Martin Scorsese Loves Ari Aster’s Most Polarizing Movie Against All Odds

Even though he might not be bringing another movie to the screens in the upcoming couple of years, Martin Scorsese doesn’t waste much time after a dramatic script loss in Seth Rogen’s The Studio, offering some praise for an idol of his own.

Adored by lots of renowned directors and newcomers in the industry, Scorsese himself has been a huge fan of Midsommar’s Ari Aster for quite a long time, and this is one of the reasons why he is ready to debate critics who slammed Aster’s recent release Eddington.

Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal, the movie has been labeled as its director’s most divisive work yet; however, Scorsese thinks those critics just don’t like to see the truth exposed.

Martin Scorsese Praises “Emotional Violence” in ‘Eddington’

Also featuring Emma Stone and Austin Butler in the leading roles, Eddington was seen as Aster’s own critics of political and social turmoil happening in the midst of 2020’s COVID pandemic.

While many critics were left confused by the movie’s attempts to address numerous painful issues at a time, Scorsese has recently suggested that this is actually the whole point of Eddington.

“Eddington dives right into the side of American life that many people can’t bear to look at or even acknowledge — no one wants to listen to anyone else, which is frightening”, the director explained in Ari Aster’s profile for The New York Times, also adding that the movie’s brutal view of the narrative “externalizes the emotional violence” hiding behind the characters’ false intentions.

What Critics Are Saying About ‘Eddington’

• On Rotten Tomatoes, Eddington has a score of 67% from critics

Though it’s yet to see what the viewers will say about Ari Aster’s most controversial movie so far, the critics have been divided about it ever since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Despite the leading cast getting all the praise, Ari Aster’s writing was slammed, with many pointing out the director’s incoherence in the political narrative.

“America undoubtedly needs serious artists to explore the brain worms that the pandemic era gave the body politic, but Eddington most definitely ain’t it”, Austin Chronicle’s Richard Whittaker wrote.

Others, however, weren’t that much concerned about the political issue, seeing Eddington more as a fun way to reflect on the pandemic’s tough times.

“Whatever side of the political fence you're on, Eddington should keep you entertained right up to its blood-soaked, irony-drenched end”, Newsday’s Rafer Guzman added.

Eddington hits the US theatres on July 18.