Pedro Pascal‘s new western drama Eddington has just released its first trailer.
Directed by Midsommar, Hereditary and Beau is Afraid‘s Ari Aster, A24’s latest features a big-name cast that includes Pascal, Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler.
This isn’t your typical Western set in the 1800s though, as it only winds the clock back to 2020.
Yep, this is a pandemic film, as the arrival of COVID and all of the ensuing restrictions on people’s lives in small town America causes tensions to spike.
People aren’t wanting to stick to the rules, online streamers are becoming cult leaders, violence is starting to increase, and a sheriff and mayor running for re-election (Phoenix and Pascal, respectively) have very different ideas about how t0 deal with the situation.
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The trailer shows us what happens when all dramas build up like a pressure-cooker and eventually erupt, leading to the town being turned into a warzone.
Eddington premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month, which means that critics have already got to see the film and post their reviews.
At 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, reviews are quite mixed, which isn’t unheard of for Aster.
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Elle called the film “one of the most artistically complete and compulsively watchable doom-scrolls of the year”, while Spanish publication Espinof dubbed it “a ruthless and mischievous satire on today’s society”.
Both ScreenRant and AVClub had similar opinions; that the film is a bit too much of a mis-mash of tones and ideas, but is worthwhile for attempting to do what it does.
Of those who reviewed the film negatively, Vogue called Eddington “incredibly pointless: a literal regurgitation of a time we all remember all too clearly” that provides nothing new, while Metro and New Yorker were disappointed by the third act shootout.
Eddington will be released in UK cinemas on 22 August and on 18 July in US cinemas.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he’s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small.
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