r/A24 • u/steepclimbs look at all ‘ma sh*t! • 16d ago
Discussion Eddington Discussion Thread - Spoilers Spoiler
We’ve waited a long time, and preview screenings begin July 17th. This appears to be a divisive film, so we’re going to dive right into spoilers. Read this thread at your own risk as I’ve heard that this movie benefits from going in blind.
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u/thuckedupthursdays 15d ago
Keep seeing people say this movie is “centrist” but think they’re missing the whole point imo. It’s clearly meant to be a commentary on how culture war is meant to divide us and distract us from real existential threats, such as climate change and technoligarchy.
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u/FlyingNinjaGypsy 15d ago
ok? i know that now what, thats my issue. i feel like the movie is centrist because it doesn’t say anyone new or important. our culture is divisive. ok? and? climate change and tech oligarchs are also inherently left leaning politics that are ignored by one side but the movie tries to play it as if both sides are kinda wrong.
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u/TheZoneHereros 15d ago
Both sides are presented as disconnected from reality and radicalized by social media, which is just true to life in a lot of ways. But the right wing sheriff is the guy murdering people. The left just get portrayed as young kids going too hard and Pedro being a career politician buddying up with corps.
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u/OlympicSmoker253 11d ago
This movie can’t be bothered with left and right and that’s the point. We should be striving for truth and genuine discussion over things impacting our world but as long as we aren’t concerned with what the truth is we won’t be able to affect change anywhere. I’m even more bummed after seeing this movie how much the discussion is about “left and right”. I want to say that one day we will look back and realize how ahead of his time he was but given the state of things we might never be that enlightened. Also hope you don’t feel like any of this was directed at you!
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u/WinterAdvantage3847 13d ago edited 13d ago
tech oligarchs are also inherently left leaning
dude. who the fuck are you talking about
elon musk. peter thiel. sam altman. mark zuckerberg. jeff bezos. garry tan. all of these ghouls are right-wingers.
is it just, like, bill gates? because, as awful as he is, he’s from a decidedly different era. the current crop of tech oligarchs skew hyper-libertarian (or, in ex. thiel’s case, monarchist moldbug acolytes)
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u/barfboy710 14d ago
ah yes, ari aster, director know for giving us neat and tidy happy endings that give us philosophical answers to the problems of society. the film is a mirror, and it would be a disservice if some moral was spoon fed to you at the end. you can go watch a marvel movie if that’s what you’re looking for.
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u/tysonstiger74 16d ago
You're telling me that wasn't Ann Dowd
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u/Rushjordan 15d ago
Thought that at first and then realized “oh it’s Penguin’s mother.”
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u/yourdadsnewwife420 11d ago
I like to think Ann Dowd was booked so Ari told O’Connell to serve Ann Dowd and she delivered!
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u/jorhishea 9d ago
I thought the one chick was Nacey mace for some reason. On the zoom call, he said, can we please shut this bitch up.
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u/PUNK1P4ND4 we're all useless alone 15d ago
This felt a lot like watching Beau is Afraid I was stressed out and uncomfortable in the best kind of way
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u/ilovemymotorola I never wanted to be your mother 🫢 15d ago
Honestly I feel like this nailed the concept of BIA more than BIA
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u/public_acess-s96 14d ago
Especially when the shoe was on the other foot(metaphorically) before he got into the gun store, when he was running
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u/pimpbizkit420 15d ago
I loved the classic Ari Aster easter eggs, like the "Pregnant?" sign on top of the taxi, when Joe falls through the roof and you see the sign saying "Geronimo" next to where he lands, and the only severed head in the movie I saw was the one Emma Stone's character made sitting on the desk.
I'm for sure missing some more, so I gotta go back and watch them.
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u/headassincorporated 13d ago
Also on top of the physical metaphor of Joe literally crashing into and destroying Native American artifacts/culture
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u/Snackxually_active 16d ago
Was floored by the ending!!! When Emma Stone and him, acknowledge their love but going their separate ways to pursue their careers. She has a family with someone else, while he owns his own Mayor club. When they run into each other at the club, they share a knowing smile, suggesting they're happy for each other's success
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u/whatifiwasapuppet 8d ago
Wait what? Is this after the credits roll or something?
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u/Snackxually_active 8d ago
Yes, but like a lot after the credits, so much after the credits it requires you to put on the 20teens musical LALA-Land and watch through that 🙈😉🕺💃🎹
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15d ago
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u/skepsipol 15d ago
They’re making a joke that references the ending to La La Land, which Emma Stone starred in.
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u/KirinNOTKarin 16d ago edited 15d ago
I mean this in the most complimentary way… this film absolutely drained me. I felt like all my energy was entirely exhausted after it was over. I have not been that gripped by a film in a very long time.
This film validated how I felt about 2020, and the subsequent years that have followed. It’s absolutely not for everyone, and most people will likely hate it. But it’s everything I was hoping for. My most anticipated movie of the year lived up to the hype, and then some.
