The Political Trickery of “Eddington”

A filmmaker who wanted to make a politically contentious movie couldn’t do much better than to set it in mid-2020, when the United States, under the covid -19 lockdown and approaching a Presidential election, was tearing itself apart over masking mandates and then over the fallout from the killing of George Floyd. This is precisely what Ari Aster’s recent film “Eddington” does, wading with apparent boldness into a slew of issues that remain divisive even five years on. Strangely enough, though, if he had removed the covid and protest plotlines entirely, the movie would be more or less the same. Its run time might be shorter, but its emotional essence, thematic core, and even the motivations that drive its characters would remain intact. Although the story is steeped in the practicaliti