It’s June 2, 2020, and the pandemic is starting to make the townspeople in Eddington, New Mexico go loco. This all leads to a major standoff between the Sheriff and the mayor.
The teaser for Ari Aster’s black comedy western, “Eddington,” has been released. The film will make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, and arrives in theaters on July 18.
As I warned you last year, this film will tackle the COVID-19 pandemic in ways that have yet to be depicted on-screen in a Hollywood movie. It’s a movie that’s meant to rile up people, which fits the bill with Aster’s brand of cinema (“Hereditary,” “Midsommar,” “Beau is Afraid”).
I’ve read the script for “Eddington,” which is a pandemic-set western with loads of 2020 politics. In fact, much 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”).
This will be the first time that Aster has had one of his films go to Cannes, and not just that, he’ll be vying for the Palme d’Or with this one. Much like his first three films, A24 is backing “Eddington.” That July release date means it’ll be skipping fall fests, and instead opt for a summer release.
“Eddington” stars Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler. Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, and Clifton Collins Jr. also star.