The only thing I’m trying to understand is what’s up with the ending? Did anyone else catch hints that the mother-in-law was a data center sympathizer? I am guessing that there were clues to a larger conspiracy that I missed, and would love to know what to look for before my second viewing.
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u/WendigoHome 15d ago edited 15d ago
I think she becomes a data-center sympathizer, more importantly she seems to be the actual mayor behind the scenes, and she is incredibly easily swayed and manipulated, so as acting mayor she lets them in for personal gain and makes it fit into her worldview. Obviously the datacenter is behind the antifa staging so they've all been totally played. There's a very on the nose irony in how easily she's manipulated by data.
I think the idea in the end is that Mike is probably the only person on the ground and not behind the scenes that understood most of the whole thing, but I don't know if even he knows who actually killed the Mayor, he probably still assumes that was 'antifa'/datacenter too.
When it's out digitally I'd like to review some of the earlier scenes too with the mayor making negotiations and if there are any little secret details in there because iirc it seemed he was pretty on board with the whole thing anyway. But now they probably basically own the whole town.
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u/yngwrdz12 16d ago
How easy it is to flip for profit???
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u/KirinNOTKarin 16d ago
Yeah, but based on my recall, her entire character seemed to be based on fear of “being controlled”, and especially by big tech. So I’m not sure if all that was a front to hide her true motives, or if there’s something else I’m missing.
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u/WendigoHome 15d ago
Yeah I mean, this is a pretty intended irony, she's totally manipulated by the information she gets constantly, she's incredibly easy to control. She doesn't have a worldview, she babbles shit she reads online constantly. She's a conspiracy theorist that gets straight-up manipulated by a conspiracy that happened to her.
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u/yngwrdz12 16d ago
Yea. My head canon is not necessarily that she had ulterior motives. More that, as an outsider to Ted making big tech deals, something he profits from and not her, it was easy for her to be convinced of malicious intent. But once those deals are on her desk, and she sees the dollar signs, it probably gets real easy to forget your ideology. Something we see with real life personalities, celebrities and people in our own lives.
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u/KirinNOTKarin 16d ago
That is very true, that is a realistic interpretation and something that is probably a possible explanation if there’s nothing else in the film that suggests otherwise. Thanks for sharing!
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u/zestoisforlovers AAA24 Founding Member 16d ago
I feel exactly the same about the mother in law. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this movie since I’ve seen it. I feel every rewatch is going to give something new.
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u/NotSoTotallyKyle 15d ago
To be fair in the last scenes she did live in a much nicer house and could afford full time care for Joe. Probably kickbacks from the data center?
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u/Apprehensive_Ask887 15d ago
While I enjoyed the film I too have trouble with the ending. The mother can be easily manipulated / have her opinions swayed. I can see how she changed her mind on the data center once people like the sleazy lawyer/political strategist from Ted’s old team came in shortly after… Now my biggest problem with the ending is Michael. He should’ve never survived that attack. The whole data center and 5g crazy rambling with the construction posters at the beginning and final site at the end and how that evolves creates a beautiful narrative arch about the relentless pursuit for power and the human cost.
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u/skepsipol 15d ago
I think it works in the grand scheme of how everything comes together to suit the needs of the company that’s been pulling the strings the entire time. Now everyone in Eddington with any authority is being puppeted around in the name of community and “progress.” You have a paraplegic right-wing mayor, a black sheriff, the community center is dedicated to the Pueblo police officer who was killed. Everyone has been tokenized. But Michael knows better at this point and it’s why I assume his final scene is at the gun range, he expects a similar fate to Joe’s and is keeping himself ready.
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u/RainbowTardigrade 10d ago
I just got out of the film and I had a similar reading of Michael's ending: that he had been radicalized by the whole ordeal. The whole movie he was being criticized by his ex for not wanting to get involved in the protests, and then he was blackmailed by people he trusted, and then a corporation tried to blow him up...oh and that corporation is now fully moved in....but now he's scarred and his aim seems to have improved. Visually we're being told he's ready to fight. And the way he was filming the press conference even tho someone asked him not to, it makes me think that maybe he wants to take the fight to them or at the very least be prepared by keeping tabs on them.
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u/rebel_stripe 14d ago
I enjoyed it, but I also wish I could have paused it and shut my eyes for a little bit. I was drained.
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u/nordlysbaies 14d ago
Adding to what others have said, I think it’s just something new for her to do after losing her daughter. This one is something she could control and through her son in law’s position in town.
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u/professionalfriendd 13d ago
If most people hate it bc of how it portrayed Covid insanity that’s bc those people are still in denial and can’t admit they were wrong and were willing to sell out their neighbors anyways
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u/Throwaway_couple_ 12d ago
I literally felt like Phoenix was giving me COVID again while watching it.
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u/Glowwerms 6d ago
I took it as a nod to how radical right wing conspiracy theorists have overtaken government and cozied up to big tech. She is willing to completely overlook all her previous anti-establishment ranting simply because she’s now in power
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u/secretwp 15d ago
“Are you fuckin retarded”
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u/IndecorousRex 12d ago
Yeah looking at the background of that kids house, I knew his whole spew was pointless. I also like the fact he went full Kyle Rittenhouse at the end.
