Eddington (2025)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A sheriff and a mayor clash in a fractured town during a high-stakes election amidst the chaos of the 2020 pandemic.
The story
Set in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests, the film examines the political and social turmoil in the fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico. The tension escalates as a contested mayoral election is fought between Sheriff Joe Cross and Mayor Ted Garcia. Joe, a conservative sheriff, faces off against Garcia, who runs on a liberal, tech-positive platform. As the community grapples with local mandates and escalating protests, the personal and political lives of the two rivals collide, fueled by a climate of suspicion and social unrest.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2020, Sheriff Joe Cross and Mayor Ted Garcia are locked in a bitter political rivalry in Eddington, New Mexico. Joe, a conservative, opposes Garcia's liberal, tech-focused policies. The conflict intensifies as Joe's wife, Louise, becomes involved with a cult leader, and Garcia's son becomes involved in protests. After a series of escalations, Joe makes a false accusation against Garcia, leading to a violent confrontation where Joe kills both Garcia and his son, staging it as an Antifa attack. A mysterious group of armed men arrives in town, leading to a chaotic shootout where Joe realizes he was manipulated by misinformation. A year later, a scarred Joe is elected mayor while the town's data center opens, hinting at a larger conspiracy involving the data center's developers.
- First release year
- 2025
- Runtime (minutes)
- 149
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom; Finland
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Ari Aster
- Writers
- Ari Aster · writer
- Cast and characters
- Joaquin Phoenix · Joe Cross; Pedro Pascal · Ted Garcia; Luke Grimes · Guy Tooley; Deirdre O'Connell · Dawn; Micheal Ward · Michael Cooke; Austin Butler · Vernon Jefferson Peak; Emma Stone · Louise Cross
- Genres
- satirical neo-Western thriller; comedy
- Themes
- American political divisions; conspiracy theories; pandemic-era paranoia; distraction of political battle
- Tone and mood
- satirical; provocative
- Premise and plot tags
- Western; Political Drama; Satire; Thriller
- Reception
- The film received mixed and polarized reviews from critics, both negative and positive. It was considered a box office bomb.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 65 · scale: 100 · review count: 50; CinemaScore · score: C+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The script was originally conceived as a Western and developed for five years before the director made Hereditary and Midsommar.; The film features the Las Cruces Water Tank as a location.; A 'sort-of' sequel with returning characters is in development.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…