Eddington, the latest film from Hereditary director Ari Aster, is a dark comedy about COVID-fueled chaos in a fictional New Mexico town. The film wades into hot-button topics regarding police brutality, the Black Lives Matter movement, AI investment, and mask mandates, among others. Eddington is now playing in theaters.

Travis Hopsin of Punch Drunk Critics says the fear surrounding the pandemic, Black Lives Matter and the George Floyd protests that’s depicted in Eddington is “designed to enrage us,” but the most terrifying part of Ari Aster’s film is how accurate it is. The critic says:

The costume designer of 'Roma' and 'Bardo' talks about creating clothes for characters played by Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Pedro Pascal.

Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone take on early 2020 pandemic crises of every sort in Ari Aster’s “Eddington.”

Ari Aster’s Eddington is a unique take that will hold your attention and give you some stuff to think about, but probably bit off more than it had to.

While recently preparing for an interview with Joaquin Phoenix during the Los Angeles press day for his new 2025 movie Eddington, I took notice of a special aspect of his filmography. His latest film is his second time working with writer/director Ari Aster,

Happening during Ted's re-election campaign, Joe decides to combat Ted by running against him. At home, Joe lives with his stunted wife Louise (Emma Stone), who passes time by painting odd-looking dolls, and his conspiracy theorist mother-in-law, Dawn (Deirdre O'Connell).

Joaquin Phoenix couldn't figure out his Eddington character, Joe Cross, until director Ari Aster did something that inadvertently unlocked the role for him.

In Ari Aster’s dark comedy, Joaquin Phoenix plays the sheriff of a New Mexico town riven by political clashes and pandemic anxieties.

A24 is known for its prestige arthouse films, but in its early days as a distributor, it made most of its money from elevated horror films like Ari Aster’s Hereditary and Midsommar. Over a decade in, the ambitions of A24 and Aster have expanded beyond genre film. But for both, the more recent results have been mixed.