionally “Eddington” He loses the pace several times. Aster extends the narrative to the limits of endurance. Watching paranoia and disinformation can be fascinating, but it turns into a torment in excess.
Aster gathered a star cast, but Not all actors have been captured by the weight of their roles. Joaquin Phoenix as Joe Cross Again, he reaches for a proven repertoire of grimaces known from “Joker”which makes his creation at times to smack a tedious manner. Pedro Pascal as the mayor of Garcia It is to be a counterpoint for Phoenix’s expression, but in practice he is devoid of expressiveness, it is a more elegant statistics than a real opponent in a western duel. Emma Stonealthough endowed with the thread of trauma, she was marginalized by the script, her heroine exists mainly to emphasize the fall of the male protagonist. Austin Butler seems to be the most interesting As a grotesque sect leader, but his character is also balancing on the border of autopardia.
Instead of acting fireworks we get A collection of unfinished character sketcheswhich die in the excess of the aster’s feature ideas.
Western is mixed with a black comedy, a black comedy with horror, and horror is a reflection of the present. Visionary, but tedious. In addition, it leaves no room for reflection. Chaotic work and burdened with its own ambition.
4/10
“Eddington”dir. ARI ASTER, USA 2025, distributor: UIP, cinema premiere: September 5, 2025.