Eddington is Ari Aster’s 2025 A24 film about a political and personal conflict that erupts in a small New Mexico town during May 2020. Joaquin Phoenix plays Sheriff Joe Cross, while Pedro Pascal plays Mayor Ted Garcia. What begins as a local power struggle expands into a darkly comic portrait of pandemic-era fear, political identity, online radicalization, conspiracy thinking, and the collapse of a shared version of reality.
The film is best understood as a modern Western filtered through a paranoid thriller and political satire—not as a conventional story about heroes and villains. It runs 148 minutes, is rated R, and features an ensemble cast that also includes Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Amélie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone.
What is Eddington about?
Set during the tumultuous summer of 2020, Eddington follows the escalating conflict between Eddington sheriff Joe Cross and the town’s mayor, Ted Garcia. The dispute is rooted in local politics, but it quickly becomes entangled with the public-health crisis, mask arguments, racial-justice protests, social-media outrage, and the increasingly unstable political identities of the people around them.
A24 describes the film as a story about a small-town sheriff and mayor whose neighbors become pitted against one another. That premise gives Aster a contained setting in which to examine national divisions at close range. The town is not simply a miniature version of America; it is a pressure chamber where personal grudges and national political narratives reinforce each other.
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The result is a film about how quickly public life can become theatrical. Statements are performed for cameras, beliefs are shaped by distant online personalities, and local disagreements acquire the emotional force of a national emergency.
Cast and creative team
- Joaquin Phoenix as Sheriff Joe Cross
- Pedro Pascal as Mayor Ted Garcia
- Luke Grimes
- Deirdre O’Connell
- Micheal Ward
- Amélie Hoeferle
- Clifton Collins Jr.
- William Belleau
- Austin Butler
- Emma Stone
Ari Aster wrote and directed the film. The producers are Lars Knudsen, Ari Aster, and Ann Ruark. The principal creative team includes director of photography Darius Khondji, production designer Elliott Hostetter, editor Lucian Johnston, costume designer Anna Terrazas, and composers Bobby Krlic and Daniel Pemberton.
Why is the film set in May 2020?
The date is not a generic backdrop. May 2020 places the story at an especially volatile point in the COVID-19 pandemic, when public-health rules, masks, institutional trust, and competing explanations of the crisis were becoming political identity markers.
That period also connects the film to the protests following the murder of George Floyd and to the rapid intensification of right-left polarization in the United States. In Eddington, these events are not treated as distant historical references. They enter the town through conversations, political messaging, phones, social platforms, and the behavior of public officials and residents.
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The setting helps explain the film’s unusual tone. The characters are dealing with real fear and real social unrest, but they also seem to be inhabiting stories supplied by media ecosystems far beyond Eddington itself. The tension comes partly from the possibility that nobody is responding to the same reality.
The sheriff-mayor conflict
Joe Cross and Ted Garcia represent competing forms of local authority, but the film does not reduce their conflict to a simple left-versus-right argument. Their disagreement becomes a vehicle for showing how political positions can combine with ambition, resentment, vanity, fear, and the need to control a public narrative.
The sheriff-mayor relationship gives the film its immediate dramatic engine. Each man has an institutional role, but neither can fully contain the forces that the dispute unleashes. As the conflict widens, the town’s political arguments become increasingly personal, and personal tensions begin to resemble ideological commitments.
That structure allows Eddington to satirize multiple factions rather than endorse one clean partisan interpretation. Its target is not only one political camp. The film’s broader subject is polarization itself: the way distrust makes every institution look compromised, every opponent look malicious, and every new piece of information seem like proof of an existing belief.
A modern Western with paranoid-thriller mechanics
Aster and A24 position Eddington as a darkly comic modern Western. The Western influence is visible in the basic arrangement: a small community, rival authority figures, contested power, and a landscape where isolation magnifies conflict.
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But the film updates the genre’s traditional frontier anxieties. Instead of relying only on physical distance or face-to-face confrontations, it adds livestreams, social platforms, viral claims, political branding, and mediated outrage. The frontier is no longer simply the edge of a map. It is also the unstable information environment in which people decide whom to trust.
The paranoid-thriller element comes from this uncertainty. Viewers are encouraged to ask whether events are being interpreted accurately, manipulated by others, or transformed by characters who see hidden motives everywhere. The film’s humor does not eliminate the threat. It makes the threat more uncomfortable by showing how absurd behavior can still have serious consequences.
