Ready for some drama? We’re about to talk politics on Deco. Don’t change the channel; it’s movie-related. Deco’s Alex Miranda, who was voted most likely to bring up his cat in every conversation by the Deco staff, is here.
I was also voted most likely to finish the office snacks … and that remains to be true. “Eddington” takes us back five years to 2020, which both feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago at the same time.
Joaquin Phoenix (as Joe Cross): “I am recording this. Fair warning.”
Pedro Pascal (as Ted Garcia): “That really necessary? Look, Joe…”
[Ted starts walking toward Jow, but Joe motions him to stop.]
Joaquin Phoenix (as Joe Cross): “: “Six feet.”
Talk about a blast from the recent past.
Joaquin Phoenix (as Joe Cross): “How did we get here? And even worse, is it worth it? At the cost of being at war with your neighbors?”
Tensions are running high in the new dark comedy/Western “Eddington.”
Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix play political rivals who are running against each other in a mayoral race … and, to make things even messier, it’s all going down at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Joaquin Phoenix: “We all were going through these things together. We were all terrified, and we didn’t fully understand it. And instead of kind of like reaching out to each other in those moments and going like, ‘Hey, I’m scared. are you scared, too? Yeah, OK, cool,’ we kind of like became antagonistic towards each other.”
The film touches on all kinds of hot topics, like protests and conspiracies. Controversial, sure, but Joaquin says tackling these things and revisiting this time period in the movie allowed him to reflect on the past.
Joaquin Phoenix: “It allowed me to feel connected to people that I might not have felt a connection to prior to that. To empathize with and to understand and to, like, forgive everybody and forgive myself.”
“Eddington” reunited Joaquin with his “Beau Is Afraid” director Ari Aster. He had a clear vision of what he wanted this movie to be.
Ari Aster: “I wanted to make a film that, you know, functioned as a genre film. It’s a Western. It kind of becomes an action movie at the end.”
The cast is rounded out by some pretty big names, who jumped at the chance to work with Ari.
Pedro Pascal: “Reading the script, I was like, ‘You son of a [expletive]. The guy that put me through ‘Hereditary’ and ‘Midsommar.’ I was in heaven.”
Austin Butler: “It was one of those experiences I knew I had to be a part of immediately.”
Luke Grimes: I think he’s the greatest director of our generation.”
Emma Stone: “I love his writing so much, and Ari has a deep talent for turning things on their head.”
Joaquin definitely agrees.
Joaquin Phoenix: “I just appreciate him, and I instantly, like, the way that he talks about the world, his observations, his humor, I get it. Like, he doesn’t have to explain it to me.”
[Ted slaps Joe.]
Pedro Pascal (as Ted Garcia): “We are in a fight against evil.”
[Ted slaps Joe again.]
“Eddington” hits theaters July 18.