The following contains spoilers for EddingtonEddington‘s controversial ending has been clarified by the film’s director/writer, Ari Aster. Eddington is a politically charged film that tackles all sorts of hypocrisies and destructive impulses amid the chaos of 2020. The film presents all of its characters as well-meaning but flawed human beings, struggling to make sense of a world they’ve lost control of. This is especially true for Joaquin Phoenix’s Sheriff Joe Cross, who increasingly crosses moral lines as the film progresses.
Eddington ends with Joe victorious in the Mayoral election and dubbed a hero by the public, but left severely paralyzed after being stabbed by a masked “extremist” and heartbroken after Louise left him. He has taken his conspiratorial mother-in-law, Dawn, as his mouthpiece, ultimately opening the data center that he’d fought so hard against being opened by Ted earlier in the film. Many have been left wondering what the real message of this ending is, so Ari Aster broke down the themes of the finale during an interview with Wired.
“The film is about paranoid people, and by the end, it becomes paranoid. It becomes gripped by their worldview. Depending on your beliefs or your algorithm, that’s where it becomes either satire or a movie about what was really happening… I wanted to give as broad a picture of the environment as I could without being dismissive or condescending. I see all these characters as people who care about the world and know something’s wrong. They’re just seeing it through different, distorted windows.”
What Ari Aster’s Comments Mean For Eddington
Eddington Was Never About One Political View Over Another
Ari Aster’s comments about the controversial ending of Eddington highlight how important it was for the filmmaker to craft a movie about politics that isn’t necessarily political. Instead, the real focus is on all the ways people can become consumed by their own perceptions and beliefs, at the cost of losing their empathy. No one belief is inherently wrong, but the way people get them is.
Much of Eddington‘s drama stems from the collapse of relationships, which is only escalated by the presence of the internet. Almost every character spends the film with a phone in their hand, allowing them to parrot talking points or reaffirm their beliefs enough to crystallize them. Everyone in Eddington believes they’re the hero of their own story, and this costs numerous innocent lives.
Our Take On Ari Aster’s Eddington Comments
A Broad Approach To Humanity Is Exactly Why Eddington Works So Well
Eddington‘s most effective attribute is the way it paints a wide cast of characters with a clear sense of empathy. No one is simply a villain. Even the most unlikable characters hint at a deep well of trauma or emotion. However, they let themselves take charge in their own narratives, affirmed in their self-confidence thanks to an algorithm that reinforces their beliefs.
This can be best seen in the story of Brian, a teenager who tries to use liberal talking points to impress a girl but flips after the climax to become a right-wing online personality. Brian’s arc reveals the selfish motivation behind choosing beliefs for convenience, revealing he has become part of the “algorithm” that Ari Aster was commenting on with the film.
Ari Aster’s comments about the ending of Eddington reinforce how the film’s broad political targets, but specific thematic approach, make it such an effective movie. The focus on how the internet and social media have transformed people is a key aspect of every arc in Eddington, and part of what makes it such a broadly effective story.
Source: Wired
