Cannes Film Festival’s Mixed Reviews to Ari Aster’s Eddington/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Ari Aster’s COVID-era satire Eddington, starring Joaquin Phoenix, received a polarized response at Cannes. The film explores America’s 2020 breakdown through political extremism, misinformation, and pandemic anxiety. Critics are split over its bleak, surreal take on U.S. culture.
Eddington Cannes Premiere: Quick Looks
- Eddington premiered at Cannes to a mixed critical reception.
- Ari Aster’s political satire explores America’s 2020 unraveling.
- Joaquin Phoenix stars as a confused sheriff turned political candidate.
- The film skewers both political extremes and social media influence.
- Set in New Mexico, the story reflects pandemic-era tensions.
- Pedro Pascal plays the town’s incumbent mayor; Emma Stone, the sheriff’s wife.
- A surreal and violent climax underscores the film’s chaotic tone.
- Aster described the film as born from anxiety and fear.
- Critics called it both profound and meandering in tone.
- The cast addressed the film’s political relevance in press interviews.
Cannes Film Festival’s Mixed Reviews to Ari Aster’s Eddington
Deep Look
Ari Aster’s ‘Eddington’ Sparks Debate After Mixed Cannes Premiere
CANNES, France — Ari Aster’s latest psychological and political whirlwind, Eddington, arrived at the Cannes Film Festival with a thunderclap of expectation — only to split its audience down the middle.
Marking Aster’s first entry in the festival’s prestigious competition category, Eddington dives into the disorienting chaos of the United States during the pandemic-inflected year of 2020. The film casts Joaquin Phoenix as Joe Cross, a bumbling sheriff in a fictional New Mexico town who impulsively decides to challenge the town’s liberal mayor (Pedro Pascal) in an increasingly heated local election.
Layered with biting satire, surreal imagery, and unnerving tension, Eddington uses its fictional setting to reflect real-world events: the backlash against mask mandates, political polarization following the murder of George Floyd, and America’s descent into conspiracy theories and digital rabbit holes.
At the film’s premiere, Eddington received a lukewarm standing ovation — a signal that, while the film sparked interest, its delivery may have left some cold. Some praised the film’s daring themes and striking imagery, while others criticized its sprawling narrative and heavy-handedness.
During a press conference following the screening, Aster, known for his genre-defying hits like Hereditary, Midsommar, and Beau Is Afraid, addressed the film’s provocative tone.
“I wrote this film in a state of fear and anxiety,” he explained. “I wanted to express the feeling of living in a time where reality itself is disputed.”
Aster continued: “We’re on a dangerous road — hyper-individualism has hollowed out our collective ability to make sense of the world together. I think people feel powerless. They feel fearful.”
Phoenix, as the erratic Joe Cross, delivers a characteristically layered performance. Opposing him is Pascal’s mayor — an emblem of liberal policy and local authority, whose mandates provoke Cross to run for office. Emma Stone appears as Cross’s reclusive wife, harboring her own secrets and complex ties to the mayor. Their interpersonal tension ultimately mirrors the ideological fractures unraveling across the nation.
As the town’s simmering tension erupts into surreal violence, Eddington becomes a commentary not just on political disunity, but on the influence of digital technology, misinformation, and collective delusion. Aster threads a subtle critique of internet culture through the appearance of a looming, mysterious data center — a metaphor for the digital machinery shaping public opinion and personal identity.
Despite its ambitious themes, the film did not land uniformly with critics. Some hailed it as a necessary reflection of America’s societal breakdown, while others dismissed it as convoluted and overstated. Still, Eddington joins a growing canon of post-pandemic cinema willing to probe uncomfortable questions about truth, leadership, and identity in the age of crisis.
At the Cannes press event, Pascal described Aster as a cinematic “whistleblower” — someone digging beneath the surface of political performance and digital reality. However, when asked to weigh in on recent U.S. deportation policies, Pascal hesitated.
“As an actor in a movie like this, it’s hard to speak on something so charged,” he said. Yet he made clear his support for immigrant protections. “I was a refugee,” he added, referencing his Chilean heritage. “If it weren’t for those protections, I don’t know what would’ve happened to us.”
While Eddington may not have earned universal acclaim, it has undoubtedly provoked discussion — a testament to Aster’s reputation for polarizing and fearless filmmaking. Whether it ultimately connects with a broader audience remains to be seen when A24 releases it theatrically in July.
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