Cannes: Joaquin Phoenix's 'Eddington' receives standing ovation, but divides critics
What's the story
The Hollywood film Eddington, featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal as the main leads, with Emma Stone as part of the ensemble cast, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.
It received a five-minute standing ovation that moved a visibly overwhelmed Phoenix to tears.
However, despite the applause at the festival, the Ari Aster directorial has completely divided critics.
The film currently holds a score of 61% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Positive reviews
'Eddington' praised for its satirical take and digital commentary
Indiewire lauded Eddington for "capturing the day-to-day extent to which our digital future has stripped people of their ability to self-identify their own truths."
Variety also appreciated the film, noting, "Eddington, while not a comedy, showcases an angry, sinister, and maybe crazy new America that it views with a deadpan tone of trepidatious glee."
Next Best Picture remarked that the film "captures the surreal chaos of America during the pandemic with haunting clarity and a tragicomic sharpness that cuts deep."
Negative reviews
'Eddington' criticized for lack of coherence
On the other hand, The Financial Times criticized Eddington, saying it "boils down to is a big-screen amplification of a billion 'WTF is going on?!' posts rather than any kind of coherent response to them."
The Hollywood Reporter commented, "It's bloated, self-indulgent, rambling, crazily ambitious and commendably odd, but so overstuffed it becomes a lethal combination of baffling and boring."
Film details
'Eddington' features star-studded cast and unique plot
Eddington features a star-studded cast, including Austin Butler, Deirdre O'Connell, Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, and Amelie Hoeferle.
The synopsis says, "In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico."
A24 will release the film in US theaters on July 18, 2025.