Aster’s Eddington provides an uncomfortable reflection
The first film to take a deep dive
into how the Covid-19 crisis affected the U.S., Ari Aster’s
Eddington is an uncompromising examination of the divisions
that tore communities apart and its continuing repercussions. Though
a piece of fiction, Aster and his cast capture the sense of angst
that enveloped the nation, every citizen in the titular town
confident they will be on the right side of history where their
stance towards mask mandates, government aid (overreach?) and civil
rights are concerned. Unfortunately, the isolation, both compulsory
and self-imposed, has prompted them to seek refuge on social media,
where like-minded individuals and validation are easy to find.
At the center of this vast narrative
is the escalating animus that exists between Sherriff Joe Cross
(Joaquin Phoenix) and Mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal). Their
differing political views quickly come to the fore in May of 2020 due
to a confrontation over whether masks should be worn in a grocery
store and spin out of control. That Garcia once dated the lawman’s
troubled wife, Louise (Emma Stone), and their breakup having happened
under suspicious circumstances, contributes to Cross’ eagerness to
confront him. Before you know it, he’s declared himself as a
candidate for mayor in the upcoming election.
One of the biggest sticking points
among the town’s citizens is Garcia’s desire to build a massive
data center, a project he claims will bring much-needed jobs to the area. Though
he has a corporation on the hook, not everyone is onboard, many
fearing the financial risk will not pay off. This becomes the focal
point of the race…that is, until the George Floyd murder occurs and
activists take to the streets, demanding justice for racist acts
occurring today as well as those hundreds of years ago.
The way Cross handles the passionate
teens behind the Black Lives Matter protests that flood the streets
of Eddington couldn’t be worse. As a result, his aggressive actions
toward them begin bouncing around social media and his candidacy is
threatened. To salvage it, he makes a false claim regarding Garcia
and Louise’s relationship, an act that leads to tragic
consequences.
The moving parts Aster employs in
telling his story are too numerous to mention, which is intentional.
The internet has bombarded us with so much information it’s hard to
keep track of it all, let alone parse what’s true or not. Before
all is said and done, racial tension erupts between Cross’
deputies, Guy (Luke Grimes) and Mikey (Michael Ward), the mayor’s
son Eric (Matt Gomez Hidaka) is swayed by local activist Sarah
(Amelie Hoeferle) to act against his father, something that rubs his
buddy Brian (Cameron Mann) the wrong way, while Louise finds solace
in the charismatic cult leader Vernon Jefferson Peak (Austin Butler).
False accusations and murders occur
before the final credits roll, yet Aster keeps the ideological divide
at the core of it all in his crosshairs. Once Antifa makes an
appearance, as if the town’s collective paranoia conjured it out of
thin air, all bets are off. The script is not only dense with ideas
but twists as well. While you might suspect where all this is headed,
you’re likely to be mistaken. That none of the fantastic events
that occur seem improbable reflects how unhinged our society has
become.
It’s to Aster’s credit that he’s
able to employ an even hand in portraying those on each side of this
cultural divide. Condescension is absent, while sympathy is felt for
each character at one point or another. Each member of the cast
brings a sense of humanity to their characters, rendering them
recognizable, though their actions may be reprehensible. Aster’s
intent is to drive home the notion that we’ve all been used as
pawns, subjected to forces beyond our control, our responses to them
based on fear and self-preservation. We and Eddington’s citizens
are seen as victims, out of our depth in a sea of (mis)information,
reduced to acting in a primal manner in order to survive.
Eddington is incredibly dense
and requires multiple viewings to take in all that Aster has to say.
Without question, it is one of the most ambitious films of the year,
and likely to be the most divisive. Of course, that’s to be
expected as, thanks to the many screens we’ve attached ourselves
to, we all see things from our own perspective, one that is always
right according to us, yet suspect to others. We have met the enemy,
and with Eddington, Aster effectively drives home the point
that it is us. In theaters.
Guard 2 an eternal exercise
in tedium
Sporting a budget of $100 million,
Netflix’s The Old Guard 2 may be the biggest waste of money
since paying tuition to Trump University. A sequel to a film that
shouldn’t have been made in the first place, this by-the-numbers
actioner is as dull as it is predictable. Directed with a pedestrian
flair by television veteran Victoria Mahoney, the script by Greg
Rucka and Sarah Walker is needlessly convoluted, an approach that
fails to distract us from the mundane nature of the story. Oh, and
Uma Thurman has been added to the cast of regulars, the assumption
being her star power would provide the required “oomph” to put it
over the top. It doesn’t.
For the lucky ones who missed the
first entry in the series, I’ll do my best to get you up to speed.
The Old Guard is a group of mercenaries who are immortal. Not only
do they fight to right great wrongs, but they have the ability to
affect the future. However, the leader of the group, Andy (Charlize
Theron), finds that her immortality may be waning, what with her
wounds suddenly not healing as quickly as they should.
Part two delves into why this is
happening and I’m going to be frank, it’s just too complicated to
get into here and frankly not worth the trouble. It has something to
do with Nile (KiKi Layne), the youngest of the immortals being able
to transfer her powers or something.
The rest of the group includes
Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), who betrayed his allies in part one,
as well as Nicky and Joe (Luca Marinelli and Marwan Kenzari), who are
on hand to crack wise, and Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a human spy who
uses the immortals for his own purposes. Tuah (Henry Golding) serves
as their historian, while Quynh (Veronica Ngo), having been released
from a 500-year curse, is intent on being reunited with her lover,
Andy.
Yep, there’s a lot going on, and
yet there’s little urgency to any of it. Guard 2 is a parody
of action movies, yet no one involved seems to realize it. A great
deal of humor is due to the uber-serious way in which the actors
deliver their dialogue. You’d think they were issuing
pronouncements of grand import, what with the gravitas employed in
delivering such original, pithy lines like, “We’re going in,”
and, “You guys know what to do!” You’d think that having lived
thousands of years, the characters would have developed a more varied
vocabulary.
As for Thurman, she does what she
can with the villainous role of Discord, the eldest of the immortals
who, out of all the choices that have been presented to her over the
centuries, has become an arms dealer. I mean, I’m sure the money’s
good, but still…
The many fights and car chases that
occur over the interminable length of the film are as uninspired as
they are tedious. Mahoney, helming her first feature film, is in over
her head, not simply where choreographing action sequences are
concerned but also in creating a sense of distinction between the
various characters as well as pushing her fine cast to create a sense
of individuality. This is a rote exercise if it ever was one and while
it was a chore to sit through, there’s something more horrible in
the offing. The door has been left open for a sequel and what with
Netflix’s need to bolster its library, I’m quite sure it’ll
be made. Streaming on Netflix.
This article appears in Getting right with Native Americans.
