Eddington Movie Review (2025)

A movie that is just as confused by itself as you will be, Eddington has an excellent cast and nice cinematography, but no clear story structure or focus.

When I go into a movie that is over two hours, I always hope that it’s worth my time. Many films need that much space to flesh out their thoughts and climb to their full heights, but sometimes you get a real dud. (Between this and Napoleon, I’m not super thankful here, Joaquin Phoenix!)

Eddington is generally about the small town of Eddington, New Mexico where a sheriff is navigating the beginnings of covid restrictions. There is a mayor that he has issues with and a troubled wife that stays at home creating art.

I do not even know where to start with this movie. I cannot fully tell you what it is about because it is about so many topics that it never comes to a point. It touches on covid, sexual abuse, conspiracy theories, marital issues, Black Lives Matter, Indigenous land rights, and the chaos of the mind and world… but you truly never know where it is going.

Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Micheal Ward, Luke Grimes, and Emma Stone star, and they do a great job in their respective roles. There are some beautiful single shots that follow Joaquin Phoenix for a full minute or longer and various other cinematographic feats.

This is a very long 2 ½ hours. For the first two acts, I was fairly interested, waiting for the story to somehow come together, and appreciating the visuals. In the last hour or so, I wavered between being bored, wondering how this could possibly meld into a point, and actively waiting for it to be over.

I am not exaggerating when I say that the second the movie ended, I started laughing. I was not the only one in the theater laughing. We were not laughing because the movie was so funny (although there are some very ridiculous and sardonic moments that are amusing), but because we were each having a, “WTAF did I just watch??” moment.

I did not like Eddington (although I respect some of the technical qualities) and I highly suggest that you don’t waste your time on it. If it intrigues you, be sure to watch it in the movie theater, where I suspect you will have the most enjoyable experience. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and pass.

Runtime: 145 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: R

Languages Spoken In The Film: English

Should You Watch It? No

Did I Cry? Nope

My Rating: 2.25/5 Stars

Available: Free on Hulu and Max, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms