The next movie on the list, now seen across the HBO channels and on HBO Max, is Ari Aster’s EDDINGTON. Aster, noted writer/director for horror films Hereditary (2018) and Midsommar (2019), followed by the surrealist flick Beau Is Afraid (2023) with Joaquin Phoenix. He has now reteamed with Phoenix to present this 2025. modern Western/black comedy. 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, caused by the contested mayoral election fought between the county sheriff and the town’s mayor. The film debuted on May 16, 2025, in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was released in theaters on July 18 and arrived on HBOMax on November 14, 2025, and on HBO the next night, as its Saturday Night Movie Presentation.
Phoenix is Joe Cross, Eddington’s sheriff and a mayoral candidate. Pedro Pascal (THE LAST OF US) is Ted Garcia, Eddington’s incumbent mayor, who is running for re-election. Emma Stone (La La Land) plays Louise Cross, Joe’s wife. Disagreements regarding the pandemic lockdown policies in place in Eddington, New Mexico, flare up between Cross and Garcia. That negativity shared airspace, as it did in 2020, with Black Lives Matter protests, and swirling conspiracy theories that just caused these two and the whole town to boil over.
It serves as a microcosm of the mindset of the time and how they might or might not work their way through it. Though it might not have met its budgetary expenses, Eddington did receive some acclaim. More on that after the trailer.
It seems to be one of those movies that you either love for its shining cast list or hate for its offbeat tone. Hey, it is an A24 film, so of course it is offbeat! However, many didn’t like it because it didn’t stick to something concrete. The Toronto Star wrote, “It’s a satire without laughs. A fright movie without jump scares. A western without an obvious villain. A social commentary minus a moral compass.” The Times (UK) chimed in with, “The film seems unsure of what it wants to say, if anything, about its central subject. Aster pores over the quirks and waymarks of the pandemic but leaves the actual business of drama and character notably undernourished.” Uh, we were a shell of humanity at that time, so how can that tone not be applicable to the times and the movie? Weigh in for yourself by watching EDDINGTON. Please note that Aster has announced that a sequel is currently in development.
