Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone's movie Eddington captures the chaos of 2020

After Eddington premiered at Cannes, director Ari Aster and the cast came together to talk about how the film connects to America’s political and social issues. The story takes place in a small town in New Mexico during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The movie isn’t just about the town's struggles; it also explores how truth has broken apart and how Americans have lost a sense of shared reality.

At the press conference after the premiere, Aster described the film as a way to show the shared worries and broken parts of today’s culture. He focused on how growing hyper-individualism and social divides in the country shape the film’s mood.

“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 revealed about the themes in Eddington. “The last 20 years, we’ve fallen into this age of hyper individualism… I wanted to make a film about what America feels like at that time, and it felt bad. I’m very worried. We need to re-engage with each other. That’s the only hope.”

“We’re on a dangerous road, and I feel like we’re living through an experiment that’s gone wrong,” he continued. “It feels like there’s no way out… I think people feel very powerless and very fearful.”

The cast members, including Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Michael Ward, and Luke Grimes, shared similar thoughts. They admired how Aster captured ideas people found hard to understand during the pandemic. Phoenix and Pascal highlighted how the film conveys uneasiness that feels both personal and reflective of the nation.

Pedro Pascal and Emma Stone confront fear and digital disinformation through eddington

Pascal called Aster an internal observer, someone who understood American problems from the inside instead of criticizing as an outsider. The actor looked back at his life as an immigrant. He talked about feeling both thankful for finding refuge and uneasy about the rise of xenophobia in politics. Though careful not to comment on policies, Pascal admitted having a personal connection to the film’s themes about safety, fear, and belonging.

During the press event, the conversation shifted to bigger worries among artists. A journalist asked about the risks creators face when speaking out. Pascal replied by saying fear serves as a way to silence, which got applause from the room. His words pointed out the conflict between the freedom to express and being cautious in today’s world.

Emma Stone shared her thoughts about how algorithms can feel unsettling and how the internet spreads fear and false information. While working on Eddington, she came across disturbing online material she wouldn’t have seen otherwise. This, she said, highlighted how the line between what’s fictional and what’s real online is becoming harder to tell for many people.

Eddington didn’t get a big response when it first came out, but it might push viewers to think a lot about its themes. Instead of delivering a flashy, action-filled movie, the film seems to reflect the struggles of a nation in distress. At Cannes, Aster explained his intent wasn’t to provide clear answers. Instead, he wanted to create a chance to reckon with tough topics—a message that could stick with audiences even.