Eddington (Ari Aster, 2025)

[mfunk9786]

Despite being announced as an A24 Shop exclusive, the 4K release is on OrbitDVD now.

[Noiretirc]

(If I could just interject with a technical question: Is my hearing going bad, or is the sound on the VVS films bluray quite lacking? I have this damn thing up to volume 80/100, which I rarely ever do, and still I have to keep replaying segments in order to (often unsuccessfully) discern what is being said.)

[therewillbeblus]

Yeah I think the sound was always a weak spot of the film, I recall having difficulty understanding some of what Phoenix says especially when he’s quiet

[tenia]

I don't recall the French BD having such issues, but it did sound as if it was the theatrical mix, due to how the dialogues didn't sound too hot, but woozah the music and sound effects were and I had to lower my volume a bit then.

[Noiretirc]

I love this film. I'm convinced that this and Beau Is Afraid will be reappraised, will grow in stature.

It's not perfect, of course. The many threads that Aster tossed up into the air don't always land perfectly. He's juggling a lot here. I think it is quite admirable that so much of it does land well. I don't detect a mushy middle as some here have indicated.

The face-slap / Firework scene is simply monumental. One of the great scenes in filmdom. The centerpiece of this brilliant work. The fulcrum. Joe's face and walk betray so many emotions as he returns to his about-to-be-decapitated truck. And then soon after this, Aster shocks me. (He's very good at this, isn't he? I didn't see cliff jumps coming in Midsommar either.)

I can't help but feel that this is Phoenix's finest work yet. He very slowly, gradually loses it as the film progresses. Such a nuanced, difficult role.

My 17 year old and I replayed the epic shoot-out scenes a few times. "He's not John Wick, but I think that's the point" added my son.

I see many academic readings here, and I hope not to spoil this thread (nominated for thread of the year before I arrived!) with my layman's opinions. But I'm just thrilled that Aster made this.

[Mr Sausage]

Funny how you can encounter a clarifying sentence in the most unrelated places. I was reading an old Harold Bloom review of Norman Mailer’s Ancient Evenings (more positive than you’d expect), and came across this:

Ancient Evenings goes on for seven hundred large pages, yet gives every sign of truncation, as though its present form were merely its despair of finding its proper shape.

And I think this applies just as well to Eddington, a long, packed film that still seems truncated. I think the Eddington we have is Aster’s despair at finding the proper shape for his material.

[TheTreeSong]

I thought Phoenix was bad in this and not even remotely authentic. He hasn't been remotely interesting as an actor in at least 10 years IMO. I think one of this film's many problems was lazy, uninspired casting. Aster cared more about putting names on a poster than who was actually best for the roles (not that the roles were well written in the first place). And yet, the only one who was remotely memorable here was Deirdre O'Connell.

[Noiretirc]

Welcome back!!