Phones, platforms, and the fragmentation of reality
One of Eddington’s most important ideas is that political conflict is no longer confined to official speeches or town meetings. Phones and social platforms allow distant voices to enter a local dispute almost instantly. They also reward emotional certainty, simplified enemies, and public performance.
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This is why the film should not be summarized merely as “a movie about 2020.” Its more durable concern is how communities lose the ability to establish common facts. Once every source is treated as either propaganda or revelation, disagreement no longer concerns only policy. It concerns the nature of reality itself.
Is Eddington a political satire?
Yes, although “political satire” does not fully describe its range. The film uses political conflict to expose contradictions in public life, but it is also a social-paranoia story and a character study of people trying to preserve control in a period that feels uncontrollable.
Its satire is deliberately uncomfortable because it does not offer a single faction as the rational corrective. Contemporary reception at Cannes was mixed, and later discussion emphasized the film’s intentionally polarizing treatment of a divided America. Those reactions are best treated as reception history rather than proof that the film succeeds or fails on one objective scale.
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Viewers who want an uncomplicated political message may find the film evasive or aggravating. Viewers interested in how political identities become performances may find that ambiguity central to its design. The most defensible reading is that Eddington satirizes the conditions that make polarization self-sustaining: distrust, spectacle, online influence, institutional weakness, and the desire to turn complex events into morally comforting stories.
Does Eddington have a clear ending?
Spoiler-free answer: the film is better approached as an intentionally ambiguous political and psychological narrative than as a mystery with one officially supplied interpretation. Its conclusion invites questions about responsibility, perception, public performance, and whether the characters have gained any genuine understanding of the forces surrounding them.
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That ambiguity matters because a definitive explanation would work against the film’s subject. Eddington repeatedly shows people interpreting events through incomplete information and pre-existing beliefs. The ending continues that pattern rather than converting the story into a simple final lesson.
After watching, useful questions include:
- Which conflicts are genuinely political, and which are personal conflicts wearing political language?
- How much of the town’s behavior is driven by direct experience, and how much is imported from online narratives?
- Does public visibility create accountability, or does it mainly encourage performance?
- Are the institutions in the story failing because individuals are corrupt, or because they have lost a shared basis for trust?
- Does the film criticize polarization equally, or does its distribution of sympathy remain intentionally unsettled?
Because the available material does not establish a single author-confirmed meaning for the ending, interpretations should remain interpretations rather than be presented as definitive explanations.
Runtime, rating, and language
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | Eddington |
| Year | 2025 |
| Writer and director | Ari Aster |
| Distributor | A24 |
| Genre and style | Modern Western, political satire, paranoid thriller, dark comedy |
| Runtime | 148 minutes |
| Rating | R |
| Production and language | United States production; English-language; color |
The Blu-ray and 4K editions include English SDH and Spanish subtitles. The R rating and long runtime are worth noting for viewers choosing the film for a group screening.
Where to watch Eddington
The film was promoted for a U.S. theatrical release on July 18, 2025. Its official film site now presents an “At Home” status.
U.S. availability reporting lists Eddington through HBO Max and HBO Max Amazon Channel, with digital rental or purchase options reported through Amazon Video, the Apple TV Store, and Fandango At Home. Streaming catalogs, prices, and rental windows change frequently, so check the current listing for your country before relying on any one service.
For viewers who prefer a permanent copy, A24 offers standard HD Blu-ray and 4K UHD editions. The Eddington Blu-ray is the more broadly compatible physical option. The A24 Shop’s 4K edition is identified as an exclusive and requires both a 4K Blu-ray player and an HDR-capable television for 4K UHD HDR playback; it will not play in a standard Blu-ray player.
What is included on the physical editions?
Both the standard Blu-ray and 4K UHD editions include a 33-minute making-of documentary titled Made in Eddington and six collectible souvenir postcards. The 4K edition is aimed at collectors and home-theater viewers, but its format requirements make the standard Blu-ray the safer purchase for anyone without compatible equipment.
The practical choice is straightforward:
- Choose Blu-ray if you want a physical copy that works in a standard Blu-ray player.
- Choose 4K UHD if you already own a 4K Blu-ray player and HDR television and want the higher-format presentation.
- Choose a digital rental if you want to watch once without buying a disc, while checking the current U.S. retailer listing and price.
- Choose streaming if the title is currently included with a service you already use, after confirming availability in your territory.
