In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.
The Garden Cinema View:
Writing about Eddington without destroying its quirks and surprises is tricky - but here we are. In this surprisingly ambitious attempt to diagnose the mess of contradictions and chaos that is the USA, Ari Aster ultimately trips over his own anxieties and spirals into a chasm of neurosis and nihilism. The town of Eddington is itself a wonderfully realised space, and is potentially rich soil for a state-of-the-nation satire. There are nods to the Coens (No Country for Old Men and The Big Lebowski), John Sayles (Lone Star), and PTA (Inherent Vice), but without the consistency of tone that truly merits such comparisons.
It's a shocking, silly, fried-out mess - and that goes for the US and for Eddington.
