Ari Aster’s new film has started to make the rounds at Cannes. Aster himself, alongside stars Pedro Pascal,  Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and several other cast members, came together to discuss the inner workings of the new feature during the festival. 

His new film Eddington, which Aster wrote and directed, finds a small town split in two. Set in 2020, the local sheriff (Phoenix) butts heads with the mayor (Pascal) as the two compete in a race for office. As the race progresses, the locals in the town must decide what side they stand with, and must face those that oppose. 

Given how the film draws very heavily from real world events of 2020, from both COVID-19 to the BLM protests, Aster had a very specific approach to the film, and also had a delicate way of addressing the issues. 

“The last 20 years, we’ve fallen into this age of hyper individualism… I wanted to make a film about what America feels like at that time, and it felt bad. I’m very worried. We need to re-engage with each other. That’s the only hope,” he said. 

Hollywood Reporter noted that Pascal said Aster’s script stirred up the feelings that the COVID lockdown generated back in 2020. 

“This building towards an untethered sense of reality and then going into a chapter that becomes a point of no return. Like, there’s no going back. I was definitely overwhelmed by that fear. It’s lovely to have it confirmed by Ari,” Pascal said. 

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