Eddington (2025) Film Review: Ambitious neo-Western COVID-19 satire is a baffling mess
- reeltalkin'
- Aug 23
- 4 min read
Set in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico, a contested mayoral election fought between Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) causes political and social unrest for the small town's citizens.
Directed and written by modern horror icon Ari Aster, this contemporary Western/black comedy Eddington (2025) marks the fourth feature in his filmography and also highlights another attempt to branch out from the horror genre, following his polarising experimental epic Beau Is Afraid (2023).
Aster's latest film includes an ensemble cast, featuring the previously mentioned male leads, as well as Emma Stone playing Phoenix's unstable wife and Austin Butler making a tiny appearance as a conspiracy theorist/cult leader.
For a director like Aster to make such an outstanding first impression back in 2018 with his sensational debut Hereditary (2018), to then follow up with the deeply disturbing folk horror Midsommar (2019) the next year, it is incredibly disappointing to witness such a misfire that is Eddington. Although there are still flashes of clear creative vision behind the camera, almost every element of this film is poor, with an overstuffed screenplay, bizarre tonal inconsistencies, and an overall waste of talent.
The film boasts a hefty runtime of two and a half hours, yet its uneven pacing and several underwritten subplots do little to justify its length, making for a generally unpleasant viewing experience. A fictional tale based on real-life events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with the global event being such a recent occurrence in human history, there is definitely potential for an interesting story here; however, Aster's commentary on this panic-induced time is surface-level at best and incredibly dull and repetitive at worst.
The movie does uphold an admirable originality to its concept, with a prevalent offbeat quality to its narrative beats and inclusion of dark humour. However, basically every character is either unlikable or superficial and one-dimensional, making it difficult to be invested in any of the goings on, and the general subdued mood of the picture results in many of the attempts at satirical jokes falling flat. There is no sense of natural fluidity to the narrative, with lots of ideas being thrown at the wall to see what will actually stick, leading to a lack of payoff for any.
Aster's ambitious screenplay raises many timely ideas that became big news during 2020, such as the Black Lives Matter movement and racial tension, liberal white privilege, political paranoia, the rise of AI, and how this will affect technology moving forward, as well as online conspiracy theories. These challenging themes are not given much substance and depth due to there simply being too much crammed into the film. Some elements even come across as unintentionally cartoonish, such as the cringe-inducing, exaggerated preacher leader of the town's protest group or the deranged cult leader.
Of course, it can be argued that this messy, chaotic blend of characters and events encompasses what this year was realistically like for many of us; however, the film's general execution and lacklustre attempts at socio-political commentary leave a lot to be desired. Oscar-winning stars such as Emma Stone and Austin Butler feel completely wasted here, with both given the bare-bones development and a flimsy subplot, which does not justify their existence in the film. It is a shame to see such talent simply used to add recognisable names to the film's title.
Phoenix's isolated, embittered Joe Cross does offer a flawed, yet relatable lead for viewers, with his refusal to wear a face mask in the local supermarket making a nice parallel to real experiences many of us faced as restrictions were enforced. His sense of insecurity and hostility towards the seemingly perfect citizen in Pascal's Ted Garcia creates a solid contrast between the two, and both players radiate a ferocious energy as they argue.
There is a decent underlying deconstruction of masculinity present, presented most overtly during a well-crafted tracking shot sequence, where the boiling tension between the competing men comes to a breaking point at a celebratory gathering at Ted's lavish home.
The film also takes a well-needed change of pace during its third act, pivoting from an off-kilter satire to a full-blown crime thriller, as violence breaks out in the town and the sheriff is pushed to his physical and mental limits. By this point in the plot, it was difficult to remain engaged with what was going on; however, this farcical turn of events made for quite the explosive wrap-up, exhibiting an engrossing sound design and effectively orchestrated build-up of tension and suspense.
Although, unfortunately, a couple of noticeable redeeming qualities are not enough to save this movie from being the disappointing misstep it is. One of the biggest crimes a film can commit on its audience is causing them to be bored, and this has to be a high contender for one of the worst cinema experiences this year. It is truly painful to write such negative criticism about Ari Aster, whose incredible contributions to the horror genre in recent years have proved his clear understanding and passion for the art form, but not everybody can be perfect, of course.
Eddington is a bold, yet confused, mish-mash of an array of compelling ideas, which never properly gel together. It is difficult to decipher what Aster's perspective on this turbulent year really is here, presenting a stifling mess of a movie that fails to live up to its potential and results in a very unsatisfying viewing experience...Nice poster though!
Check out the trailer for Eddington (2025), and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Comments