Stay_away_from_the_Metropol

The whole time, I was thinking, it's like The Florida Project in the U. K., but rolled up with like, L. I. E., and American Honey (having no idea that this was the debut film by the same woman who directed American Honey). All fantastic films, and this one is just as good - perhaps even better than one or two of those provocative coming-of-age indie classics.

My girlfriend and I were looking over the New York Times' recent "Top 100 Films of the 21st Century" list, and this was the only movie I hadn't heard of on it. Upon seeing one screenshot and reading the synopsis, I was immediately sold, and we dove in.

My most standout thought upon watching this is, I can't believe there's yet ANOTHER utterly heavy and devastating film I wasn't aware of under the umbrella of maestro Michael Fassbender's breakthrough years, between 2008 and 2011. Between HUNGER in 2008, in which we watch him starve himself to death and smear his own feces all over his prison cell day after day, EDEN LAKE in 2009 in which his wife and himself are tortured by English teenage hooligans whilst on a nightmare camping trip, and SHAME in 2011, where he plays the most severe sex addict I've ever seen portrayed in a movie, this man was on an absolute ROLL in helping to make some of the heaviest movies of this century precisely that. I will simply say that his role in this film is a BRAVE one to take on, and it's also immensely complex. The nuance in his charming-to-demonic pipeline is wild.

Fassbender aside, this actual teenager and complete non-actor Katie Jarvis, who was apparently observed while on a train with her boyfriend by the film's director, then asked if she would be interested in starring in this movie, absolutely annihilates the game here - god-tier portrayal of a troubled teen with her sights set solely on getting herself into the biggest mess she can find. Sometimes casting a non-actor is the absolute move, and this is one of those cases. The film feels so raw and real it's nuts.

This one's riveting all the way through. And it's also very unpleasant. Certain things go much further than I expected them to, much further than you often see in a film with these types of themes. It has a British edge that I think may have been delivered differently if this were an American film. The progression of the plot is familiar enough to keep you hooked but full of enough unexpected branch-offs that it'll keep you on the edge of your seat - these people are not conditioned to make good decisions. None of them.

This movie is really intense, and it's definitely not for kids, but it might serve as a good cautionary tale for girls who are about the same age as the lead (15-17). It's full of a lot of really heavy and disturbing content, but it's also really really funny. Her little sister is a riot, and though the family's relationship is entirely dysfunctional, there's also so much in this movie that is incredibly endearing. I'm a huge fan of American Honey, but this movie is even better. If you are a fan of heavy or bleak coming-of-age tales, this one is a must-see.

Well, that's 4 for 4. I think it's safe to say Ari Aster is one of the finest filmmakers of this century. After quickly becoming one of the most celebrated new horror directors (and rightfully so), his bold, brave, and abrupt shift into dark, satirical comedy is beyond admirable. While his two horror gems, Midsommar and Hereditary, were two saving graces amidst an otherwise stale sub-genre of film, he's now shifted into becoming a proven visionary capable of keeping us on his toes with each move..."What is Ari Aster going to do next?"

Eddington was brilliant, which ain't no surprise. It's easily Aster's most disciplined film thus far, without losing any of his dark wit or luster. It's definitely his film that has the most to say. While his other 3 films felt like immensely personal stories, having more sentimental relevance, Eddington focuses more on archetypes, each representing one of us, and of course, making us all out to be idiots. Since Eddington is a reflection of us, it is easily Aster's most relatable film. It's also the FIRST major motion picture to effectively encapsulate the social climate we've all been struggling to navigate through for nearly a decade now, a climate which the 2020 pandemic only made more extreme, expediting all the elements we were hoping would disappear altogether.

Somehow, with a pretty traditional pace, Eddington shines a light on how screwed we have all become. It is no one's fault, and all of our faults, at the same time. For most of the haul, it's a relatively slow burn, though it's never dull - it's sly, smart, rich with satire, and intriguing all the way through. While we have our "main" characters, the small characters are of almost equal importance in the large scheme of things - a teenage activist named Bryan played by a no-name kid unsuspectingly manages to sneak his way into becoming the most memorable character in the entire film, well, maybe with the exception of maestro Phoenix's lead Sheriff Joe Cross, of course. Phoenix's performance is as complex and nuanced as usual - truly one of my favorite actors.

In the final half hour, Aster does shift the gears and takes the viewer on an eerier journey brimming with tension, proving even more thought-provoking than the prior. It was conjuring "edge of your seat" effectively. Though it never goes as bonkers as Beau Is Afraid (truly one of the most psychotic films ever made), it does share a similar sense of humor, and a couple more parallels. It's definitely one of those movies that left my girlfriend and I with a lot to discuss when it was over, and we both loved it.

I can't think of another successful contemporary American filmmaker who would have the gall to do what Aster has done here. It is the first true reflection of the era we are living through, in film format, and I think that is film still has any relevance at all 30-40 years from now, this film will recognized for that. We're all going to be like "Jesus christ, I cannot believe we lived through that".

People were like "It's Goodfellas in Vegas", and for the most part, they were right. But, Goodfellas is a lot better. Sorry, Casino heads.

Greatest strength here is, as is the case with many of Scorsese's finest 2.5+ hour features (Goodfellas and Wolf of Wall Street come to mind first), it never feels slow for a second. It has an electrically entertaining pace ALL THE WAY THROUGH. It never stops moving. Music choices are fun - I wasn't expecting so much Devo. It's pretty cool just how much screen time they give Joe Pesci. Like, he's pretty much the main character once you really get into this. And Pesci is a legend - he deserved that. In the first half, I was like, "wow they really aren't utilizing Sharon Stone's potential very much, are they?", then I got to the final hour and I was like "OH OK, THERE SHE GOES". What a legend, as well. It's just too bad they have her in that atrocious wig by the time she starts going guano. If they had her going maniacal looking the way she did in the first half of the movie, there would be a lot more people using her screaming face as iconography nowadays the way everyone is doing with Isabelle Adjani.

Considering how epic the movie is otherwise, it's kind of interesting how much it kind of feels like the movie just trails off and fizzles out into a sudden end credits when it's over. And, I can't believe nothing else happened with James Woods after the first half. I truly, truly thought some sort of insane finale focused on James Woods' character was going to be the kicker, but he really just kind of vanished from the entire film after the first half.

Goodfellas is better because it's more tightly knit and it has more memorable characters. This trifecta is fantastic, but with a 3 hour runtime, I think this could have really excelled as more of an ensemble piece. That aside, this is a really great movie - pure cinematic entertainment, and I really wish they were still making movies like this.