Ari Aster's 'Eddington,' about America losing its mind in 2020, finds a mixed reception at Cannes

CANNES, France (AP) — Ari Aster's COVID-era Western “Eddington,” about a 2020 America quickly losing its mind to conspiracy theories, TikTok and political extremism, premiered to a mixed reception at the Cannes Film Festival.

“Eddington,” starring Joaquin Phoenix as a muddled, mistake-prone sheriff who runs for mayor in a fictional New Mexico town, was among the most feverishly awaited American films at Cannes. It marks the first time in competition at the French festival for Aster, the lauded director of “Hereditary,” “Midsommar” and “Beau Is Afraid.”

It's also his most politically ambitious film.

“Eddington,” which A24 will release in July, plunges into the U.S. pandemic psyche, plotting a small-town feud that swells to encompass nationwide events, including mask mandates, the death of George Floyd and right-left divisions.

As a microcosm portrait of the United States, it's a hardly a more peaceful affair than “Midsommar.” When Joe Cross (Phoenix) tires of the mask ordinances of the town's mayor (Pedro Pascal), he decides to oppose him in the upcoming election.

Other pressures on Cross — Emma Stone plays his shut-in wife, who has a history with the mayor — gradually increase, driving “Eddington” toward a surreal and bloody eruption.

In Aster's dark satire, both MAGA Republicans and elitist Democrats get skewered, but the new, ominous data center just outside of town suggests a common social poison in the internet.

“Eddington,” predictably, proved divisive at Cannes. Some critics hailed it as an eerily accurate film about contemporary America, while others called it a tedious and wayward rumination.

After a not particularly enthusiastic stranding ovation, Aster himself seemed both proud and apologetic for what he had wrought.

“I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what you think,” he said, smiling. Aster added: “I don’t know, sorry?”

On Saturday, Aster and the cast faced questions from journalists at a news conference that inevitably focused on how much the filmmakers felt “Eddington” was an accurate reflection of current times.

“I wrote this film in a state of fear and anxiety about the world, and I wanted to try to pull back and show what it feels like to live in a world where nobody can agree on what is real anymore,” Aster said. “The last 20 years, we’ve fallen into this age of hyper individualism."

“We’re on a dangerous road, and I feel like we’re living through an experiment that’s gone wrong,” Aster added. “I think people feel very powerless and very fearful.”

Pascal compared his director to a “mole” or “whistleblower” — “someone on the inside being like, ‘This is what’s happening.'”

Pascal, when asked about recent deportations in the U.S., was reluctant to speak. “It’s obviously very scary for an actor who participated in the movie to speak on issues like this."

“I want people to be safe and to be protected and I want very much to live on the right side of history. And I’m an immigrant," added Pascal. “My parents are refugees from Chile. I, myself, was a refugee. We fled a dictatorship, and I was privileged enough to grow up in the U.S.”

“If it weren’t for that, I don’t know what would have happened to us,” he said. "I stand by those protections always.”

Jake Coyle has covered the Cannes Film Festival since 2012. He’s seeing approximately 40 films at this year’s festival and reporting on what stands out.

For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.

Joaquin Phoenix poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Pedro Pascal poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Emma Stone, from left, Pedro Pascal, director Ari Aster, Joaquin Phoenix and Austin Butler pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Joaquin Phoenix, from left, director Ari Aster and Pedro Pascal pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Pedro Pascal pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Pedro Pascal, from left, director Ari Aster and Joaquin Phoenix pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Joaquin Phoenix poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Emma Stone poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Austin Butler, from left, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal and Clifton Collins Jr. poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Austin Butler, from left, Emma Stone and Austin Butler pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Pedro Pascal, from left, director Ari Aster and Joaquin Phoenix pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Angelina Jolie poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Angelina Jolie poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Angelina Jolie poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Austin Butler poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Natalie Portman poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Clifton Collins Jr., from left, Joaquin Phoenix, director Ari Aster, Austin Butler, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal, Luke Grimes, producer Lars Knudsen, Micheal Ward, Amelie Hoeferle, Matt Gomez Hidaka and Cameron Mann pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Austin Butler, from left, Emma Stone, Pedro Pascal and Clifton Collins Jr. poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Natalie Portman poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Angelina Jolie poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Joaquin Phoenix poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Cameron Mann, from left, Amelie Hoeferle, Micheal Ward, director Ari Aster, Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Austin Butler and Clifton Collins Jr. pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Joaquin Phoenix, left, and Pedro Pascal pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Micheal Ward, from left, Joaquin Phoenix and director Ari Aster pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Lewis Joly/Invision/AP)

Austin Butler, from left, Emma Stone and Austin Butler pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Emma Stone, from left, Austin Butler, director Ari Aster, Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Eddington' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 16, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

BOSTON (AP) — Victor Wembanyama scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half, including a game-sealing jumper with 19.2 seconds left, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics 100-95 on Saturday night.

De’Aaron Fox also finished with 21 points for the Spurs and Keldon Johnson added 18 points and 10 rebounds. San Antonio won its second straight after losing two in a row.

Derrick White led Boston with 29 points and Jaylen Brown had 27. The Celtics lost for just the third time in 12 games.

