Joaquin Phoenix couldn't figure out his Eddington character, Joe Cross, until director Ari Aster did something that inadvertently unlocked the role for him.

If you look up and revisit the list of names mentioned in the first paragraph, I think it’s fair to say that he is regularly successful in looking for filmmakers with unique vision. There are a lot of auteurs who have successfully made movies that are instantly identifiable via their special signatures and flairs.

A New Mexico sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and the town mayor (Pedro Pascal) butt heads in the early days of COVID in Ari Aster's Western "Eddington."

Ari Aster’s Eddington is a unique take that will hold your attention and give you some stuff to think about, but probably bit off more than it had to.

Travis Hopsin of Punch Drunk Critics says the fear surrounding the pandemic, Black Lives Matter and the George Floyd protests that’s depicted in Eddington is “designed to enrage us,” but the most terrifying part of Ari Aster’s film is how accurate it is. The critic says:

O ne of the best things that can be said about Ari Aster is that he is a filmmaker whose work is impossible to forget. Even during a renaissance period for the horror genre, Aster’s work on Hereditary and Midsommar stood out for their visceral,

Joaquin Phoenix breaks down his performance as Joe in Eddington and reveals why he wants to keep working with Ari Aster.

Heredity” and “Midsommar” director Ari Aster takes on contemporary America in “Eddington,” in theaters Friday.