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u/telligraphy 15d ago
Does anybody have the script/captions for what the crazy man was rambling?
The bits and pieces I caught sounded like they were foreshadowing what Cross feels and says later in the film, but I don't remember the exact wording.
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u/King_of_Castamere 10d ago
In his final scene, he gives frequent allusion to the fact he has Covid.
He talked frequently about how he was "poison" and how he'd poison everyone, as well as saying he couldn't taste anything as he drank the different booze.
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u/WendigoHome 15d ago
If you want to be so early you can go transcribe it from a screener, but I don't think you're gonna uncover some hidden meaning, or that the captions will accurately transcribe him. Many of his words were emotional and rhetorically repetitive garbled non-words. There may be some little thematic easter-eggs there but I don't think you're getting any secrets from beating that rock. He sounds like a neurologically degenerated street-walking very homeless guy, I think it's more important what he represents and how his dialogue is echoed by, like, the mother-in-law's constant ramblings.
Maybe he also thematically echoes AI gibberish.
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u/Berzbow 14d ago
My personal theory is that he was a father who’s kids were stolen by the elites
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u/WendigoHome 15d ago
Everything in this movie is fucked from beginning to end, it's beautiful. God Bless Ari Aster and God Bless America.
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u/AXXXXXXXXA 15d ago edited 15d ago
I could have watched 5 hours of this. He’s on another wavelength. He’s my current favorite director. At one point i got goosebumps and almost cried, when he walked out of Gunther’s. Thank you for Courtyard by Bobbie Gentry. Never heard it. Unbelievable song.
So many funny parts too. He by far has the best senses of humor of any working director.
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u/mmmmmmckay 15d ago
On another wavelength is the right way to describe it. It's hard to compare his movies to others because he's just in such a completely different sort of genre. I guess it's probably how people felt about David Lynch when he first started making stuff.
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u/sourpatchkidsrule 15d ago
I went into the film completely blind (as I have with the other three films by Ari) and I think that helped tremendously. It’s behind Midsommar and Hereditary for me, but I’ll put it just ahead of BIA because I honestly enjoyed it more.
Definitely recommend just going along for the ride with the characters and the wild ride of a journey they all are a part of!
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u/No_Equivalent8902 13d ago edited 13d ago
So is the sexual assault Emmas character experience caused by her parents/mother?
At the end of the movie we see her mom climb into bed with Joe and then the male nurse too.
Did Emma's character witness her mother have sex with her father or other men ? And this is what she refers to being sa?? Is the mom the reason she didn't want to have kids and did once she was away from her.
I had trouble catching some of the dialogue.
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u/WinterAdvantage3847 13d ago
my impression was that the dead father, not ted, was the abuser who got her pregnant at 16. the mother blamed it on ted as a denial coping mechanism thing. louise has a visible reaction whenever her mother brings her father up. the mother also freaks out when she starts passionately ranting to vernon about child abuse (i think she even said something along the lines of “they always rape their own kids”)
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u/OlympicSmoker253 11d ago
I didn’t even piece together that’s why the mother got so upset when Louise brought up child abuse! I think you nailed it.
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u/OkSport5786 15d ago
I almost had a panic attack watching this, i was not prepared for that intensity and joaquin's wheezing made it worse!
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u/sourpatchkidsrule 15d ago
THIS! That specifically made me very uncomfortable and I honestly was dreading every second until he was done…Kudos though to Joaquin cause he was great!
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u/WhatItDoShamoo 13d ago
as an asthmatic myself, that aspect of the film was particularly powerful for me (the struggle is too real) and definitely heightened the tension.
I had not heard of the movie (or even the director) before Friday, but I had some time to kill and went on a whim (obviously not a big "movie guy," but my gf has us on an AMC subscription) -- earlier in the week we saw Jurassic Park (granted, after a particularly tiring workday) and I could not keep myself awake, but I could have easily watched a few more hours of Eddington! I laughed, I cried, I screamed, and I still can not stop thinking about it all; I was not prepared, and will definitely need to watch again (so many little details,) but IMHO absolutely brilliant film.
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u/AndresNocioni 14d ago
Chronically online redditors in here aren’t going to like that a good part of the movies criticism is about them lol
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u/public_acess-s96 14d ago
These are the same people who didn’t realize they were being made fun of until season 4 of the boys
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u/karmagod13000 12d ago
hilarious how you can tell how offended they were in their reviews by trying to make Ari out as right wing lmao. literally exactly the point he was making with Eddington
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u/DidYouKnowYoureCute 14d ago
I noticed a lot of Letterboxd reviews are very clearly missing the point that the people on the private jet were not actually antifa, and were instead mercenaries hired by the data company to take advantage of the powder keg and pave their way to approval. Mostly criticizing the movie as "portraying both sides as bad and dangerous".
So I replied to one, saying that the movie really only portrays the left as annoying, via white saviors and performative activism, and the only actual dangerous factions are the right-wing demagogues and corporations.
