Eddington Director Ari Aster Gave Joaquin Phoenix An Indirect Note That Changed His Character

One of the perks that can come with any relationship, be it romantic, platonic, or professional, is the development of a shorthand form of communication. Instead of having to explain yourself at length as you do with any stranger, this shorthand can make communication faster, clearer, or simply resonate on an even deeper level than just something verbal. This type of relationship is especially useful when making art, because it allows collaborators to get on the same page with a minimum of fuss. Even more than things like mutual respect, similar interests, and genuine enjoyment of one another’s company, this aspect of a steady working relationship is a big reason why so many actors and directors like to pair up. From Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro to Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy, these pairings can allow filmmakers and actors to do some really deep, insightful work together.

With the release of “Eddington,” it seems that writer/director Ari Aster has found a recurring muse at last in the form of actor Joaquin Phoenix, who was the star of Aster’s prior feature, “Beau is Afraid,” and is also the lead of “Eddington.” This choice is more notable once you realize that Aster hasn’t worked with any of the same actors twice, and although “Eddington” is only his fourth feature, that’s still a bit unusual. Then again, Aster’s work has become famous for being unusual, so perhaps his inviting Phoenix back isn’t necessarily the beginning of a long partnership. Whatever the case, it seems that Aster and Phoenix have indeed developed a shorthand, according to Phoenix himself. During a recent roundtable interview, the actor revealed some of his process behind building his “Eddington” character, Joe Cross, including the indirect note that Aster gave him during filming which essentially unlocked Joe for the actor in a major way.

“Eddington” is more than just another surreal Ari Aster freakout thriller. It’s a neo-Western look back at the strife of 2020, with Phoenix’s small town sheriff Joe caught in the middle when he unwisely decides to embark on a mayoral campaign. Elements of gritty, real American history blur together with satire, myth, and surrealism, a potent mixture that doesn’t lend itself to a straightforward or obvious approach. Thus, the collaboration between Aster and Phoenix began almost as soon as the script for “Eddington” came to be. During this time, both the director and actor were struggling to nail down Joe’s character, even down to the way he spoke, as Phoenix explained during the roundtable:

“This one, we had started working together and reading through the script a year in advance. And so, we’d been through so many discussions about how Joe was going to talk, because the very first thing for me was when I was reading this script, I just heard this voice. And then we got together, Ari and I, I was like, ‘I heard this voice.’ He was like, ‘Well, what is it?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know how to do it. I don’t know how to physically bring it out. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I just heard it in my head.’ And so, we just kept talking and occasionally I would try things. And we spoke to this dialect coach and we’re like, ‘We’re not doing a movie with a dialect coach. What are we doing?’ It was just really trying to figure out who he is.”

Despite Aster and Phoenix’s talents, finding the character of Joe proved problematic enough that it nearly derailed a day of shooting pre-taped material for the film. Phoenix continued:

“But I remember this moment on set, it was our first official day of shooting. And we’d already shot a scene that wasn’t like officially [the film], it was the news conference. And I was really struggling. I was really nervous. And I felt like there was something that was missing from the scene, and I couldn’t identify what it was exactly. I just knew that it had to do with acknowledging … It’s right after I make the announcement to be mayor and I need to acknowledge it somehow. And I remember it was super uncomfortable because we were running out of time and we had to go to lunch and we’d already burnt an hour. We didn’t have anything yet. And so I was really nervous.”

While having a bumpy first day of shooting isn’t too uncommon, it would make sense that Phoenix and Aster would find it unsettling when embarking on an ambitious movie like “Eddington.” Fortunately, the strength of their working partnership forged on “Beau is Afraid” came through, allowing Aster to give Phoenix a note that was little more than a gesture, and it was enough to help Phoenix construct the entire character from there. In fact, it wasn’t even a direct note, as Aster was simply performing Joe’s lines alongside Phoenix in order to help both of them figure the character out. As Phoenix explained:

“So, I’m standing in front of the chalkboard, and I’m practicing my lines. And then Ari is standing next to me and he’s going through the lines at the same time. We’re both standing side by side with it. And Ari takes on the feelings. He doesn’t separate from the character. And so he’s doing it. And I just feel him. And there’s a point where he just made this gesture, where he put up his hands, as kind of like, ‘I’m sorry.’ I don’t know. And then as he just was talking and s**t, I just was like, ‘Oh, that gesture. That’s it. That’s Joe.’ Joe’s always in this state of putting up his hand, trying to stop the world, trying to stop the thing that’s happening. Everything is falling. He’s losing grasp of his relationship and this idea of himself and what it is to be a man and to be an American and to be a man of power in this time, and it’s all slipping away from me. And he’s just constantly just trying to put up his hands, going like, ‘No, stop. It’s going to be okay.’ And it was like this moment that just unlocked it for me, at least for that scene, it gave me some clarity.”

From there, Aster and Phoenix could really dive into Joe and “Eddington,” tackling the movie’s skewed ensemble of characters and situations with a better footing. It’s the kind of work that comes from artists who have experience with and knowledge of each other; as Phoenix put it, the duo “were less cordial” when making “Eddington” because Aster is now “armed fully with the information” about how the actor works. Who knows if Aster and Phoenix will work together for a third time in the future, but when the results are as singular and compelling as those of “Beau is Afraid” and “Eddington,” it’d be a crime if they didn’t.

“Eddington” is now playing in theaters.