I Think I Just Saw the Movie of the Year

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Here I am, up late at night typing away on my computer, trying to process what I just watched. Is it true? Could it be? Did I just see the movie of the year?

My goal this week was to create a quick and exciting post about KPop Demon Hunters, the musical feast steeped in mesmerizing animation on Netflix, but then I went to see this little-known film Eddington. Ari Aster, writer and director of Beau is Afraid, is not my favorite filmmaker. But after this film, I can see his talent. The cast is wonderful, and the story that unfolds is a bloody, gruesome experience. I originally went to watch Eddington on a whim, a Pedro Pascal whim, not knowing that Joaquin Phoenix was starring in the film until it started.

After seeing reviews online, I’ve come to understand why many people had harsh critiques. The story is very triggering in and of itself. But what was even more triggering for me was the fact that the audience I was watching the film with laughed so much during the uncomfortable moments. I am not mad that people laughed as much as they did; I had moments of laughter as well. But for the most part, Eddington is so realistic that I could not laugh at everything my audience was laughing at. The film had me doing breathing exercises, y’all! At one point, I even yelled, “mercy!” It connected with me on a personal level, and I truly felt seen by the director and writer of this film, Ari Aster.

This film is from the perspective of Joe Cross, played by Joaquin Phoenix, a sheriff for the town of Eddington, New Mexico. He is trying to hold things down in Eddington during the 2020 pandemic, where we find ourselves at conflict with the protagonist, who we like because he’s working hard, trying to support his wife and mother-in-law—but then hates wearing a mask. At this point in the film, the cultural nuance of the story made the audience laugh out loud at the absurdity of Joe, but also the citizens of Eddington, who seem almost draconian when they won’t let poor old Fred into the store because he refused to wear a mask.

Our protagonist quickly reminds people that they can’t treat others like that, and that Covid-19 has not come to their town and is not a real problem. Even though I don’t agree with Joe, I agree with his sentiment. It could seem that the problems that we faced in Los Angeles were not problems that a small town in New Mexico would have had to face. Joe Cross gets so tired of the politics, encouraged by Mayor Ted Garcia, played by Pedro Pascal, that Joe gets on Facebook, creates a video, and declares himself a mayoral candidate.

Ari Aster gives you an almost perfect lens to view this town through, as you meet many new characters that cross paths with Joe Cross. You still find that Joe is a sympathetic character, even though you don’t agree with his stances. And then George Floyd’s death happens. The film does not go into much detail, but uses this significant event to push the town into a fabricated upheaval, which leads to Joe losing his grip on the mayoral race. Finally, we get the Ari Aster craziness, as he writes Joe as a cold-blooded killer.

I won’t describe more, because the movie picks up from that point on and does not let you go. Hold on to your seat, literally. Again, whether you agree with the dozen messages Ari Aster is putting forth in this movie, the film is cinema. Full, unadulterated cinema, and I believe it is brilliant.

I think Eddington is the film of the year. I know it is only July, but wow, Michelle and I are still reeling from the experience. Phoenix, now the lead in two of Ari Aster’s projects, is at his very best in this movie. He gives a masterful performance. If not for Michael B. Jordan’s duo-performance in Sinners, Phoenix would be sprinting away with the Oscar next year.

My conclusion from Eddington is that we are all pretty much screwed. I know that is not our ethos here at the Musty Creative, but dude—seriously—we are screwed! The movie highlights corruption and technology-driven madness so well that I just want to scream deeply and darkly into the void. Eddington does not provide solutions or answers. Eddington, like the Bible, is a very revealing mirror in which American society is held to task. And so I can only pray, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

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