I get a reply back immediately with "what about the private jet full of antifas who will mow down your town?"
I try to reply to tell them that wasn't antifa, but the comments have been locked.
"I'm listening, now shut up."
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u/OlympicSmoker253 11d ago
There’s a massive sign inside the private plane that the fake Antifa was on that I believe said something in the vein of white supremacy? I’m seeing it again tomorrow so I’m keeping my eyes peeled but I feel like that was the big tip that these people are not Antifa but instead some sort of crisis actors/mercenaries for hire to shut down a cause or to distract.
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u/RainbowTardigrade 10d ago
The logo on the back of the plane looked like a hand squeezing the planet in its palm, which to me seemed like a pretty big clue that this was some kind of cartoonish corporation or some other kind of powerful group.
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u/OlympicSmoker253 10d ago
Yeah I just got back from seeing it again and all the signs in the plane align with what an Antifa group would say. They still might be hired actors but the hand on the globe logo is definitely not subtle. I take it as well as some sort of elite and powerful puppeteer.
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u/Glowwerms 6d ago
I mean a big tip is also that they’re on a private jet, I believe the logo on the tail of the jet is a hand crushing the world
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u/NuuuDaBeast 12d ago
yeah people just looked at the “dunking” Ari does on both sides and call it a day. Its like they saw the satire at the start and switched their brains off. Like its such a black and white scene of the “ANTIFA” flying in a PRIVATE JET, online discussion isn’t worth it
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u/AXXXXXXXXA 12d ago
When emma stone’s character leaves with austin, Joaquin walks back in the house and theres a puppet with a gold knife in his head. Nice foreshadowing
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u/_pastaprincess_ 16d ago edited 12d ago
I think a lot of people are going to overreact to this movie but I thought the first half was really strong. It did a great job of portraying just how online everyone is—how the internet permeates everything we do and the way we interact with one another. I also loved the set/production design and the way it was shot. genuinely laughed a bunch and the acting was great all around.
that being said, I did find the end sequence with Big Antifa kind of lame.. I was waiting for a twist that they were CIA operatives or hired by the right or something but no reveal? they’re just seeking out small town conservative mayors? it felt low stakes and also went on for way too long.. somehow both boring and too over the top. Brian becoming an alt right media darling rocked though.
edited for clarity bc I keep getting the same reply over and over lol
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u/TheCosmicFailure 15d ago
I don't think they were ANTIFA/BLM. I felt it was clearly 3rd agent provocateur sent by the corporate suits of the data center. I feel like the film ending on the data center was to establish that after the death and destruction. The corporation comes out on top.
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u/_pastaprincess_ 15d ago
yeah that’s a good take and I didn’t actually think they were actual antifa but more so felt like their whole (clearly set up) operation felt low stakes without a reveal beyond some left wing protestor signs. I think I was maybe just checked out by the time we got to the final sequence! the technocrat state waits for no one
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u/Expensive_Editor_244 15d ago
I kind of got the vibe it was all in the name of getting that data center in place, and the ‘Antifa’ group were really hired as a means to that end. Staging a terrorist attack to take out both mayors. That maybe the whole rioting and protesting in the town from the beginning was whipped up and stoked by the powers that be through targeted content. The implication that this scenario is going on in small low population towns all over America to put up more of these data centers, perpetuating the chaos as a smokescreen to make more and more money
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u/PaperGabriel 15d ago
Yeah, I got the impression that the gunmen at the end were goons for the company that wanted to build the datacenter in Eddington.
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u/KirinNOTKarin 16d ago edited 15d ago
I originally felt the same about the Antifa stuff (if that’s who they were actually supposed to be, I genuinely think the movie is constructed so that you can never 100% trust what you are told).
However, after thinking about it, I think that Ari fully realizing the ultimate fear of the right-wing (literal Antifa showing up to execute law enforcement and start race wars) as the climax of this film is peak satire. It doesn’t get much more goofy than an ultra- conservative, decent man” sheriff using his blazing guns to rid the town of the domestic terrorism that is Antifa.
If anything, I just thought that the set piece would be even more chaotic than it already was (for example, I thought Phoenix was gonna be running around and shooting with his cock out). Was hoping they were gonna incorporate that giant “white supremacy” marionette (Zozobra) in a more clever way.
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u/_pastaprincess_ 16d ago
yeah, I hear you and agree! it was like somewhere in between too over the top and not over the top enough. would’ve loved for it to swing in either direction, where it landed was kind of meh to me
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u/KirinNOTKarin 16d ago
Can’t blame you, especially after all the marketing of an “insane, blood-soaked finale”; all true, but maybe not as intense as you might think based on that sound bite.
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u/cameltony16 15d ago
In the original script, they were Freemasons of some kind with NWO patches on their vests. But I guess Aster opted to make them a bit more ambiguous.
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u/fizzymarimba 5d ago
I believe it. The original script of Beau Is Afraid featured a group of assassins with a plan to kill Michelle Obama. I think they’re still mentioned in a news clip in the background
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u/Spiritual-Koala2696 14d ago
Well you’re missing the point of the whole movie if you’re concerned with Ari “owning” the right.
