Eddington (2025) review

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) of Eddington, New Mexico is tired of the mask mandates and decides to run for mayor against incumbent Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), but his life gets progressively more chaotic once protests break out over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, his emotionally unstable wife Louise (Emma Stone) runs off with cult leader Vernon Peak (Austin Butler), he kills the town crackpot (Clifton Collins Jr.) and dumps his body in the river and then assassinates Ted (and his son) and attempts to pin it on his African-American assistant Michael Cooke (Micheal Ward).  Few modern releases have dared to "go there" when it comes to the current turbulent landscape of America the way Aster (who is currently in his late 30's) tries with this, and although the attacks on the extremes of the "right" and "left" are a little broad and overgeneralized, this is intended as a clear provocation of both sides of the political spectrum, and it's done with a pitch black sense of humor.  Ari even twists the proverbial shank deeper by playfully suggesting that there could be a "third party" involved (who are shown flying in on a private jet) whose only purpose is to escalate the mania and bitterness.  While "we" are distracted by the screens in front of our faces and the endless amount of (incorrect) "information" on them, our corporate overlords - embodied by a company comically called "Solidgoldmagikarp" (which is a reference to a Pokémon character) - are having their way with us.