Ari Aster’s Eddington is a fictionalization and satire of American politics during the pandemic, and the director has spoken about his research and the touchpoints of reality for his divisive film. The first reactions to Eddington upon its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival proved right away that it would garner many wildly different reviews.

Eddington‘s story is primarily about the standoff between Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and incumbent mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), who clash over different approaches to the outbreak of COVID-19. Although things seemingly spiral out of control far beyond any sense of realism in Eddington, the leads were apparently inspired by real people.

During an interview with Vulture, Ari Aster revealed that there was a real-life feud between a small-town sheriff and mayor, who “were really at odds on a lot of things, especially mask mandates.“ While Aster traveled around New Mexico to speak with various police and mayors for his movie, Joaquin Phoenix even met his character’s inspiration. Check out Aster’s full comments below:

Vulture: The movie can at least comment on the era with a rearview mirror that those movies made during lockdown couldn’t. Did you find catharsis in working through this potentially permanently damaging moment of our recent history?

Aster: Yeah. One of the best things that came out of the process was that I’ve always wanted to make a film about New Mexico. I grew up there. My family still lives there. I know New Mexico probably better than any other place. I was writing this script in a state of fear and anxiety about the world. I was writing it at the time the film was set, and I was really just trying to get it all on paper. We had reached a boiling point, and it felt like things were about to explode. It’s gone down to more of a simmer. It’s gradually just plateaued, so we’re just living with it. When I came back to rewrite the script, I went back out to New Mexico, drove around the state, and went to different small towns to talk to police and mayors. I went to different counties to talk to sheriffs, went to pueblos.

Vulture: You talked to them specifically about their experience with COVID?

Aster: Yes, and about their feelings about politics in New Mexico. It’s a very specific, interesting place. It’s a blue state, but most of the smaller towns are red. And the governor of New Mexico is sort of a controversial figure. I did not find anybody who did not have very strong convictions about what was happening. Many of the characters in the film are modeled on different people I met. For instance, Joaquin’s character is based on the sheriff of a vast county with a small population. He had a very pᴀssionate, long-standing feud with the mayor. And the mayor was a really interesting guy who, before he ran for mayor, went to town hall with a gun on his person, and he was ejected from town hall. He ran on a platform of, “I’m going to make it so that if you come to town hall, you have to have to have a gun.”

Vulture: Oh my God.

Aster: And he won!

Vulture: Fascinating.

Aster: The sheriff and him were really at odds on a lot of things, especially mask mandates. Joe Cross is based on that man, even his wardrobe. I flew back out to New Mexico so that Joaquin could meet him and a few other people that I really liked, and we spent a day just driving around the county with the sheriff. He came to set several times to consult.

What The Real-Life Inspiration Means For Eddington

The Divisive Movie Is Grounded In Reality & Political Commentary

Eddington is “meant to comment on the era with a rearview mirror,” the director delving deep into different accounts and perspectives of that era was vital to making it a nuanced, if bizarre, piece of social and political satire. Audiences and critics are still divided about whether Eddington does this well, but at least Aster can confidently say he did his homework.

Taking into account the testimonies of community leaders who were put in such difficult positions during the pandemic lends credibility to Eddington. This was also a personal undertaking from Aster, who wanted to tell a story about his home state of New Mexico, leading to the creation of the fictional town of Eddington.

Additionally, as Eddington positions Phoenix’s role as the main character, having his real-life counterpart involved would help deepen the story. Pedro Pascal’s character may be less true to reality, but Aster still sought input from different mayors in different regions of New Mexico, in order to flesh out both of the movie’s leads.

Our Take On Eddington’s True Backstory

Ari Aster’s Research Is Quite Impressive