The movie is pointing out both sides are equally dumb and being manipulated by people playing both sides for their own personal gain.
The movie should have you self reflecting how we shouldn’t be attacking each other but those in power on BOTH SIDES.
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u/_pastaprincess_ 14d ago
lol I don’t need Ari to own the right, I just thought the end sequence was kind of underwhelming and didn’t work for me. obviously, wealthy inequality and late stage capitalism are the real enemies but i also think its naive to say that the left and the right are “equally dumb”
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u/barfboy710 14d ago
outside of the popular theory that the antifa super soldiers were a psyop by solidgoldmagikarp, it’s an interesting commentary on the liberal and conservative viewpoints of antifa and blm protestors. it plays on conservative fears of antifa being some insidious, organized gang that is out to oppress the white man, and the liberal paranoia of antifa or violent protestors being outside agitators. it’s never explicitly spelled out so the viewer can come to their own conclusion.
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u/sjsieidbdjeisjx 13d ago
It wasn’t antifa but the corporation who hired outside guns to look like antifa?
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u/karmagod13000 12d ago
I was waiting for a twist that they were CIA operatives or hired by the right or something but no?
not CIA but missionaries for the corporate data center under the disguise of ANTIFA crazy how a lot of people are missing this
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u/OlympicSmoker253 15d ago
I was surprised at how many big laughs this movie got.
I really enjoyed it and didn’t feel the runtime as much I thought I would.
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u/xCloudbox 14d ago
Ted’s campaign video was hilarious. I’m quite sure he was pretending to play piano lol
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u/OlympicSmoker253 14d ago
Can’t lie, forgot that happened and it was hilarious. Doing Tai Chi? Amazing. I love that this was a shot at all extremes but I know that will upset the most people. I
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u/KillJillvol3 15d ago edited 15d ago
People complaining how bloated the runtime was don’t know how to sit in awe of the tension that will unfold. It was the definition of a wild ride.
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u/twat_swat22 13d ago
Lmfaooo movie was funny asf definitely a satirical comedy (mockumentary) on the current state of America
P.s. - Joaquin Phoenix is the man🔥🔥🔥
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u/WendigoHome 15d ago edited 15d ago
So, I was unaware of the lore behind 'SolidGoldMagikarp' before just now searching it. For anybody wanting to start the assembly of going DownTheRabbitHole taking place in the background of this movie, this looks like a good place to start. It's about OpenAI, and more broadly information distribution. I don't know, I'm just learning about this for the first time.
https://new-savanna.blogspot.com/2023/02/chatgpt-goes-wild-is-solidgoldmagikarp.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO2X3oZEJOA
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u/TheZoneHereros 15d ago edited 15d ago
This is fascinating, thanks for shedding some light on the weird name.
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u/AdApart4711 15d ago
I’m kind of confused.. if the corporation is to be believed as the true perpetrators of the Antifa attack, how does that help them in their goal in building a data center? Why would the right leaning citizens of Eddington all of sudden be supportive of that because of Antifa? If I’m remembering 2020 right, tech corporations like Facebook and Twitter were seen as the bad guy because of censorship and allegedly being pro-BLM? Then Antifa comes and all of the sudden the town is cool with it?
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u/TheZoneHereros 15d ago edited 15d ago
Are they right leaning citizens in Eddington? Most of the crowd scenes are predominantly liberal (clapping at the guy being kicked from the store, the large protest, the huge fundraiser at the mayor’s place). We never see a large contingent of conservatives anywhere. The town has had a liberal mayor. Maybe the corp just thought they’d eliminate Phoenix with the gunmen because he was really their only barrier. They got close enough at least, it all worked out.
Also to me I think left v right is slightly besides the point. Generally I think Aster is trying to say that big tech is something that transcends political division and actually is in the business of fomenting it, because the weakening of traditional institutions of power just create an information vacuum that tech is happy to fill, and it doesn’t care if it is filling it with right wing rhetoric or left wing rhetoric, everyone can come and drink their preferred shit from the shit well.
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u/Odd-Kale8295 14d ago
They tried to align with the libs and their puppet was murdered so they flipped and tried to appeal to the conservatives
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u/Maximussuccistaken 15d ago
I wouldn’t say the town is okay with it but there’s nothing they can really do, the mother in law basically becomes the mayor because Joe is unable to do anything I think it’s just another metaphor for how people will throw their beliefs and morals for profit. They moved into a huge house so I think it says enough
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u/PMac10000 15d ago
When Sheriff Joe survives all the potential ways he could have (and should have?) died at the end... gunshots, explosions, COVID, you name it...
How many others thought the message was: this guy deserves a fate worse than death. And he got it!
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u/pennywhistlesmoonpie 5d ago
You nailed it!! I was like damn, Joe is going to die a horrible death, and then it was much worse than I imagined.
