CANNES – Ari Aster’s COVID-era Western “Eddington,” about a 2020 America quickly losing its mind to conspiracy theories, TikTok and political extremism, premiered to a mixed reception at the Cannes Film Festival.
“Eddington,” starring Joaquin Phoenix as a muddled, mistake-prone sheriff who runs for mayor in a fictional New Mexico town, was among the most feverishly awaited American films at Cannes. It marks the first time in competition at the French festival for Aster, the lauded director of “Hereditary,” “Midsommar” and “Beau Is Afraid.”
It’s also his most politically ambitious film.
“Eddington,” which A24 will release in July, plunges into the U.S. pandemic psyche, plotting a small-town feud that swells to encompass nationwide events, including mask mandates, the death of George Floyd and right-left divisions.
As a microcosm portrait of the United States, it’s a hardly a more peaceful affair than “Midsommar.” When Joe Cross (Phoenix) tires of the mask ordinances of the town’s mayor (Pedro Pascal), he decides to oppose him in the upcoming election.
Other pressures on Cross — Emma Stone plays his shut-in wife, who has a history with the mayor — gradually increase, driving “Eddington” toward a surreal and bloody eruption.
In Aster’s dark satire, both MAGA Republicans and elitist Democrats get skewered, but the new, ominous data center just outside of town suggests a common social poison in the internet.
“Eddington,” predictably, proved divisive at Cannes. Some critics hailed it as an eerily accurate film about contemporary America, while others called it a tedious and wayward rumination.
After a not particularly enthusiastic stranding ovation, Aster himself seemed both proud and apologetic for what he had wrought.
“I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what you think,” he said, smiling. Aster added: “I don’t know, sorry?”
On Saturday, Aster and the cast faced questions from journalists at a news conference that inevitably focused on how much the filmmakers felt “Eddington” was an accurate reflection of current times.
“I wrote this film in a state of fear and anxiety about the world, and I wanted to try to pull back and show what it feels like to live in a world where nobody can agree on what is real anymore,” Aster said. “The last 20 years, we’ve fallen into this age of hyper individualism.”
“We’re on a dangerous road, and I feel like we’re living through an experiment that’s gone wrong,” Aster added. “I think people feel very powerless and very fearful.”
Pascal compared his director to a “mole” or “whistleblower” — “someone on the inside being like, ‘This is what’s happening.’”
Pascal, when asked about recent deportations in the U.S., was reluctant to speak. “It’s obviously very scary for an actor who participated in the movie to speak on issues like this.”
“I want people to be safe and to be protected and I want very much to live on the right side of history. And I’m an immigrant,” added Pascal. “My parents are refugees from Chile. I, myself, was a refugee. We fled a dictatorship, and I was privileged enough to grow up in the U.S.”
“If it weren’t for that, I don’t know what would have happened to us,” he said. “I stand by those protections always.”
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Jake Coyle has covered the Cannes Film Festival since 2012. He’s seeing approximately 40 films at this year’s festival and reporting on what stands out.
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