Review: "Eddington"

The movie trailers for Eddington proclaim it “The first truly modern Western.” 

I’m not sure Taylor Sheridan or Kevin Costner would agree.

It’s also being called a “Comedy.  Drama.  Western.”  I’m not sure those labels necessarily apply either.

It’s hard to say what Eddington is or what it is trying to be. It is the latest release from director Ari Aster whose earlier films included horror flicks like Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019).

Eddington is set in 2020, during the outset of the Covid pandemic in the small New Mexico town of Eddington.  When I say small, I’m referring to the fact that the town seems to be populated by around 20 people.  It’s practically a ghost town.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Joe Cross, the sheriff of Eddington, a guy who steadfastly refuses to wear a Covid mask (despite the objections of the townspeople) since he has asthma and says a mask makes it difficult to breathe.  It’s an excuse, reflecting his tendency to not play by the rules.  He has no problem breaking the laws he’s been empowered to enforce.

Pedro Pascal plays Ted Garcia, the town’s corrupt mayor and owner of the local bar.  It’s fair to say that the sheriff and mayor do not get along.  Put simply, they hate each other’s guts.  The sheriff makes it clear that he wants to become mayor, adding fuel to the fire of their mutual hatred.  The sheriff’s police car becomes a traveling campaign billboard covered with gaudy political advertising.

Early on, Eddington seems to be shaping up to be a Cohen Brothers-style story about the rivalry between these two men.  The first hour of the film spins on that theme.  It’s an overly long setup, struggling to gain some traction.

As it finally picks up steam, the story develops other plot points in addition to life in the age of Covid-19. 

It soon delves into a number of issues including: the environment, racial unrest, religious fanaticism, sexual abuse, Native American relations, pedophilia, and dark, secret government military operations.  Ari Aster seems to want to weigh in on a wide range of subjects in this overly ambitious project.

At one point, the mayor is shockingly murdered, mid-sentence while sitting in a living room chair at home by a sniper with a high-powered rifle, shooting from a distance that is official the jurisdiction of the local Native American community.   A Native American investigator immediately begins to investigate the case, discovering a spent shell casing and tire tracks matching those of the sheriff, who has already begun planting incriminating evidence pointing to his loyal black deputy.

Things escalate and the violent shootout that culminates is probably the best part of Eddington.  It’ is well staged and suspenseful.  Sadly, it is largely preposterous.  Several characters who should be dead somehow survive the violence (one is blown up in a fiery explosion and the other is brutally stabbed in the top of his skull with a large knife).

If this qualifies as comedy, then Eddington could be considered a dark comedy in general terms.  It’s a stretch.  Overall, this A24 project lacks a coherent script that might indicate what it is trying to say or what it is trying to be.  It just rambles in search of thematic direction.

Eddington is a movie banking on it’s a-list cast which also includes Emma Stone.  It’s safe to say that none of them will garner Oscar nominations here.  It’s not their fault.  The problem is a script that attempts to do way too much.  The adage “less is more” comes to mind.  It applies here.

Not every director is able to handle every genre.  Some of the old timers like Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder might be the exceptions.  Ari Aster might consider returning to scaring audiences rather than overwhelming and confusing them.

Eddington is rated R for strong violence, grisly images, language and graphic nudity (including a gratuitous full-frontal shot of Joaquin Phoenix’s prosthetic penis)