Latest news with #HereditaryandMidsommar
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Eddington' Is the Perfect Conspiracy Thriller for a Broken, Brainwashed Nation
Ari Aster would like you to go back in time. The writer-director of Hereditary and Midsommar doesn't need you to travel too far. Just five years. You probably remember a few of the details from May 2020: social distancing, social-media diatribes, swabs being thrust violently into nasal cavities, 'I Can't Breathe,' uprisings in the streets. It's crazy to think all of this took place half a decade ago. It's even crazier to ignore the creeping sensation that we're still trapped in the moment when social stress fractures became chasms, as if doomed to repeat it like some cursed variation of Groundhog's Day. Eddington is technically a period piece, given that it unfolds over several days in the aforementioned mensis horribilis. The movie doesn't particularly feel like one, however. Take away the Covid masks, and this mix of modern-day Western, political satire, and several other genres mashed into one manic panic attack could be set last week. Same divisiveness, same fingerpointing, same inability to agree on a consensual reality, same constantly present anxiety, same President. As they say in Cannes, where Aster — finally at the festival with a competition title — just premiered his latest waking nightmare: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. More from Rolling Stone Kristen Stewart's 'The Chronology of Water' Is One Hell of a Directorial Debut 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' Is One Long Tom Cruise Victory Lap Cannes Honors David Lynch in 'Emotional' Tribute With Visionary's Son in Attendance In the small New Mexico town that gives this fuse-set-to-slow-burn film its title, trouble's a-brewin'. The pandemic lockdowns are in full swing, but town sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix, channeling the same hapless mode he displayed in Aster's Beau Is Afraid) isn't keen on masks. Specifically, he's not down with the idea of enforcing a statewide mandate that folks wear them, because personal freedoms matter more than public safety, also the virus is a hoax, yadda yadda yadda. The mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), tries to be patient with this officer of the law, but the two men have a tempestuous history. Some of it has to do with a possible data center set to be built in Eddington. Some of it has to do with Cross's wife Lou (Emma Stone), who once dated Garcia. A lot of it has to do with diametrically opposed viewpoints made even worse by Covid and the culture wars. After a skirmish at the local supermarket, Cross senses an opportunity to capitalize on the frustrations of some citizens. He impulsively announces, via a Facebook livestream, that he's running for mayor against Garcia in an upcoming election. The smear campaigning begins immediately. Neither his wife nor his conspiracy theorist of a mother-in-law (The Penguin's Deidre O'Connell) approves of Joe's newfound obsession about politics. Especially since Lou has become curiously interested in an internet muckraker-slash-crackpot guru named Vernon Jefferson Peak (Austin Butler) and his ideas about vast rings of powerful pedophiles pulling all of the strings behind the scenes. Meanwhile, a teenager names Brian (Cameron Mann) becomes 'radicalized' by the Black Lives Matter slogans and George Floyd protests, mostly because a young woman named Sarah (Amélie Hoeferle) is reading a book by Angela Davis. Soon, he's leading protests on Main Street and going on about white privilege. Cue broken windows, outside agitators, flame-stoking viral videos, accusations of Antifa false-flag operations — you know the drill. Brian's best friend, Eric (Matt Gomez Hidaka), who's also the mayor's son, has eyes for Sarah as well. This rivalry would have repercussions. So will Joe's attempt to suggest that his fellow candidate is a sexual predator, a gambit that spectacularly backfires on him. He's soon pushed to the brink, which leads to… well, let's just say things fall apart and the center — what little was left of it — cannot hold. For the bulk of Eddington's first half, the primary mode is broad-swipe satirical, with Aster & Co. lashing out almost indiscriminately at a host of contemporary archetypes: the way-too-online truthers, the faux-spiritual scam artists, the zero-to-woke Gen Z activists, the politicos trading on personal tragedy and carefully calibrated empathy to goose voters. (One of the funniest moments is a throwaway gag in Garcia's campaign video featuring Pascal tenderly noodling on a piano in the middle of Eddington's downtown.) As for Cross, he's given the full swaggering, swinging-dick cowboy treatment, a reminder that some Great American Caricatures are timeless. He's also meant to invoke law-and-order blowhards like Arizona's Joe Arpaio and any number of current opportunistic parasites keen to ride the red-pill wave; that Phoenix juggles all of this and still makes the character feel organically wounded is a testament to his talent. The overall lack of subtlety suits the age Aster is taking to task, though it also makes everything feel slightly wobbly on its feet. The viewpoint is both-sides misanthropy. Jonathan Swift has some notes. Then a need for a cover-up causes a gear shift into Coen brothers territory, with Joe, his deputies (Michael Ward and Yellowstone's Luke Grimes) and a nosy detective (William Belleau) from the Native American sovereignty next door engaging in various shenanigans. Don't get too attached, however. It's a feint as well. There's still one more hand to be played, an unexpected narrative left turn that reveals what may be Eddington's true form: a conspiracy thriller for a nation too broken to be mended, too brainwashed to come back from the brink, and too far gone to avoid manifesting its worst wishes and fears. Just because you're paranoid, etc., etc. And now you're fully in an Ari Aster movie, and you suddenly realize that its clothing has been made of the finest sheepskin available and tailored for hiding the wolves already at the door. We're in nightmare territory again, with the filmmaker bringing out the formalist chops and ability to build upon one unexpected turn after another that's already made him a cult figure among cinema nerds. A coda reminds us that history repeats itself first as tragedy, then as podcast-celebrity fodder. Corruption is now Eddington's unavoidable currency, but let's not limit it to one small town in New Mexico. It's a horror story of much deeper, darker strain — a possession parable in which all of the demons are both civically linked and inner. Aster has given us another movie that chills you, unnerves you and makes you want to crawl out of your skin. You just wish this one didn't feel so close to being nonfiction. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Metro
