Ari Aster, known for pushing boundaries in cinema, never shies away from discomfort. From his early short film The Strange Thing About the Johnsons to his feature debut Hereditary and the unsettling Beau Is Afraid, Aster’s work explores the darker facets of the human psyche.
During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aster retreated from New York to New Mexico, where he observed unsettling social divisions intensify. He noted that the pandemic was less about public health and more about the fracturing of America’s social fabric, amplified by digital echo chambers and polarized realities.
“I don’t think we have fully processed how seismic the pandemic was,” Aster said in an IndieWire interview. “It was an inflection point that cut the last link to the old world, forever.”
Committed to filming Beau Is Afraid, Aster nonetheless wrote a script in June 2020 reflecting real-time pandemic paranoia. This script evolved into Eddington, a film set in a New Mexico town during May 2020, exploring the clash between a mask mandate enforced by a progressive mayor (Pedro Pascal) and Sheriff Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), who opposes it. The film weaves in themes of political unrest, social media misinformation, racial tensions, and the impact of Black Lives Matter protests.
Aster’s Eddington delves into heated contemporary issues: disinformation, law enforcement racism, Native American politics, Big Tech dominance, and performative racial guilt. The film paints a portrait of a society pushed to the brink, with the pandemic acting as the final catalyst for widespread social breakdown.
As an auteur among indie filmmakers, Aster is distinctive for his focus on present-day realities rather than retreating into period pieces. He acknowledged the allure of escaping into the past but emphasized the importance of confronting today’s complexities.
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“These are unprecedented times,” Aster remarked. “The present is strange and oppressive, but human adaptability is remarkable. Over time, things become ambient and less obvious, but right now, things are very weird.”
When asked about hope for resolving the deep divisions portrayed in Eddington, Aster was cautiously optimistic. “The only hope lies in reconnecting with one another, extending olive branches, and remembering that our neighbors are not enemies,” he reflected.
Released by A24, Eddington premiered in theaters on July 18, 2025, positioning itself as a challenging yet timely examination of America’s fractured social landscape during the pandemic.
