Ari Aster's Eddington starring Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal falls flat at Cannes

Ari Aster’s latest film Eddington made its premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, featuring an ensemble cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler

. Despite the high-profile names and the director’s previous acclaim with Hereditary and Midsommar, Eddington has received mixed early reactions, with critics citing confusion, lack of coherence, and thematic overload.

The neo-Western drama is set in a fictional New Mexico town during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Phoenix plays Joe Cross, a wheezy sheriff clashing with the town’s pro-mask mayor Ted Garcia (Pascal), amid debates over AI developments, racial tensions, and government mandates. The film explores themes like political division, conspiracy theories, pandemic paranoia, and social unrest, but critics argue it spreads itself too thin.

Eddington is Aster’s fourth feature and shares the sprawling, personal tone of Beau Is Afraid. However, unlike his past psychological horror successes, this film has been described as rambling, bloated, and emotionally distant. While the performances by Phoenix, Stone, and Pascal are serviceable, no standout moments emerge, and the plot’s many threads fail to converge meaningfully.

Notably, Eddington touches on polarizing subjects like Black Lives Matter protests, mental health, and disinformation, but avoids taking clear positions. A mix of satire and drama, it includes viral conspiracies, local political races, and cult-like leaders, yet never sharpens its focus.

Set for wide release on July 18, Eddington runs 2 hours and 29 minutes and is rated R. While visually competent and featuring an ominous score, the film may struggle to resonate with audiences looking for clarity or emotional depth. Early reviews suggest Eddington may be Aster’s most polarizing film to date.