Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Eddington!
Ari Aster’s Eddington is one of the most controversial films of 2025 so far, and here is why the Western comedy movie is so divisive based on critic and audience reviews. Eddington was a highly-anticipated release upon the announcement of its July 2025 release date, but now that the film has hit theaters, it has polarized many with its handling of its political story.
Ari Aster career took off with the release of 2018’s Hereditary, with many considering it to be one of the scariest horror films of all time. Midsommar cemented Aster as a horror icon, leading to the announcement of Beau is Afraid. This bizarre 2023 film was a mᴀssive change in direction for Aster, and Eddington has proven to be just as divisive.
Eddington tells the story of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joe Cross, a Texas sheriff who has a rivalry with the mayor of Eddington, Texas, Pedro Pascal’s Ted Garcia. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the sheriff decides to run for mayor, causing a heated back-and-forth between the two candidates throughout the election.
Eddington Tackles Contemporary Politics Throughout The Entire Story
It Takes Place In May 2020
One of the reasons that Eddington is inherently controversial is that the entire film tackles contemporary politics. The movie takes place during the COVID-19 Pandemic, with characters in the film debating masking, the efficacy of vaccines, and COVID-19 conspiracy theories that some actually believed in real life.
Eddington goes far beyond COVID-19, however. It discusses nearly every political angle that was around in 2020, with it acting as a time capsule from the pandemic. Donald Trump’s first presidency, the 2020 election, killer hornets, various state governors, artificial intelligence, and more are discussed, with one character even being a stand in for Kyle Rittenhouse.
The murder of George Floyd is prominently featured in Eddington, with it acting as one of the inciting incidents for the film. The Black Lives Matter protests come to Eddington, with Sheriff Cross and his deputies having to deal with the protesters. Eddington features storylines involving ANTIFA, Blackout Tuesday, and a black police officer who feels like he is torn between two worlds.
The George Floyd story is arguably the most controversial part of Eddington. Some audiences weren’t fans of a dark comedy movie used the murder of a real person at the hands of police as a launching point for its satirical story. This could be viewed as insensitive by some, while other audience members argue that it was handled tastefully and necessary for the time period.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Character Is An Anti-Masker Living In The COVID-19 Pandemic
Does He Represent Ari Aster’s Views?
Joaquin Phoenix’s Sheriff Joe Cross is the protagonist of Eddington, which is another reason why the film is so controversial. Cross is a conservative, an anti-masker, and a police officer, meaning that many audience members are immediately polarized against him. Early in Eddington, Cross argues that masks aren’t necessary, a position that he holds throughout the film.
Cross also gets into a violent confrontation with a homeless man, ᴀssaults protesters, violates First Amendment rights, and eventually becomes a murderer. Cross is undeniably an unlikable guy, but since he is the protagonist, some viewers made the ᴀssumption that he was meant to be likable or meant to represent Ari Aster’s viewpoint.
However, this most likely is not the case. Eddington is one of many movies where the unlikable protagonist is meant to be a criticism of the type of person he represents rather than representing the director’s held viewpoints. This can be seen in other satirical movies like American Psycho, Taxi Driver, Wall Street, and more.
Eddington Makes Fun Of Everyone Instead Of Picking A Side
Or Is It Concerned With Something Greater?
One of the main sticking points regarding Eddington‘s controversial nature has to do with Ari Aster’s ᴀssumed stances on the issues that the film covers. While Ari Aster has not come out and discussed his thoughts on these political issues, some audience members believe that they can parse his beliefs from the content of the film.
Eddington makes fun of everyone, with it satirizing the political right and the left. The movie makes fun of COVID-19 conspiracism and overzealous maskers, police officers and BLM protesters, Republicans and Democrats, and more.
Thus, some have labeled Eddington as a radically centrist movie. Some critics believe that Eddington is not willing to take positions of its own, with it instead using hindsight to make fun of everyone who was willing to take a position in 2020. This is a criticism lauded at projects like South Park, which some have unfavorably compared Eddington to.
However, others state that 2020 is just used as a backdrop for a greater political commentary. It has been theorized that Eddington is really about themes of autonomy, colonialism, and more. There is a lot to delve into when discussing the themes of Eddington, and it is possible that viewers can either read the film as a centrist satire that is afraid to take a position, or as a grand thematic work separate work that is concerned with more than the pandemic.
