Eddington
Sinister and absurd feel like fair tones to aim for if you're going to try to skewer the divisions and collective madness of the near-contemporary USA on screen. That's where writer-director Ari Aster (best known for the higher-end horrors Hereditary and Midsommar) heads with Eddington, a New Mexico-set, western-flavoured and fitfully amusing satire that unfolds almost entirely in May 2020, which Aster presents as a crucible of All That Is Wrong With Modern America.
But tone is the big problem here. Covid and mask debates are kicking off; the murder of George Floyd is inspiring protests; wars of words are flaring up across political divides; social feeds are on fire; and in the dusty county-border town of Eddington, the proposed site for a shiny new tech HQ, a frustrated anti-masks and pro-conspiracy sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) decides to run for mayor against the more liberal incumbent (Pedro Pascal). The culture war has come to town and both sides have their pistols cocked.
It's a western-flavoured and fitfully amusing satire
Is this black comedy? Biting social commentary? A genre playground? It feels like all of those at different points, which makes its leaning on real recent events - not least George Floyd's murder - occasionally distasteful. Mostly, though, its attempts to say something important just feel silly. There's even an actual dumpster fire in one scene, although luckily not all the film's choices are so crude. As storytelling, it's better with moments of OTT violence and a couple of showy set pieces than with bridging movie fiction with real-world fact.
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