Let me be completely honest – I walked into Eddington expecting another solid Ari Aster mindfuck, but what I got was something else entirely. This isn’t just a great movie – it’s a goddamn revelation. Normally, I can find something to critique, but here? I’m struggling. That’s how meticulously crafted this thing is.
The Story: Political Chaos Perfected
Aster takes the absolute clusterfuck of 2020 – the political divisions, the media circus, the performative outrage – and distills it into this terrifyingly precise pressure cooker of a film. The genius isn’t just in how accurately he captures that moment, but in how he makes you feel that same gut-wrenching tension all over again.
The pacing is masterful. One minute you’re lulled into a false sense of security with these quiet, intimate moments, the next you’re getting sucker-punched by a scene so intense you’ll forget to blink. And the way all these storylines intersect? Flawless. The only tiny misstep is how they handle the “Antifa” element – it’s more of a narrative placeholder than a fully explored idea. But in a film this dense, that’s barely worth mentioning.
What really blew me away was how Aster handles the “ending”. With the absolute mayhem of unhinged events that unfold, careful care is taken to avoid misdirection, and instead, a expertly planned out circus of concussive conclusions comes into play. No spoilers, but Aster doesn’t just burn bridges – he nukes the entire fucking landscape. No ideology survives. No character gets off clean. It’s brutal, beautiful, and exactly the gut-punch this story needed to close.
The Cast: Career-Defining Performances Across the Board
Let’s talk about these performances because holy shit:
- Joaquin Phoenix as Joe Cross – This might be Phoenix’s best work since Joker, and that’s saying something. The way he transforms from this ordinary, slightly awkward guy into a vessel of pure, unfiltered but quiet rage is terrifying because it feels so goddamn real. It’s in the little details – the way his breathing gets shallow when he’s stressed, that slight rasp in his voice that gets worse as he unravels (physically and mentally). And that final scene? Absolute perfection. Every shred of development is handled so well, his karmaic justice is delivered swiftly and soundly.
- Deirdre O’Connell as Dawn – Hands down one of the most accurate portrayals of a conspiracy theorist I’ve ever seen. She nails every trope – the paranoid ramblings, the performative outrage – but also makes her heartbreakingly human. One minute you’re laughing at her, the next you’re realizing she might be the only one who truly sees what’s happening.
- Emma Stone as Louise Cross – Stone kills it as this woman who’s just trying to survive while everyone else uses her as a pawn. Her quiet moments hit harder than most of the yelling in this movie.
- Pedro Pascal as Mayor Ted Garcia – Classic Pascal charm, but with this undercurrent of something… off. Is he a good guy in a broken system, or just another power-hungry politician? The film wisely never spells it out, making him infinitely more interesting.
- Austin Butler as Vernon – This is Butler like you’ve never seen him before. His cult leader is equal parts charismatic and terrifying – you’re never quite sure if he’s a true victim or just a master manipulator.
- Michael Ward as Michael – His performance is just raw, unfiltered stress in human form. Watching him slowly break down under the weight of impossible moral choices/decisions is one of the film’s most powerful arcs in this movie.
- Cameron Mann as Brian – The perfect embodiment of performative activism. You’ll hate him, then pity him, then hate him again. Mann walks this razor-thin line between satire and tragedy perfectly.
Aster’s Direction: A Master at Work
Aster isn’t just directing here – he’s conducting a goddamn symphony of chaos. Every shot, every cut, every lighting choice is deliberate. The way he frames certain scenes makes you feel just as trapped as the characters, hinting at more than obvious foreshadowing or just comedically slapping the audience in the face with a silver platter of visual cues. And those transitions? Some hit so hard you’ll forget to breathe.
What really impressed me was how he balanced all these intersecting storylines without ever losing the thread. It’s controlled chaos at its finest – you can feel the tension building in every scene until it finally explodes in ways you won’t see coming.
Final Verdict: A New Classic
Eddington isn’t just one of the best films of the year for me – it might be Aster’s masterpiece. It’s that rare movie that’s both immediately gripping and packed with layers you’ll keep unpacking for days. The performances are career-best work across the board, the direction is flawless, and the story hits with the force of a sledgehammer.
If this doesn’t clean up during awards season, we riot.