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Pedro Pascal delivers defiant defence of 'brave movies' after Eddington premiere
Pedro Pascal has shared a defiant message about the importance of making 'brave movies' after his new film Eddington premiered at Cannes. The latest film from Hereditary and Midsommar director Ari Aster, Eddington sees Pascal's mayor pitted against Joaquin Phoenix's sheriff in a small-town New Mexico as the pandemic raged in May 2020. As a biting satire, the movie dives into hot-button issues that flared at the time, like mask-wearing mandates vs personal freedoms and the Black Lives Matter movement. With fear constantly in the background, and emotions and misinformation running rife, Eddington's population is pushed to breaking point and a dramatic face-off between its residents. At the Cannes press conference, attended by Metro, many questions skewed political given the film's topics, with The Last of Us star Pascal and filmmaker Aster most willing to wade into the discourse. US journalist Chaz Ebert shared her personal worry over possible issues at the American border for creatives in the film industry, asking if any of the panel – which also comprised of Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes and British rising star Micheal Ward – 'fear having anything put in your dossier because of the brave movies that you make'. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video She referenced speaking with international guests for a film festival she holds 'who were afraid to come to America'. 'I think fear is the way that they win, one. And so, keep telling the stories and keep expressing yourself,' Pascal responded to claps of approval from the audience. 'And f**k the people that try to make you scared, you know, and fight back. Don't let them win,' he added above cheers from the assembled press. Pascal delighted fans previously at the Thunderbolts* London premiere in April with this 'protect the dolls' T-shirt in support of the trans community and his actress sister, Lux. Aster, 38, picked up on his actor's answer in Cannes – and also the reality of the risky, envelope-pushing Eddington, admitted: 'The truth is, I'm scared of everything all the time. So I mean, the tongue is sort of in the cheek in that answer. But it's also true.' Eddington's initial response from critics at Cannes has been divided and somewhat muted. Fantastic Four: First Steps star Pascal was also asked to comment on Latin migrants in America and if he feared it would become 'an absolutely closed country to the world'. 'It's obviously very scary for an actor who participated in a movie to sort of speak to issues like this. It's far too intimidating of a question for me to really address. I'm not informed enough,' he began, before stating that he wanted 'people to be safe and to be protected, and I want very much to live on the right side of history'. He touched on his personal experience as an immigrant and refugee from Chile with his parents. 'We fled a dictatorship, and I was privileged enough to grow up in the US and, after asylum, in Denmark. And if it weren't for that, I don't know what would have happened to us, and so I stand by those protections always.' He then self-effacingly added: 'I'm too afraid of your question, I hardly remember what it was.' At the top of the conference, he had joked that, having been 'awed' by some of Aster's previous movies, he was surprised the director wasn't somehow 'more pretentious' and 'meaner' – but instead the opposite. Joker actor Phoenix, 50, also commented to laughs that his experience working with Aster this time around was 'better' after their previous film, 2023 tragicomedy Beau is Afraid, debuted to mixed reviews and took a reported $35million (£26.3m) loss. More Trending Pascal revealed that he was 'afraid to go back' and examine his own experience during the pandemic for his role in Eddington as he was 'isolated and in relationship to my algorithm'. 'I felt like [Aster] wrote something that were all of my worst fears realised as far as what that lockdown experience was and what it promised to kind of deliver, in all of its fracturing of an already fractured society.' Oscar-winner Stone, 36, then added: 'Looking into some of the things that are in this film that hadn't been in my algorithm unfortunately added them to my algorithm! Because once you start googling it, you start seeing more and more things that – so it just gets, it's a real rabbit hole very quickly. So unfortunately, I'm still getting fed some crazy s**t!' Eddington premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and will be released in the US on July 18. It is yet to receive a UK release date. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Now we know why Tom Cruise is always at the movies MORE: Tom Cruise reunites with Jerry Maguire co-star 30 years after Oscar-winning film MORE: French actor banned from Cannes over rape allegations in new red carpet rules
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix has just added Joaquin Phoenix's "memorable" and "bizarre" must-see comedy
Netflix UK and Ireland has just added Beau is Afraid, the incredibly surreal black 2023 comedy starring Joaquin Phoenix, to its library. Directed by Hereditary and Midsommar's Ari Aster, the film is about a man attempting to go and visit his mother. It's really about a lot more than that, and a lot of strange things happen, but that would be giving it away. We will say that it also stars Agatha All Along's Patti LuPone, The Lion King's Nathan Lane, The White Lotus season 3's Parker Posey, and Barry's Bill Hader. Related: Best streaming services Upon its release, The Independent wrote that the film is "a three-hour comedy of bad vibes and ritual humiliation. It's as memorable, audacious, and indulgent as you'd hope from A24's most expensive film to date." The film's "bizarre" (via Huffington Post) nature wasn't to everyone's tastes, but if you're in the mood for something weird and you're a Netflix subscriber, it's easier than ever to give Beau a go. Following the release of Beau is Afraid, Joaquin Phoenix starred in Joker: Folie à Deux, which didn't do very with critics, or at the box office. Related: The actor also recently exited an untitled gay romance film that he had co-written shortly before it was due to go into production, and the entire project has been on ice ever since. When asked about it at a Joker press conference, he said: "If I do [answer], I would just be sharing my opinion from my perspective and the other creatives aren't here to say their piece, and it just doesn't feel like that would be right. "I'm not sure how that would be helpful. So I don't think I will." You Might Also Like PS5 consoles for sale – PlayStation 5 stock and restocks: Where to buy PS5 today? IS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 THE BEST IN THE SERIES? OUR REVIEW AEW game is a modern mix of No Mercy and SmackDown
