"Eddington" New Trailer: Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal Face Pandemic Panic, Paranoia, and Power Struggles in Ari Aster’s New COVID Lockdown Thriller
Ari Aster returns with a provocative new film that delves into the chaos and paranoia of the early pandemic days with Phoenix as a sheriff caught in a small-town power struggle.
With only four feature films to his name, Ari Aster has established himself as a provocative filmmaker who wields genre tropes (supernatural dread, folk horror, dark comedy) to pry open our deepest anxieties. In his latest effort, his fourth outing as writer-director, Aster conducts our nerves and patience like a twisted symphony. With his scalpel out, he rips into our most uncomfortable fears, this time targeting something that will hit home for almost everyone: the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
As a filmmaker who never plays it safe, Aster has delivered breakout successes and provoked strong reactions. His work regularly divides both audiences and critics, cultivating a devoted following even as it spawns vocal detractors.
His latest, Eddington, proved no exception at last month’s Cannes Film Festival, where its world premiere screenings elicited the familiar Ari Aster response: ecstatic praise one moment, fierce backlash the next. His films are divisive. And while Aster might be pinned down as a “horror” filmmaker, it’s perhaps more accurate to think of him as a provocation artist who uses every tool in his cinematic toolbox to dissect what really keeps us up at night. And we can’t think of anything more terrifying than having to relive those early days of lockdown, when confusion, dread, and uncertainty became our constant companions. Then again, confusion, dread, and uncertainty… Now that sounds like the perfect ingredients for an Ari Aster film.
With a thick layer of pitch-black satire mixed in with small-town paranoia and heated power plays, Eddington stars Joaquin Phoenix as Joe Cross, a “law and order” sheriff from the small town of Eddington, New Mexico. Set in May 2020, during the onset of the COVID lockdown—when local officials and municipal leaders were locked in heated debates over the best course of action—Sheriff Cross finds himself shouldering the herculean task of keeping his community safe, including enforcing mask mandates and social-distancing guidelines. But what the sheriff didn’t see coming—and what becomes both a severe hindrance and a critical concern—is the rampant spread of online conspiracy theories fueled by a fearful community that mistakes public health measures for tyranny and government overreach.
Pedro Pascal (yes, we know he’s everywhere these days) also stars in the film as Eddington’s mayor, Ted Garcia. Running for re-election, Garcia sees the pandemic as a political tool to wield in his campaign. He soon clashes with Sheriff Cross, whose straightforward, hands-on approach is becoming increasingly unpopular as residents—now stuck in isolation and tethered solely to their phones and social media accounts—gravitate toward a growing fear-mongering movement.
Also stoking the flames is Austin Butler as Vernon Jefferson Peak, a charismatic young religious leader on social media who’s spearheading his own resistance against the lockdowns. His message has gotten so widespread that it is now falling into the ears of Sheriff Cross’s own wife, Louise Cross (played by Emma Stone), who may or may not agree with her husband’s orders. Especially now that Cross himself has thrown his hat into the mayoral ring in his mission to unseat Garcia.
As the town moves deeper into summer and temperatures soar above 100°F, anger and tension become increasingly combustible, pitting neighbor against neighbor as Sheriff Cross stands as a lone voice in a community on the brink. The pressure is enough to make anyone crack—and from the looks of the new Eddington trailer, Cross doesn’t just crack, he explodes, guns blazing.
Also co-starring Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Amélie Hoeferle, Matt Gomez Hidaka, Clifton Collins Jr., and William Belleau, Eddington is set to open in theaters next month on July 18th, via A24 films.
