A visionary portrait of our collective fears and phobias, or a veiled adaptation of Grand Theft Auto. Choose wisely. Ari Aster straps in his rocket ship and rewinds to 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic grips the fictional town of Eddington, New Mexico. The lockdown coincides with upcoming elections and a spiralling power struggle between incumbent mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) and sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix). Garcia takes the virus seriously and insists on mask mandates. Cross, a modern-day cowboy, refuses to tolerate what he sees as an assault on personal freedom and a fuel for mass hysteria. Especially with a new server farm project looming; for the sheriff, the real virus is the internet. In the age of TikTok and digital disinformation, Aster’s latest film feels like an auteur translation of the degenerate streamer aesthetic, thanks in large part to Darius Khondji’s masterful cinematography. Eddington is not just a manic COVID satire but a full-throttle take on conspiracy theories, cults, Trump-era fallout, America’s deep divisions, wokeness, and gun culture. Think Don’t Look Up for the post-reality generation — where a Reddit bot is now wolf to man.