Eddington (2025, Ari Aster) is a crime thriller comedy that satirizes how 2022 was a new lowpoint for how stupid Americans are; also, it’s an unsettling male crisis slowburn psychological cautionary horror about social media. Its tone is a slow, quiet, sustained disintegration in a desert small Anytown, U.S.A.
The first hour or so roughly lays the groundwork for this memorial of the inane hive mentality of Americans for us to laugh at. Looking back at all Covid brought with it like facemasks, 6 feet apart distancing, nasal swabs, reduced-capacity public spaces, is just the start. The rift of conflicting values, politics, convictions, and character assassinations is too scary and true to be funny, which makes it even funnier. When this all starts to coalesce I am conditioned to even laugh at Black Lives Matter protests, zoom meetings with 2 out of 8 people that have their pronouns as part of their screen identification, and conspiracy theorists. It all happened so gradual but so quick. It was such a drastic phase and it’s interesting to see the power of cinema to organize it all into an experience to soak in for a couple of hours traveling through this terrain of emotional national identity recognition.
The message of Eddington is that America is very online and behind and in-between all the social media, real news, fake news, and politics, people use people and causes whenever it’s convenient. And if they can get away with it they will. Online Darwinism rewards self-interest. And anyone can rise to the top of the foodchain if they have a wifi connection.
Something I find effective about the plot is how the BRIAN kid fakes his way into sounding like he’s a political activist to impress the SARAH girl, but when she’s no longer available, not only does he seem to preserve his budding awareness, but he doesn’t seem to care too much that he lost his chances with her. It’s a subtle but very integral touch to show some of these young adults with more on their mind than crushes and hookups. Also the way they have this sense of rebellion for gathering in public to drink some beers during quarantine is ridiculous but so very truthful to the culture of the time.
My favorite gag is this bit where there’s this unhoused mentally ill denizen screaming at an Amazon Prime sprinter van stopped at a crosswalk angrily honking at him. If I had to pick one scene to define the zeitgeist that’s it. That’s real life. The feeling Eddington left me with reminds me of what Ariana Grande says after she licks that donut: “I fucking hate America. I hate Americans.” But if I can see a movie like this and laugh this much life is good.
7/17/2025 AMC Phipps Plaza 14
Atlanta, GA
The message of Eddington is that America is very online and behind and in-between all the social media, real news, fake news, and politics, people use people and causes whenever it’s convenient. And if they can get away with it they will. Online Darwinism rewards self-interest. And anyone can rise to the top of the foodchain if they have a wifi connection.
Something I find effective about the plot is how the BRIAN kid fakes his way into sounding like he’s a political activist to impress the SARAH girl, but when she’s no longer available, not only does he seem to preserve his budding awareness, but he doesn’t seem to care too much that he lost his chances with her. It’s a subtle but very integral touch to show some of these young adults with more on their mind than crushes and hookups. Also the way they have this sense of rebellion for gathering in public to drink some beers during quarantine is ridiculous but so very truthful to the culture of the time.
My favorite gag is this bit where there’s this unhoused mentally ill denizen screaming at an Amazon Prime sprinter van stopped at a crosswalk angrily honking at him. If I had to pick one scene to define the zeitgeist that’s it. That’s real life. The feeling Eddington left me with reminds me of what Ariana Grande says after she licks that donut: “I fucking hate America. I hate Americans.” But if I can see a movie like this and laugh this much life is good.
7/17/2025 AMC Phipps Plaza 14
Atlanta, GA
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