Eddington

⭐ 9.5/10

In the reviews for Bugonia and One Battle After Another I mentioned more than once how they are movies made for our current time. They are capturing what it feels like to be alive during the moment they were made, and because of that they have a lot of similarities, and are both very poignant to me. Eddington takes this to the extreme, taking place mid-COVID, a time we would all like to forget.

I loved this movie. There are so many details that take you right back to that time, like piles of toilet paper and bottled water in the corner, or the anxiety of walking through a grocery store. That's where this movie starts, and then it unwinds into a conspiracy thriller that I did not expect. Pedro Pascal as the "liberal" mayor and Joaquin Phoenix as the "conservative" sheriff are so perfectly cast, and their conflict is a great representation of what all discourse was and is still like.

I use the party alignment in quotes because for as political as this movie is, I don't think it takes sides. The sheriff Joe Cross clearly does some terrible things, but so does Ted Garcia! There is a background arc on some young white protestors and their reaction to the George Floyd murder, and they can be kind of insufferable. The best scene of the movie is a young man explaining white privilege to his father at their dinner table with a chest full of rifles behind them, its hilarious and is the exact juxtaposition you see through your phone all day long. Speaking of phones, the modern relationships people have on them is on full display here, and it is disgusting. Recording everything, scrolling constantly, getting garbage propelled into your brain, its completely realistic and kind of makes you feel sick when its seen here. The slippery slope into conspiracy is experienced by almost everyone, but we also see social media weaponized. If this doesn't sound fun, trust me it is. Everything is laced with humour and irony, from the technology (there is a data center going up at the same time as all this) to the racial politics (I love the Pueblo officer) to the conspiracy. It's divisive because it observes basically everything, unflinching and, for the most part, nonjudgemental.

The final action of this movie is exciting and unexpected, but that leads into the epilogue, which is bleak. I have been thinking about it a lot, since I wouldn't say its satisfying, but it feels inevitable and how this would probably all settle. I loved Austin Butler in his small role as this conspiracy cult leader, and also Emma Stone! Between this, Bugonia, and The Curse, she is on an all time heater in my books. Maybe that's why all those things feel so similar - The Curse is also in New Mexico, so in place alone they are hard to disconnect. She's showing a lot of range across all three, and even though her role here is small and unglamourous she is an important piece to the unravelling of Joe Cross.

Hard not to talk more about this without spoiling it, but I also loved the homeless guy wandering around for a lot of the movie. Basically ignored by everyone, which is particularly unsettling while young protestors kneel for moments of silence for things happening across the country while simultaneously looking through him. He has a bit of a mad prophet vibe, and I have no idea what he is saying, just another element of this movie I keep thinking about.

This movie is filled with the jargon and virtue signaling of our time, but don't let that scare you! I think this is a masterpiece, something that will be reclaimed in the future as a singular depiction of our current moment. Its a drama, a comedy, a thriller, an action movie, a tragedy - something for everyone. I have been steeped in pessimism about the world lately, and I don't think this has helped, but it feels good to laugh at the absurdity!