Opening July 18: To make its point, “Eddington” Pushes Violence to an Extreme, Ludicrous Level
Individuals amplify their fears and conflicts in a reckless, idiotic, and dangerous way
Writer/director Ari Aster's politically divisive “Eddington” begins with a conflict that will accelerate toward Armageddon. Set in May 2020 in Eddington, New Mexico, the town's history alone divides it, one narrative for the native inhabitants and one for all the newcomers. In addition, the physically forbidding landscape mirrors the incompatible, eccentric world of each character, all happy in their own theoretical bunkers. None even agree on the town/pueblo border, reinforcing the separation between outlandish conspiracy theories and actual events. Add in racial and gender issues, the prevalence of guns, and the quick resort to violence as a solution that is no solution, and this community will soon shatter.
Conflicts start small and escalate unhurriedly to a point of no return. Conservative Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) loudly refuses to wear the state mandated Covid mask, which puts him in a head-on collision with Eddington's mayor Ted (Pedro Pascal). Harboring jealousy and a grudge that his wife Louise (Emma Stone) previously dated Ted, Joe decides to contest Ted's honorific place in Eddington by running for mayor himself. Meantime, in response to the George Floyd murder, Black Lives Matter protests arrive in town. Violence increases to a comic exaggeration devoid of rhyme or reason before collapsing into savagery.
At the Cannes press conference, Aster described his Covid experiences as the catalyst for the fearful individuals' conflicting viewpoints. Given the algorhythmic reinforcement of any and every zany conspiracy theory, no one agrees about a disputed and disputable frame of reference. In other words, each individual burrows deep into their own rabbit hole with catastrophic consequences to themselves and their community. In this context, Aster referenced our once agreed upon mass liberal democracy. In it, factions argue different ideas but not facts. Those we agreed upon. Aster finds this is no longer true since everyone represented in Eddington lives in his or her own loudly self-proclaimed, unquestionably asserted reality. Individuals amplify their fears and conflicts in a reckless, idiotic, and dangerous way. But while this film is truly a warning, it exploits the situation instead of offering any solutions or insights. Instead of merely pressing on to the extreme violent sensationalism that takes over the film, what a wonderful idea it would have been to offer some alternative, constructive ideas of its own.
The problem for the film is its push to the extreme of the current system, the pervasive social climate Ari explicitly defined as his target. He said he intended to avoid attaching to any one system, though the film's implicit nod to the internet, so incalculably dangerous in reinforcing insane ideas, is given full indulgence. But, in so doing, Ari dodges thoughtful consideration, lacking his supplying any astute commentary or useful analysis of the issues. Writing in a state of what he described as fear and anxiety, Ari wanted to show what it is like when no one can agree or bother to listen to each other, what he called "this age of hyper-individualism." He observed that "the force that was central in democracies is gone now, COVID the break." The partisan hellscape here, he noted, leaves us untethered. For Ari, the idyllic dream of the film “Young Mr. Lincoln” haunts America. Now, he observes, we're oversaturated with irony and detached spectating. Indeed, as is the film.
Deserving the last word, Pedro Pascal, who plays the sheriff, a supposed force for good, connected this to his own life. His parents fled the dictatorship in Chile and, were it not for Denmark providing asylum, he said at the Cannes press conference, he doesn't know where he'd be. Connecting this directly to today, Pascal asserts that some in charge, or hoping to take charge, want to scare us into submission. "Fear is the way they win . . . Fight back! This is the perfect way to do so, in telling stories. And don't let them win." An example of what not to do, “Eddington” opens on July 18th.