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.

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. — Past a petrified mastodon skull and display cases of glittering gypsum and halite, Ari Aster is gesturing to a room where, conjuring a bit of movie magic, he made Joaquin Phoenix fall through a roof, onto the bones of Geronimo.

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.