A standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in May of 2020 in Eddington, New Mexico.
Where to Watch Eddington
- TanalienAugust 9, 2025I left the theater in shock at the escalation of events, but something about it was very honest. Unfortunately, I can imagine a small town going this south this quickly. Eddington is Ari Aster’s attempt at holding up a mirror to America, with a silent plea: We need to start listening to each other again. Eddington is an artistic achievement, a film that is original,, dramatically entertaining, and thought-provoking. In a single experience, Aster aspires to capture American behavior and culture and point to its origin — our lack of self-awareness around how much our thoughts, words, and actions are influenced by powerful corporate and technological forces. Experiencing such a big, artistic swing that offers honest observations about American society, I can’t ask much more of a filmmaker. Making a well-constructed and technically astounding film is difficult enough. Attempting to make sense of our world at the same time is downright insane. I salute Ari Aster’s work — in my eyes, he has succeeded.
- Alex | Pop Culture BrainJuly 18, 2025I hate to say it, but maybe A24 should stop writing Ari Aster blank checks. I saw Eddington, so here's the good and the bad without spoilers. In case you're not aware, Eddington is Ari Aster's new neo western set in a small New Mexico town in the summer of 2020, and it's one of those uniquely frustrating movies because you can see the wasted potential. Aster puts forth a lot of interesting ideas in this darkly comic, skewed mosaic of America during lockdown. He evokes the tension and paranoia of that time pretty well, albeit with very broad strokes and the actual plot mechanics, up until the third act, are surprising and compelling, even as he relies on archetypes and tropes. There's also that welcome dash of Aster's signature eerie weirdness, which I really appreciated and Joaquin Phoenix is solid. So is Pedro Pascal. Aster also builds a strong sense of place with the New Mexico setting. But that's where I run out of compliments because this movie is kind of a mess. In the end, Aster can't cohesively land on what he's trying to say. He's just throwing everything at the wall and hoping it amounts to something. There are scenes and sequences where I was absolutely riveted, and then other stretches where I was completely disengaged, put off by the excessive, self-indulgent filmmaking. And just when you think, okay, he's finally nailed down the big idea behind this movie, he invents some surreal nonsense in the third act that completely undercuts the first two thirds of the film. I still think Aster is a director to watch, but maybe he just needs a good editor.
- ricomckeeAugust 17, 2025This is actually a good movie…however, it was extremely difficult to watch and caused a great deal of frustration. Part of this is because Aster doesn’t take a side or stance in the direction of the film. Therefore, depending on your own political leanings you are either traumatized by watching the devolution of our democracy and the fabric of society or cherish the reclaiming of it. This is movie making as an art…but it mimics life a little too closely which is where the true fear comes in. A movie like this should demonstrate an extreme stance to show the absurdity…instead this mimics current society to closely to where it could be a documentary. Therefore a great cast, great direction, and definitive artistic direction but I, who don’t believe in trigger warnings needed a trigger warning.
- DavidBunnyDadJuly 1, 2026Ari Aster's meditation on America circa 2020, when our long-simmering culture war came to a head in the chaotic year of George Floyd and COVID-19. There's a lot to like in this strange film before a disappointing final act kind of washes much of it away. Joaquin Phoenix is terrific as always; he and Pedro Pascal have a crackling chemistry as rivals in a small Southwestern town. Even though it's less successful than his other films, Aster deserves a lot of credit for wading into the supercharged issues of Trump-era politics in an evenhanded way. When historians 50 years from now look back on how filmmakers tackled the coronavirus crisis, they will have to note that Aster was first.
- mgrie5January 11, 2026This film seals the deal for me that Ari Aster is my favorite director. Eddington, like Beau is Afraid, is a masterclass in film making. I feel like he's building a trilogy of sorts with Joaquin Phoenix where he explores what it means to be a man in modern society. Something of a TS Eliot of the 21st century, Aster is a master of uncomfortable, awkward insecurity. Sheriff Joe's tragedy is born from an assertion that he doesn't have to follow the rules. Something I think many of us experienced during the COVID lockdowns. Aster takes Joe's power to heights unseen as he tangles with conspiracy theorists and a rising Black Lives Matter movement, while his wife, whose traumatic past is shrouded in darkness, tangles with new age philosophies, and his heart. I won't spoil anything as I feel going in blind makes the film better.
- Garrett WilkinsJune 8, 2026Eddington arrives fashionably late to the COVID era. The film clearly wants audiences to look back on that period with some distance and reflect on just how absurd many of the political, cultural, and social battles became. For me, that goal is a slight miscalculation. I am not sure most viewers feel nostalgic about 2020 nor am I convinced they are eager to revisit it. But for what it is, the film commits fully to its setting and does a surprisingly effective job capturing the confusion, frustration, and often ridiculous nature of that time period. What I appreciated most is that the film doesn't really give anyone a free pass whether it is the politicians that exploit the pandemic, the protestors with performative outrage, opportunistic politicians, the hallow social media activism, or the broader culture-war conflicts of the era-Eddington seems determined to highlight the absurdity wherever it finds it. The small-town setting occasionally drifts into Hollywood-style exaggeration and stereotyping, but the satire remains sharp enough to keep the film engaging. Joaquin Phoenix is excellent in his role which feels somewhat different from the kinds of characters he is usually associated with. He brings a convincing sense of ordinariness ironically to a story filled with increasingly extraordinary circumstances. Credit to director Ari Aster as well who pulls out another solid dark comedy once again, one that is far more mainstream than his previous work. The film is runs a bit long, and there are stretches where its ambition gets the better of its pacing, but overall, I found its willingness to explore competing viewpoints far more interesting than simply choosing a single target—even though it does certainly lean against one side more than the other. For all its satire and political commentary though, the film remains invested in the human element and the consequences of the chaos it depicts. Whatever your politics are, there is a good chance Eddington will make you uncomfortable at some point which is for better or worse what Aster's films do best.
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Eddington was released on July 16, 2025.
Eddington was directed by Ari Aster.
Eddington has a runtime of 2h 28m.
Eddington was produced by Lars Knudsen, Ari Aster, Ann Ruark, Robert Dean.
A standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in May of 2020 in Eddington, New Mexico.
The key characters in Eddington are Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), Dawn Bodkin (Deirdre O'Connell), Louise Cross (Emma Stone).
Eddington is rated R.
Eddington is a Comedy, Drama, Western film.
Eddington has an audience rating of 6.6 out of 10.
Eddington had a budget of $25M.
Eddington has made $13.7M at the box office.