Title: Eddington
MPA Rating: R
Director: Ari Aster
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone
Runtime: 2 hrs 28 mins

What It Is: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a small-town New Mexico mayor, Ted Garcia, is seeking reelection. The county’s sheriff, Joe Cross (Phoenix), strongly disagrees with many of the mayor’s stances—particularly regarding the handling of the pandemic, which Joe doesn’t even believe in. Meanwhile, a shadow from Joe’s past haunts him so deeply that he might do anything to avoid facing it. Good luck getting the sheriff to wear a mask, social distance, or do anything he deems “fake.”

What We Think: This is a film of “too.” Too much. Too long. Too early. Too much happens because the film is way too fucking long, and honestly, we’re still too close to the COVID-19 pandemic to be making movies about it. Joaquin and Pedro play off one another well—that’s about the extent of the positivity I can give Ari Aster’s newest film. I really disliked my time with this. Maybe it’ll age well, but right now, we’re far too close to its time period for this cinematic time capsule to work.

Our Grade: C+, Ari Aster is never truly going to make a film that’s offensively bad—at least, I don’t think so. But this one is a series of ill-fitting choices that lead to a film that doesn’t quite do what it sets out to. Its bloated runtime (which you feel every second of) makes it hard to watch—honestly, a slog to get through. With that in mind, it’s a hard film to recommend. Sure, you could check it out, but why would you? There’s nothing here worth sinking into, and overall it’s a rather mediocre film, to say the very least.