Here’s our very first look at Joaquin Phoenix in Ari Aster’s “Eddington.” I’m not sure if this is an officially released still, but it’s starting to make the rounds online, which means we might be getting some promo material in the coming days.
A24, which has produced all four of Aster’s films, is behind “Eddington,” which stars Phoenix, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward and Clifton Collins Jr.
A major plus is that two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Darius Khondji will lens the film. He’s one of the best DPs in the biz with a filmography that includes “Se7en,” “Midnight in Paris” and “Uncut Gems.”
Aster (“Hereditary” and “Midsommar”) is coming off 2023’s polarizing “Beau is Afraid.” However, we might just be only a few months away from watching this next film …
According to Variety, “Eddington” will be submitted to the Cannes Film Festival. Whether Cannes actually accepts the film is a whole other story, so we’ll see what happens there.
As for the plot of “Eddington,” I read the script a while back and posted this summary:
“This is a pandemic-set western with loads of 2020 politics. In fact, a lot of the script is driven by divisive Red vs Blue dialogue. “Eddington” has been described as an “ensemble film,” and it sort of is that, but the film is really about the rivalry between Sheriff Joe Cross (Phoenix) and local mayor Ted Garcia (Pascal). Sparks fly when Joe decides to run for mayor of Eddington after he refuses to wear a face mask at the local grocery store. Ted isn’t happy as he was led to believe he’d be running unopposed (“I got this gringo pig runnin’ against me”).”
“The script has a slew of references to Hilary Clinton, Anthony Fauci, mask mandates, George Floyd and Donald Trump. Also, Tucker Carlson’s show seems to be playing in the background in a few scenes. The film is also very violent. I won’t give away anything here, and I’ve only given you the bare minimum in terms of plot, but almost no character is safe in Aster’s story.”
