Eddington
Between Beau is Afraid and Eddington, I’m afraid Ari Aster may have lost the plot. Hereditary and Midsommar are definitive masterpieces of the horror genre, and while Eddington is its own kind of horror movie, its not for the reason you want. Eddington is somewhat about the two extremes of the COVID pandemic, and while that may age better a decade from now, transporting us back to that felt way too soon and too raw. As E says, there may have been a good movie in here somewhere but torturing your audience for 145 minutes to little avail is more than disappointing. Some really weird cameo choices from A+ tier actors, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler, but who play such tiny inconsequential characters that even that in and of itself felt like a waste of casting. Definitely skip this one unless you have masochistic tendencies.
-Z
When I grade my students’ papers, I bounce back and forth to their thesis statement after each paragraph or so to check in and see if we’re still following the central claim. This movie felt like a paper that veered from the thesis statement in about five different ways. I think if Ari Aster had really leaned into the satire more heavily, and cut the run time down by about an hour, this could have been a funny, insightful social commentary, but, at least in our theater, no one was laughing. It did leave me thinking, but I’m still not quite sure what the takeaway should be.
-E
"How did we get here? And even worse, is it worth it? At the cost of being at war with your neighbors." -Joe Cross
Eddington is a polarizing film, not just for critics, but for me personally. It holds a great deal of promise and has some really cool aspects. The problem is it is wrapped into an extremely confusing approach. The more I think about this film, the more my appreciation for it grows. However, I was sadly expecting a film fighting for an 8 or 9, not a 6 battling for a 7. My biggest criticism is how long it is, which is the biggest reason for many casual filmgoers to not go and see this. While I know Ari Aster could care less about people not following his films, I believe it should have at least some consideration. Overall, the third act delivered strong action, and the first act established a solid foundation, but the hour and a half in the middle was quite the struggle to get through. Most of you won't see this film, and it pains me to say but I don’t think it's a must see.
-J