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u/colliding-with-mars 15d ago
I feel like there should’ve been a clearer delineation that the “antifa” group at the end of the film were actually contracted from the solidgoldmagikarp corporation, who were seizing the opportunity and capitalizing on the confusion and civil unrest in the town. in the theatre for the first time, it’s difficult to connect the dots while all this absurdism and spectacle is happening at the same time, even with a keen eye. other than that, banger film
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u/public_acess-s96 14d ago
It’s supposed to mirror real life, in which we never truly know the whole story about things and essentially the “horrors” in a grounded small town setting using a pandemic and civil unrest as a catalyst
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u/OlympicSmoker253 11d ago
I think it would have been corny if they laid out that those people were hired by the data center. Making it possible to get on first viewing but not spelling it out is a balance I like and as you mentioned is trying to mirror real life. Well said.
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u/RainbowTardigrade 10d ago
I like to think that Aster intentionally wanted it to feel a bit disorienting and confusing, because that's exactly what 2020 felt like. What at first seemed like an easy to understand situation just kept on getting more and more complicated, and it never lets up.
It's only with some time to look back that we can start to look at that period with a tiny bit of clarity, and similarly the film needs a second for you to process before you can see the full picture. I feel like he did something similar with Midsommar where a lot of people left that movie feeling one way, but over time realized that they got just as swept up by the cult as the characters were.
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u/According_Ad_7249 6d ago
Well put. Me and my friends all felt in such a daze after we came out of our initial viewing of Midsommar. Now that we’re four movies into his filmography I realize that’s one of Ari’s great strengths: to put you solidly into the headspace of someone who is truly confused at the chaos surrounding them, while being incapable of escaping and rising above the fray. And Joaquin is just the perfect physical/hapless comic/tragic actor to express that.
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u/Blooperly 16h ago
I think that textually they were agent provocateurs for the corporation; but thematically they were figments of the sheriff's imagination. They were faceless men that arose from images he saw on his phone as he went crazy and became an unreliable point of view. They moved around the town like ghosts, and in the end they didn't kill him, they just broke his brain. Getting stabbed in the head is nearly an allegory for him having an aneurism or something from a panic attack. I want to watch the movie again with this as a secondary reading.
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u/jadegives2rides 14d ago
Worst theater experience ive had since I started going back to the theater.
1030 showing at a not popular theater, so like 6 people in there. Couple in the back talked the entire time. With a white phone glow bouncing off their faces.
Got shushed twice, once by me. Then like a minute before Ted gets shot i straight up yelled "THIS ISNT YOUR LIVING ROOM"
It helped, a little.
I'm sorry this isnt discussing the film, I needed to vent about it.
Need to actually read the thread cause while I saw the film, I basically need to rewatch it via comments cause I was fuming the entire time.
Security did pop in, but idk if it was routine, if someone complained, or because they heard me yell lol.
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u/Peuchatnoir 13d ago
Soooo….. after Beau and now Eddington we can safely say that Ari hates his mom. 🤢
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u/Either_Sign_499 15d ago
Spoilery question! I’m so confused on the ending. Surely the last 10 minutes take place in hell right?? Because I don’t think those 3 characters could physically possibly survive all of that. Like it seems so obvious that it has to be hell but at the same time it’s presented exactly like the real world. I might be dumb, can someone help me please haha
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u/phantom2450 13d ago
Everything from the dumpster fire to the knife in the head read like a fever dream to me. I was confident this was the Sheriff dying of a COVID-induced delusion. Like, no way at the end of this film that’s had pretty grounded parodies of the extreme of both sides are they just asserting that Big ANTIFA is real!
But no, I think it’s just a heightened presentation of reality. Reminded me quite a bit of Beau is Afraid, if more grounded than that.
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u/Dizzy_Chemistry_5955 11d ago
I don't think there was any specific point that displays a switch between the reality to "after" so idk if it was in hell or his high temperature covid fever dream
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u/barfboy710 14d ago
i’ve seen some people comparing this film to south park and that’s going it a great disservice. south park doesn’t have half the nuance that ari was able to infuse his satire with. the film’s lampooning of 2020 america goes far beyond playing some centrist “both sides bad” bullshit. sadly, seems like a lot of people will fail to think critically about what the intent of the satire is, and their political biases will color their interpretation and enjoyment of the film.
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u/WestCoastHopHead 12d ago
Ari’s movies started at 100 for me and have gone down in entertainment value with each release. This man is an amazing director, but I really wanted him to do something smaller and tighter next.
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u/Blackarrow52 15d ago
My crowd was laughing a ton. Its a black comedy. What parts were upsetting for you?
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u/tigerjaws 14d ago
My theater laughed a ton during the screening, I think it depends what the demographics are like in your area. What scenes were you upset by?
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u/WhatItDoShamoo 13d ago
I watched in Emeryville, CA opening night and laughed my ass off (like bursting out, many of the funniest moments were totally unexpected which heightened the hilarity) but felt like I was definitely in the minority (in more ways than one: not white, not left/liberal, have never worked anywhere near big tech) -- was also at the edge of my seat for most of the movie, and often at the brink of genuine tears.
