Money always wins in America. Both sides are always being played while every citizen faces the shit end of the stick because of it. The COVID-19 pandemic can be credited with truly making everyone go a bit batshit crazy over the last few years. It feels like, as a global population, we’ve never been more divided in our views. We take things to the extreme, no matter how big or small the issue is. That’s why I think Ari Aster’s new film Eddington is so perfect in its encapsulation of that reality.

Eddington has a LOT to offer the viewer, as we see the perspectives of several characters with wildly different goals and ambitions. The film starts out with what I’d say is the first pivotal moment that sets everything down the chaotic path that follows. In the opening scene, we follow a homeless man walking into Eddington, sick with COVID-19, which sets off a downward spiral for Joaquin Phoenix’s character, Joe Cross, the sheriff and antagonist we follow throughout.

Arguably one of the biggest asshole characters to root against in the entire 2025 film slate, our introduction to Joe Cross establishes his views on the pandemic and government authority right away. From that point forward, each scene tacks on more and more pressure, especially for Cross, knowing a massive eruption in the third act is inevitable.

Each political side has its flaws presented in Eddington, and while that is clearly a core focus, the bigger picture doesn’t fully encapsulate either. By the closing shot, no one has truly won, except for those with the money and power to get what they want. From an individual character standpoint, there’s really no one who has true goodness in their heart. Everyone is looking out for themselves, determined to achieve what they want. It’s a mix of selfishness, paranoia, power, revenge, jealousy, and rage—all boiled up in one small town destined for destruction.

Being sheltered at home during the height of the pandemic brought forth a massive connection to the online world. We were all “connected,” but in the wrong ways—each side arguing and yelling, creating some of the biggest divides we’ve seen. Misinformation and fraudulent behavior—especially from the younger characters—is conveyed well and has a hilarious payoff. One of the young men, trying to impress a girl, pretends to be an ally of the Black Lives Matter movement and flaunts white guilt, only to later become a right-wing grifter cashing in on his fame by the end.

Emma Stone’s character, Louise Cross, is one of the most “damaged” in the film, and arguably the biggest contributing factor to Joe Cross’s downward spiral. By the end, we learn the trauma and abuse her parents put her through, with the implication that her father got her pregnant and her mother was complicit in the whole ordeal. As Joe prepares to become mayor, he places a massive burden on Louise by telling the public that the opposing mayoral candidate, Ted Garcia (played by Pedro Pascal), was the one who got her pregnant at 16.

Louise becomes infatuated with a cult leader, Vernon Jefferson (played by Austin Butler), after discovering him online. He makes her feel validated, as he and his group share similar traumas. This leads Louise down a path of exodus from her mother and her husband. Her mother, a massive QAnon conspiracy believer, ultimately regrets introducing her to Vernon. Meanwhile, Joe continues to pile stress on Louise, pushing her to leave him entirely, trading one bad environment for another, where she ends up brainwashed.

By the end, you sort of feel bad for Joaquin Phoenix’s Joe Cross, but not in a sympathetic way. You feel sorry for the way he thinks and for the environment he’s chosen for himself. Joe Cross is a miserable, pathetic, racist, lost soul who has dug himself so deep into sorrow and right-wing ideology that karma comes to stab him, leaving him with an even more miserable life ahead.

Eddington is the kind of film where I can completely understand both someone who hated it and someone who loved it. Films that take massive swings are bound to land poorly with certain people, depending on their views, and that’s what makes discussion and the art of filmmaking so fun. I found Eddington to be a blast in how it tackled its subject matter. It’s a bold and brash experience—one I know I’ll remember vividly when looking back on the 2025 lineup.

Written & Directed by: Ari Aster

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Austin Butler, Emma Stone, Clifton Collins Jr.