Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal Stun in ‘Eddington’ at Cannes: A Bold, Paranoid Western!

Having made a name for himself in the horror genre with films like “Hereditary” and “Midsommar,” Ari Aster is appearing for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival, participating in the official competition. The American director, producer, and screenwriter is vying for the Palme d’Or with his latest feature film, “Eddington,” reuniting with Joaquin Phoenix, whom he previously directed in the peculiar “Beau is Afraid.”

For his fourth feature film, Aster has also brought together Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler in a dark western that allows him to cast a new, harsh, and somber look at contemporary America. It represents a different kind of horror from what he has delivered before.

A Look Back During the Pandemic Chaos

With “Eddington,” Ari Aster takes us back to May 2020, amidst the global pandemic, in a small New Mexico town physically cut off from the outside world. The residents are flooded with videos full of fake news, conspiracy theories, rising violence, community clashes, and other dangerous leaders and influencers.

To evoke these unsettling memories, Aster portrays “Eddington” as a nightmarish mirage with abrupt sequences, striking sets, and clever twists between meaningful silences and explosive violence and humor.

In this desert bubble, under masks and social distancing, a petty ego clash unfolds between Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) in this microcosm of 2,500 inhabitants.

Married to Louise (Emma Stone), recovering from a depression, and forced to live with his mother-in-law, Joe Cross is a fragile, manipulable electron, stuck in an old world. Suffocated by those who belittle him, this second-rate sheriff decides to run for mayor against Ted Garcia, who is campaigning for re-election.

Garcia is a progressive (yet hypocritical) mayor who aims to modernize Eddington, a remote land steeped in a strong multicultural history but closed to inevitable advancements due to a regressive atmosphere, by attracting a new data center dedicated to Artificial Intelligence.

Joe Cross’s candidacy triggers a series of reactions in this small desert town, which gradually descends into destructive chaos that reveals the ailments of our contemporary society. And when the bubble bursts, it hurts.

A Delirious Microcosm Reflecting the Violence and Absurdity of Our Contemporary World

What started as a minor showdown at OK Corral between a sheriff and a mayor ultimately becomes a large-scale western, oscillating between a paranoid experience and a delirious close-quarters drama, where all the residents turn against each other.

“Eddington” is a surprising offering from Ari Aster, who has accustomed us to a different kind of cinema focused more on horror and explicit unease in his previous works.

Yet, in “Eddington,” we find elements of “Midsommar” (for its close-knit community aspect) and “Beau is Afraid” (for its paranoid delirium previously carried by a top-form Joaquin Phoenix).

Moreover, this fourth feature film is a long-standing project. Aster had already conceived this psychological dark western and added new elements from the pandemic climate into the societal dynamics, particularly disastrous, that he brought with him.

This allows Aster to address the fractures of contemporary America with provocation and dark humor, which gets its fair share of criticism (from all sides) in this psychedelic and unsettling comedy that brilliantly reflects the violence and absurdity of our world.

With “Beau is Afraid,” “Eddington” marks a transition in his cinematic imagery with a form of horror that is more human, more realistic, and more political, which is hard to digest. Thus, this bold and straightforward proposal is bound to polarize.

The real terror here lies in what defines our overtly demonstrative and individualistic era, to the detriment of communal living, and what the black screen we consume without moderation reflects back to us. And for several years now, it hasn’t been pretty to look at.

The 78th Cannes Film Festival runs from May 13 to 24, 2025.