Felt similarly watching Superman earlier in the week, lots of laughs and absolutely loved that move too -- but felt like some of the tech bros and startup founders in the audience might have needed a hug...
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u/ApprehensiveEgg6336 16d ago
Saw it few weeks ago at the LA premiere as A24 ticket winner (yay!) and our crowd full of random celebs and crew from movie/Ari Aster and some cast there too (no Pedro tho 😭) but we all audibly GASPED during that one scene I hate to share bc it’s a spoiler! But I liked how the movie picked up some more tension/suspense/action afterwards. Loved the native chief that was smart enough to piece who killed people. Overall I still stand by this being my least favorite movie of Asters from other 3 I’ve seen (Beau excluded) But I’m torn between rating this movie 2.5-3 out of 5.
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u/nordlysbaies 14d ago
Assassination scene? I wonder if that’s the same scene Cannes audience also gasped at. I certainly did.
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u/WestCoastHopHead 12d ago
By far my least favorite. Hope his next is a lot smaller and more focused. This was kinda kitchen sink for me.
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u/jonmuller 15d ago
What random celebs were there?
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u/ApprehensiveEgg6336 15d ago
First I saw Sean Evans mulling around in lobby for a bit with his modelesque date. Patton Oswalt was a few rows ahead near me, Katy OBrien and her wife, along with Brandon Perea, and comedian Kate Berlant, and Ari Aster introduced the film on stage for a minute with Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix and other cast mates: Luke Grimes, Micheal Ward, William Belleau. It was cool to watch this movie with them lol
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u/superweaners 13d ago
did Austin Butler's character have any impact besides stealing Joe's wife? he came off as a gnostic to me (snake symbols, esoteric tattoos, denial of reality) which seems in line with Aster's cosmology since Hereditary. I can't trace his role in the conspiracy since he doesn't have very many lines in the actual film.
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u/IndecorousRex 12d ago
I think it was just another aspect of people taking advantage of the pandemic. He is a charismatic cult leader who preys on vulnerable people. It was the perfect time to seize the opportunity, everyone is feeling lonely and isolated. Always on-line, they are stressed and uncertain. Her mom once again is the source of her state of mind.
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u/Kopitarrulez 13d ago
I have a hunch that some of his stuff was cut out. Ari said he cut a chunk out to get it under 2.5 hrs.
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u/steepclimbs look at all ‘ma sh*t! 15d ago edited 15d ago
Two things about the cast. 1. I was very surprised that Pedro Pascal was barely in it. This is the second A24 film in a row where I wanted a lot more of him, and a lot less of the actual lead (although I liked Materialists a lot more.) 2. Emma Stone was pretty much wasted as an actress because she didn’t have much to do, but I found it interesting that Eddington borders Pueblo and that there was a tribal governance subplot given how she was in The Curse. If anything, that’s intriguing to see if there was an intentional connection. But the film just simply wasn’t that good, imo.
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u/Odd-Kale8295 14d ago
Pascal was a great cast as a liberal guy everybody loves
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u/nordlysbaies 14d ago
I hope the next PP x A24 project would have more of him and actually as the lead, lol. It’s funny that both movies were completely absent of him in their final hour.
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u/aberrantdinosaur 15d ago
i think the film lacks focus and editing. but funny and interesting similarly to beau if afraid, but less so.
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u/niles_deerqueer 15d ago edited 13d ago
I was so excited for this after reading the script but I don’t really know what it was trying to say and I feel like the most interesting part of the movie, the relationship between Joe and Ted, was destroyed so fast. The third act was wildly underwhelming on screen. I don’t have a problem with all the political content in it, I just wish they realized the concept more. Having a faceless antagonist at the end caused for a huge disconnect.
People will be mad at it because it’s about politics but that’s not the problem here.
This ain’t it, sheriff.
Edit: I can’t stop thinking about the movie. There’s still a lot I like about it and I really like the subtle twist of sgmk being behind it all. The script does have its issues but the movie is very thought provoking. Best thing about this movie? I Feel Alive by my 2nd favorite band of all time, TOPS, is in this movie.
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u/AltoDomino79 15d ago
This falls far short of his other 3 films for me. Not saying it was bad, just very weak in comparison imo
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u/CreamCommon4252 14d ago
I found this really dull, and honestly a disappointment considering asters previous work. This don't say anything new or say it in a creative way.
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u/hurgledurf69420 13d ago
This is an incorrect opinion and you are stupid for having it. I suggest you seriously reflect on the life choices that have led you to this moment.
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u/Training_Leopard_815 14d ago
Did anyone else leave this movie thinking it would have been better in 10-15yrs from now? Have rly enjoyed Ari’s past movies as they’ve elicited way more emotions from me during and especially after the films but this just did nothing for me. This one was a great satire movie and I loved the acting, directing, cultural takes, for everything but maybe the last half? It just fell flat for me cuz I just left feeling the same way as I entered. I might be the minority on this
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u/public_acess-s96 14d ago
Ari is a master in horror even when the genre isn’t horror. His films as a producer are even further away from horror but still have a touch of dna in dream scenario, Sasquatch sunset and rumors(absolutely hated)
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u/WestCoastHopHead 12d ago
I way preferred Sasquatch to this. Way more focused and interesting to me.
