Speaking at the Doha Film Institute, DP Darius Khondji confirmed that Ari Aster’s “Eddington” secured a spot in the upcoming Cannes Film Festival lineup, and he hopes that it will be playing in Competition.
The heralded cinematographer said he’s preparing to begin colouring the film ahead of what he claims will be a Cannes launch.
“It’s going to be very different from his other movies,” said Khondji. “Ari is a deep, strong filmmaker. He has the talent, or the perception of things, that Ingmar Bergman and Roman Polanski had. His quest for the way he wanted the story to be told – you could feel the influence of these filmmakers.”
The film was shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, against external pressures, said Khondji. “Anyone would’ve shot it in Cinemascope (2.35:1) in long format; we decided to do it in 1.85:1.”
Aster (“Hereditary” and “Midsommar”) is coming off 2023’s polarizing “Beau is Afraid.” A24 has produced all four of his films, including the upcoming “Eddington.”
“Eddington” stars Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler. Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, and Clifton Collins Jr. also star. The film wrapped production last summer in New Mexico.
I’ve read the script for “Eddington” which 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 rest assured, no character is safe in Aster’s story.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.