The director’s latest is a none-too-subtle depiction of Covid hysteria, racial justice protests, isolation, and the rottenness of social media—and how they combine to rip apart the fabric of a small town.

Technically, Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), the sheriff of Eddington, New Mexico, has not actually been diagnosed, at least not to his face. Over the course of the movie’s second half, we see him accumulate symptoms,

The ‘Midsommar’ director enlists Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone and Pedro Pascal for his lacerating dark comedy set in small-town New Mexico during the Covid-19 pandemic, in May 2020.