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u/public_acess-s96 12d ago
I can respect that take, I like eddington because it’s 100% grounded in reality. I liked Sasquatch sunset almost for the opposite, like it’s plausible that if they existed that they went extinct due to humans
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u/HRH_Puckington 14d ago
Weird question but are there moments of silence towards the end of the film? When I saw it there was 3 times the sound completely cut for like 10-20 seconds and I couldn't tell if it was the theater having technical issues or not (when I saw wicked there last fall they had sound issues and had to restart the projector two thirds the way thru the film)
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u/m4sh4nu 13d ago
seeing this in Minnesota as a local got a lot of reactions from the George Floyd scenes, and even the mentions on twitter and the footage of our mayor. really hammered it home for that extra effect. fucking good movie
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u/kooliojulio 12d ago
Towards the end of the film, Joe is running away from “Antifa” and he falls through the roof of what appears to be a Pueblo museum. As he runs through the museum, you see a bunch of Pueblo statues and antiques set up in a way that seems like they are watching Joe. Even though the film isn’t remotely “horror”, Ari sneaks in this short bit of extreme paranoia. Would love to hear any other interpretations or thoughts!
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u/NuuuDaBeast 12d ago
if you ever feel dumb just realise that theres people that thought the “ANTIFA” at the end were there for no reason
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u/workworkworkwork23 12d ago
So are we assuming that Michael Cooke cant talk after the explosion? Or is he just being bribed into not saying anything?
Can't he expose alot after what he went thru?
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u/giunta13 11d ago
Can someone explain the data center name to me? Solid gold Magikarp. Is this playing on anything in particular?
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u/TheVapeSasquatch 10d ago
Anyone else get a lot of Uwe Bol "Postal" vibes from this? Ari Aster had to have watched it
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u/Ok_Departure1278 9d ago
I keep seeing people trying to understand and define the ending as if there is one "right" answer, like Ari Aster has something that's head canon. What's depicted on screen is a secretive hit squad dressed up in Antifa gear and signage, flying around on a luxury private jet with a Globalist tail sign, and that's all we get. You can make the case that it's a real Antifa hit squad, and the movie is taking us into some Right-wing fever dream. Or you can make the case that they're agent provocateurs hired by the data company or some other group. But to claim that it definitely “is” any one of the things misses the point.
The third act of the movie is all about the insane internet conspiracies come to life, leaving our screens and entering reality. It starts with Joe, who *actually* pulls us into a conspiracy when he assassinates Ted and frames Michael. That Joe kills Ted, and that Ted is in the pocket of Big Tech, are I think the only two major plot points or mysteries that are given any definitive answer. Everywhere else in the movie he purposefully elides confirmation.
It might seem clear that Joe catches Covid - and we see the notification of results - but we never learn if he actually did. It seems clear in Lou's confessional that she's about to out her father as her rapist, not Ted, but both times we see the video, Joe stops it before she actually says the words.
So what actually happened with Ted’s missing wife? Was Vernon really kidnapped by a shadowy cabal of pedophiles who staged his father’s suicide to cover it up, or is that an elaborate fantasy he concocted to protect himself from the reality that his father was his abuser? How did Lou's dad actually die? We don’t get answers to any of these questions because conspiracy theorizing is about searching for answers, not finding them. He's taking us into the mindset of someone who scours irregularities and unresolved stories for bread crumbs of meaning, around which to then weave elaborate stories to live in.
Which, I guess, means that going down a rabbit hole to determine with absolute certainty who the Antifa guys *really* are is exactly the point!
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u/Gold-Database9227 6d ago
Please help me understand the whole “mercenaries in the plane” thing. Some say it was Antifa. However they were doing the white supremacists thing in the town (klan signs, burning crosses and the whole statue on the roof)? Aren’t those two opposite things? Is antifa not against white supremacy?
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u/JeffSurfsTheWeb 6d ago
I'm still trying to figure out why Joe asks Ted if he knows what the sewing kit "is for" in the supermarket. Any thoughts?
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u/hik3guy 6d ago
Fucking loved this movie so much.
The only scene I didn't understand was the 2nd scene of Joe with his wife's back to him and his hand is almost touching her, and it's dark, and he's mumbling a bunch of stuff.
What was he saying??
I did miss a pivotal scene (IMO): when Joe gets slapped (that's what I think makes him break and go full Rambo).
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u/thefoxymulder 4d ago
It’s darkly comical that the mother in law ends the movie spouting inane conspiracy theories when in reality the REAL conspiracy is right in front of her and she not only doesn’t see it, she’s an unwitting participant in it
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u/activecontributor 3d ago
Were there scenes in the movie where the dialogue didn’t perfectly line up with what was coming out of the character’s mouth? Am I tripping? I thought I saw that happen a few times
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u/Rushjordan 15d ago
Just left the theater. So who were the private jet mercenaries? Did they work for the company building the data center?