Eddington (MA) – 148 minutes

The world has gone crazy. How often did you hear those words or similar utterances during COVID-19?

It is May 2020 and the preposterous meets the absurd in the dark Western comedy Eddington, as conspiracy theories abound.

The starting point is decidedly opposing views from the sheriff of seven years in a small town in New Mexico called Eddington and its mayor.

The edict of compulsory mask wearing is in full force, one the sheriff, Joe Cross (Joachin Phoenix), is anything but wedded to.

In fact, he wanders around without a mask on because COVID hasn’t yet hit this sleepy hollow, which borders native territory.

For his part, the progressive mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), who is up for re-election, wants to modernise the dusty hamlet by attracting a new AI centre.

There is uneasy history between the sheriff and the mayor because Cross believes Garcia took advantage of his wife Louise (Emma Stone) when she was but a teen.

It is something Garcia vehemently denies.

In fact, to this day Louise remains in a vulnerable state, while her mother, Dawn (Deidre O’Connell), who lives with the couple, buys into wacky conspiracy theories.

Across the USA, the protest movement is gaining momentum.

It gets to the ridiculous stage where young whites are denouncing the colour of their own skin.

So, it is that the sheriff decides to challenge the mayor at the upcoming election … without telling his wife.

That goes down like a lead balloon because she firmly believes it will bring them unnecessary attention. 

Soon thereafter Louise becomes an ardent follower of an online nutter, radical cult leader Vernon Jefferson Peak (Austin Butler).

The antipathy between the sheriff and the mayor escalates, leading the movie to take a significantly darker turn.

The more I watched, the more I was thinking that the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

It may not be a politically correct thought to have, but there it is.

COVID made a lot of people feel stir crazy.

You could argue they had too much time on their hands, so that is when social media took over and conspiracy theorists came to the fore.

Writer and director Ari Aster (Beau is Afraid) has taken full advantage of that conceit.

Americans appear to have collectively lost their minds.

Fear enveloped the nation and led to some pretty scary ideas entering people’s consciousness.

Joachin Phoenix transitions sheriff Joe Cross beautifully from simply an anti-masker who is looking out for people, to becoming enveloped … and how in the mayhem.

As Ted Garcia, Pedro Pascal is not afraid to go toe to toe with the mayor and ensures the tension between the pair feels real and intensifies.

Emma Stone’s vulnerability as Louise is evident from the get go, while Deidre O’Connell’s “rants” as Dawn are indicative of the lack of equilibrium at the time.

As for Austin Butler playing Vernon Jefferson Peak, he makes being “off with the pixies” an art form.

Ari Aster has done well in capturing the sense of desperation and lawlessness befitting the offering.

Still, I felt the screenplay was bloated and could readily have been pared back.

For instance, we could have arrived at the tipping point – where the plot really takes off – sooner.

Still, as a sign of the times, when the crazies took over, Eddington is spot on.

There are those who would argue that, in real life, America of 2025 is even more extreme than it was in 2020.

Rated MA, Eddington scores a 7½ out of 10.