The game was tied at 84 before Baylor Scheierman’s corner 3-pointer pushed Boston ahead with just under seven minutes left. White followed with a driving basket before the Spurs went on a 9-2 spree, taking a 93-91 lead on Johnson’s 3-pointer with 2:14 left.

After Brown’s layup tied it, Wembanyama’s fadeaway jumper pushed San Antonio back in front with 1:33 to go.

Brown was then stripped of the ball near midcourt by Fox, and Julian Champagnie converted a putback of his own miss to make it 97-93 with 41 seconds left.

Wembanyama’s left-wing jumper made it 99-95.

Playing his third straight game after missing a pair with a sore knee, Wembanyama didn’t score his first points until hitting a 3 from the top midway into the second quarter.

But he got going in the second half, scoring nine consecutive points for San Antonio midway into the third quarter, bringing the Spurs back from a nine-point deficit to tie it on his three-point play.

CAVALIERS 146, TIMBERWOLVES 134

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers took control in the second half for a victory over Minnesota on that snapped the Timberwolves’ four-game winning streak.

Mitchell also had four 3-pointers as the Cavaliers had five players score at least 20 points. Evan Mobley had 24 points, Jaylon Tyson scored 23 off the bench and Darius Garland added 22.

Sam Merrill had 20 points and set a franchise record with at least five 3-pointers in four straight games.

The 146 points are the fourth most the Cavaliers have scored in a regulation game. They scored 148 in a 33-point victory over Washington on Nov. 7.

PACERS 123, HEAT 99

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Nembhard had 29 points and nine assists, Aaron Nesmith added 12 points and nine rebounds before an early exit and Indiana routed Miami.

Indiana matched its longest winning streak of the season with a rare second straight victory, this time taking the easy route. The Pacers never trailed and held a double-digit lead for most of the game. The Pacers made 17 3-pointers, one short of their season high, with Nembhard matching his season best with four.

Backup Micah Potter made four 3s and finished with 14 points. Jarace Walker had 13 points.

Tyler Herro had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists on a night Miami shot just 39.1% from the field. Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 16 points, and Bam Adebayo had 13 points and nine rebounds. Miami has lost three of its last four and missed its first 11 3s on Saturday.

The game tipped less than 24 hours after another Miami-Indiana contest was set up in college football’s national championship game. And just like Friday night’s Hoosiers victory over Oregon, the Pacers wasted no time setting the tone — or running out to a big lead.

They used first-quarter runs of 12-2 and 9-0 to build an early 28-12 cushion. Miami trailed 36-18 entering the second quarter.

CLIPPERS 98, PISTONS 92

DETROIT (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and John Collins added 25 as Los Angeles rallied to beat short-handed Detroit.

The Clippers trailed by 19 points in the first half and 14 in the fourth quarter before finishing the game on a 28-8 run. Detroit turned the ball over 12 times in the quarter.

James Harden added 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles, which has won nine of 11.

The Pistons played without Cade Cunningham (wrist), Isaiah Stewart (illness), Tobias Harris (hip) and Jalen Duren (ankle). That left Detroit without its top three scorers, three of their top four rebounders and their top three shot blockers. Cunningham also has 321 assists — the only player who entered Saturday’s action with more than 100.

Duncan Robinson scored 20 points, but took just one shot in the second half. Ron Holland II scored 16 and Tolu Smith added nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

BULLS 125, MAVERICKS 107

CHICAGO (AP) — Coby White scored 22 points, Ayo Dosunmu had 20 and Chicago beat Dallas to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Bulls put seven players in double figures, outscored the Mavericks 38-8 in fast-break points and never trailed. Nikola Vucevic and Matas Buzelis each added 15 points as Chicago shot 51.5% from the field.

The Mavericks began the game without the injured Anthony Davis and lost coach Jason Kidd midway through the first quarter of it after he was ejected for arguing with referee Scott Foster.

Ryan Nembhard had 16 points and six assists for the Mavericks. Rookie star Cooper Flagg finished with just 11 points and one rebound, shooting 4 for 13.

Dallas lost its second straight after winning two in a row. Davis sustained ligament damage in his left hand in the Mavericks’ loss to Utah on Thursday.

HORNETS 150, JAZZ 95

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Brandon Miller scored 18 points, LaMelo Ball had 17 and Charlotte built a 47-point lead in the first half of a rout against Utah.

The Hornets bounced back from a pair of frustrating losses in a big way, having fallen to Toronto by one point and Indiana by two in their last two games. Charlotte pounded the NBA champion Thunder by 27 in Oklahoma City before those defeats, previously the Hornets’ largest victory of the season.

Tre Mann led the Hornets with 20 points in 12 minutes off the bench. Miles Bridges and Collin Sexton each scored 15 in a game Charlotte led by 57 in the second half.

Ryan Kalbrenner and Grant Williams returned from injuries for Charlotte, which outscored Utah by 45 points behind the 3-point line in the first half. The Hornets were 16 for 36 while the Jazz hit one of their 12 attempts.

Brice Sensabaugh scored 26 points for the Jazz, who rested leading scorer Lauri Markkanen and were without injured starting center Jusuf Nurkic.

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) grabs a defensive rebound against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)