(Photo Credit: A24)
(“Eddington” trailer courtesy of A24)
If actor Dean Cain thought “Superman” had too many political and woke themes, the former “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” star will probably lose his mind if he sees “Eddington.”
But then again, Cain might like “Eddington” because it contains just as many right-wing ideologies as left-wing ideologies.
Politics aside, art is supposed to imitate life, whether it is good, bad or indifferent.
And politics is a part of life, whether everyone agrees on a specific issue or not.
But “Eddington” is a political movie on steroids, capturing the upheaval known as the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.
When the dust settles, “Eddington” will go down as the craziest and wildest movie ever.
Before May 2020, Eddington, N.M., was the quintessential sleepy town.
Seemingly, everyone knew each other.
The town’s residents all got along.
And crime was so nonexistent that the small town only had three law enforcement officials.
Unfortunately, nothing stays the same forever.
A town with very few political issues can create many problems and enemies when big business comes in and threatens the way of life for many residents.
Couple that with the fact that the area is under different jurisdictions depending on where a person is in town.
Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) and the sheriff’s department have jurisdiction in town.
The Native American authorities have jurisdiction over tribal land.
And the town’s new data center has its own security team that patrols the company’s grounds.
Therefore, when security from the data company requires that Sheriff Cross wear his mask while in his own patrol car, the officer must comply even if it is begrudgingly.
While Joe hates wearing a mask because of his asthma, he does what he must do because, like every other town or city on the planet, Eddington is doing its best to handle the coronavirus pandemic.
But then entire idea of the pandemic is troubling to many residents of Eddington because the town has had no confirmed cases of the disease.
The new rules have made the town seem smaller than it is because the streets are empty.
When stores open like the local supermarket, violence often results because some customers refuse to put their masks on because they have trouble breathing in them.
In the middle of the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement begins to impact Eddington, even though the town has very few Black people and no incidents of police brutality.
But because of the mandatory lockdown, residents of Eddington have very little to do but watch the news and peruse the Internet and social media, which impacts the way they see the world, for better or worse.
“Eddington” uniquely captures how the time on lockdown caused many Americans to fall down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and misinformation.
The pandemic and all the fake news that came from it divided many families and communities.
Families became more dysfunctional.
Husbands and wives fought more.
Children turned on their parents for having opposing political views from theirs.
Friends became foes.
And boyfriends and girlfriends became ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends during those turbulent times.
Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic caused apolitical people to decide to run for office because of policies that they considered tyrannical and draconian.
In “Eddington,” the bumbling idiot of a sheriff decides to run for mayor against the incumbent, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal).
While Ted has the experience and infrastructure, Joe only has his co-workers at the sheriff’s office.
Ted has legitimate advertising.
But Joe has a bullhorn and his pickup truck.
The biggest problem with the bullhorn and pickup truck strategy is that during the pandemic, no one is outside to hear his campaign message as he drives through the town.
The most glaring weakness in Joe’s campaign is his marriage to Louise (Emma Stone, “La La Land) and her past with Ted.
Louise is adamantly against Joe running for office.
But once the rabbit is out of the hat, it is hard to put it back in.
And once that metaphorical rabbit is on the loose, the damage could become catastrophic.
“Eddington” has one of the strangest climaxes of all time.
Words cannot adequately describe it, which is cool because spoilers are not allowed in movie reviews.
But the buildup to the conclusion is so epic that it might be unprecedented in recent Hollywood memory.
“Eddington” is unique and weird.
But so was the lockdown caused by the coronavirus.
People began to believe in things that they would not normally believe in.
However, an idle mind is the devil’s playground.
And the devil plans to steal, kill and destroy.
The question for “Eddington” is who the devil in the movie is and will he/she accomplish all three goals, some or none?
Joe is the most fascinating character in “Eddington” because of his unexpected character arc.
But the “Eddington” character facing the most complex dilemma is Michael (Michael Ward), a deputy in the sheriff’s office.
During the Black Lives Matter movement, how did Black officers truly feel about the protests?
On one hand, they are cops and must back the blue at all costs.
But then again, how can Black men and women turn a blind eye to unfair policing?
Even if it is not rampant in their location, life tells them that it is happening elsewhere, and sometimes often.
For Michael, his response should be the name, Assata Shakur.
But will he have a happy ending like Shakur?
Many people might need to look up Shakur to catch that reference.
But if a person is like Cain, they might want to avoid learning Shakur’s story because her story is “wokeness” to the millionth power.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
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