Seriously, stop what you are doing and go watch Eddington as soon as you can.

The recently released 2025 Western yet bleak, and I mean bleak, satirical comedy, which was written and directed by Ari Aster, is a must see.

The film is somehow perfect for today, with its focus on the evolution (you’ll see what I’m doing here) of the COVID-19 pandemic in a fictional small New Mexican town.

Minor Spoilers Ahead

Without spoiling much other than the general plot, the film does a masterful deep-dive into COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter movement in the response to the killing of George Floyd, Antifa, extremism generally, and of course, it’s at its heart a story about people, their lives, and how everything has the possibility to not only connect, but also unravel.

It’s about a small town Sherriff, masterfully played by Joaquin Phoenix, and his opposition to COVID-19 mandates imposed by the mayor of Eddington, equally masterfully played by Pedro Pascal.

Emma Stone and Austin Butler both deliver excellent performances, as does Yellowstone’s Luke Grimes and other supporting characters.

With the film’s release in 2025, it’s a useful look back at a time that cause so much disruption, and not only globally, but also locally. From social distancing to the closure of businesses, to public testing sites and a lack of trust among neighbours.

So much of the pandemic unfolded on our screens, and the film does a great job recreating that and so many other pandemic nuances.

But ultimately, the movie really gets going with the introduction of Black Lives Matter protestors, sympathetic onlookers, and the fear of an Antifa invasion.

Fear, confusion, and a lack of trust ultimately make up the core themes of the film, but so does love and the desire for family.

It’s an interesting movie to watch in this very moment with the United States Centre’s for Disease Control and Prevention being attacked by a 30 year old man suicidal man who fired nearly 200 rounds at the headquarters. The police investigation has revealed the man, who did commit suicide, left a note behind expressing anger with Covid-19 vaccinations. Truly poignant.

Equally interesting is President Trump’s federalization of the Washington D.C. police force; a strong contrast to events which unfolded throughout the interceding years of 2020 to today.

Finally, I also just can’t shake the unfolding opposition to wildfire mandates and how it seems to be an apt comparison point, at least to an extent.

People don’t want to be controlled; some however take it better than others; and others, take it absolutely the worst, and that can lead to very poor outcomes.

The pandemic changed all of us ultimately one way or another, and whether its for the better or worse, the effects of that change appear to reverberate even still today.

There’s so much more I can say about this movie, but ultimately, I’ll just refer to what I said at the outset: go see it ASAP.

P.S. The ending is a real headfuck, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.