The Eddington soundtrack
The original score is by Bobby Krlic and Daniel Pemberton. A24 sells the soundtrack on a red-and-blue split-color LP, which includes a “Keep Honking” bumper sticker. The digital soundtrack is listed as a 26-track release with a total running time of approximately 1 hour and 7 minutes, dated July 18, 2025, under A24 Music.
The Eddington soundtrack vinyl is a more specialized purchase than the film itself. It is a natural fit for A24 collectors, film-score listeners, and vinyl buyers, but the available research confirms it through the A24 Shop rather than establishing dependable Amazon availability. Buyers should check the official store or a specialist retailer rather than assume that an Amazon listing is current.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who was Arthur Stanley Eddington?
The film title can be confused with Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, the British physicist and astrophysicist who lived from 1882 to 1944. He was a Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge, a philosopher of science, and a major popularizer of scientific ideas.
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- 【Black and White Bathroom Decor】This vintage humorous artwork captures the humorous moments of the movie, and the funny design adds a touch of humor to your space. Whether placed in the bathroom or toilet, they will take you to the funny environment in the movie, inspiring humor and relaxation.
- 【High-quality Canvas Wall Art】: Each vintage poster print is made of high-quality waterproof canvas and fade-resistant inks, ensuring vivid colors, clear details, and durability. These modern tree ring art prints are perfect for living rooms, bedrooms, and home offices, adding a touch of elegance and charm to any space.
- 【Ready to Hang】: The modern vintage wall decor art measures 12x16 inches, and the canvas is stretched and tightly wrapped on a wooden frame. The back of the package is equipped with fixing nails and hooks, saving you the trouble of finding a suitable photo frame. You only need to install the fixing nails when you receive the product and hang it directly. Installation is quick and easy.
- 【Perfect Gift Choice】: Our retro decorative funny wall art is perfect for those who appreciate film and television and retro humor art, and is a thoughtful gift for birthdays, housewarming and holidays, and a great choice for Valentine's Day, Christmas, Thanksgiving and special occasions. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us, we will provide you with the best after-sales service.
Eddington helped explain Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity to English-speaking audiences and led the 1919 expedition that observed the May 29 solar eclipse, one of the early observations associated with the theory’s confirmation. The Eddington limit, a luminosity limit relevant to stars and accretion onto compact objects, is named after him. His works included Space, Time and Gravitation, The Mathematical Theory of Relativity, and The Internal Constitution of the Stars.
That historical figure is separate from Ari Aster’s film. Readers searching for Einstein, the 1919 eclipse, astrophysics, or the Eddington limit are looking for the scientist rather than the 2025 movie.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Eddington a documentary?
No. Eddington is a 2025 fictional feature film written and directed by Ari Aster and released by A24. It is a darkly comic modern Western and paranoid political thriller.
How long is Eddington?
The film has a 148-minute runtime, or 2 hours and 28 minutes, and is rated R.
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The main cast includes Joaquin Phoenix as Sheriff Joe Cross and Pedro Pascal as Mayor Ted Garcia. Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Amélie Hoeferle, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone are also listed in the ensemble.
Where can I buy Eddington on disc?
A24 offers standard HD Blu-ray and a 4K UHD edition. The 4K version is identified as an A24 Shop exclusive and requires a compatible 4K Blu-ray player and HDR television. Retail availability and pricing should be checked at the time of purchase.
Is the Eddington soundtrack available on vinyl?
A24 lists an original-motion-picture soundtrack LP on red-and-blue split-color vinyl, with a “Keep Honking” bumper sticker. The available evidence confirms A24 Shop availability, not reliable Amazon stock.
Is Eddington connected to the scientist Arthur Eddington?
The film is a separate work and is not presented as a biography of Arthur Stanley Eddington. The scientist was a British astrophysicist known for explaining general relativity and for the 1919 solar-eclipse expedition associated with early observational tests of Einstein’s theory.
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The Bottom Line
Eddington is Ari Aster’s 148-minute, R-rated A24 satire of a community breaking apart under the pressure of pandemic politics, online influence, institutional distrust, and competing versions of reality. Its sheriff-versus-mayor premise gives the film a Western shape, while its ambiguity and paranoia make it far more interested in the machinery of polarization than in delivering a simple partisan verdict. For home viewing, confirm current regional availability; for collectors, the standard Blu-ray is the broadly compatible option, while the A24-exclusive 4K edition is intended for viewers with suitable HDR equipment.
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