Ari Aster continues to challenge audiences with his latest work, the Ari Aster Eddington film, which premiered recently and has stirred intense reactions for its dark and unsettling portrayal of contemporary society. Set in a New Mexico town, Eddington explores the escalating conflicts between Joe Cross, the town’s sheriff played by Joaquin Phoenix, and Mayor Ted Garcia, portrayed by Pedro Pascal. Aster explained that the film’s uncompromising tone mirrors a culture he views as increasingly cruel and harsh, making the film both difficult and necessary.
The Film’s Harsh Reality and Controversial Themes
Known for his provocative style in previous works like Hereditary and Midsommar, Aster’s new film is more grounded in real-world issues but no less disturbing. Eddington’s 149-minute runtime weaves together tensions revolving around COVID protocols, protests, accusations against law enforcement, and misinformation spread by internet grifters. The story culminates in an ironic and uncomfortable resolution, highlighting the severity of the conflicts it portrays. Aster remarked on the intentional inclusion of these harsh realities, stating,
Eddington is a dark film, and I’ve heard people describe it as mean-spirited,
he told The Hollywood Reporter.
But again, it’s trying to reflect the mood of the country, and things have gotten really mean. Things are very cruel. This culture is incredibly cruel, and things have gotten really obscene.
Balancing Brutality with Accessibility
While the film is steeped in cruelty and darkness, Aster revealed that some aspects were softened to prevent the movie from becoming too alienating. He said,
In some ways I had to tamp all that stuff down in the film because it could have easily been much more alienating and much more unpleasant,
adding,
So it was interesting to have to actually sand off the edges in some cases just so it could be digestible.
This reflects the director’s effort to make a challenging story approachable without diluting its core message about societal breakdown and tension.
A Personal Response to a Troubling Era
Aster acknowledged that the emotions fueling Eddington come from a deeply personal place. He expressed his own despair about current times, saying,
I’m pretty heartbroken about where we are. I’m very scared. I feel immense dread all the time. This movie came out of that sense of dread, and I certainly see how the film is prescient.
His anxiety about the state of the country shapes the film’s tone, influencing its political complexity and ambiguous ending. The director avoided offering neat resolutions, reflecting his own uncertainty, and admitted,
I don’t have any answers, and the movie doesn’t pretend to have any answers, but it’s very easy to lose the forest for the trees,
while hoping the film might
pull back far enough to give a broader picture of where we are,
he also recognized he has
very limited picture of where we are,
a factor that contributed to the film’s outlook.
Eddington as a Reflection of Our Times and Aster’s Vision
Eddington stands out among Ari Aster’s films for its intertwining of real-world political strife with the director’s characteristic bleakness, frustration, and complexity. The film’s depiction of protesters clashing with authorities, and the deterioration within a small community, reflects broader national unrest. The intense performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal embody the conflicts and tensions at the heart of the story. Ultimately, the Ari Aster Eddington film offers a disturbing, raw look at contemporary society, confirming Aster’s reputation for creating films that are as thought-provoking as they are unsettling.
