Ari Aster has made a name of himself as an excellent horror director with the occult masterpieces HEREDITARY (2018) and MIDSOMMAR (2019). Their success paved the way for him to make his very own kind of films. His last film BEAU IS AFRAID (2023) sent Joaquin Phoenix on an unusual psycho-roller coaster. In EDDINGTON he also goes deep into the disturbing worlds of his characters and delivers a vitriolic commentary on the US present by doing so. The plot is set in a very specific time, May 2020, when the Covid pandemic swept across the world and called into question everything that was thought to be certain. Alternative facts and conspiracy theories have experienced a boom ever since, and Luise (Emma Stone) the sheriff’s wife in the small town Eddington loses herself more and more to the rabbit hole and falls for the charismatic charlatan Vernon Jefferson Peak (Austin Butler). Her husband Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) disregards the state-mandated security measures and clashes with the local mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal). An unequal duel that he can’t win. The methods Joe uses to enforce his will become increasingly more drastic, just as the plot in the last act further escalates in this absurd, two and a half hour ride. Right up to a disturbing finale, which ultimately brings us full circle back to horror, even if it is the very real kind. Though EDDINGTON is a tad overlong and the abundance of themes overloads the film, especially in the first half, at its core it remains another brilliant portrayal by Joaquin Phoenix on a mad trip to the human abyss.

Lars Tunçay (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy