The average life span of an empire is 250 years, and with the birth of the American project spanning 247 years ago, as well as the turmoil today doused in the gasoline accelerant of the internet, the division seems widening with each side horseshoeing to the political extremism of chaos. Executive orders, sweeping presidential actions under the guise of national security; the powers of the commander in chief have stretched beyond what was thought possible within the play yard of political theory. The nation is hollow ground, bound together by thin strands of gentlemanly agreements and historical precedents, and while the threat of fascism rises, a scissor looms to cut the republic. Alex Garland’s film Civil War, though daring in its depiction, feels as a facile projection of a falling nation.

 

Civil War is an odyssey, four journalists, the austere old guard and buddying young, trekking across the torn landscape towards the heart of the battle in Washington D.C. for their big story. Plumes of smoke billowing over the horizon as a haunting halo over the crumbling architecture of ingenuity, stretches of abandoned scorched cars on highways. A woman charging into a crowd with a flag means patriotism, but for what side? You’ll know when her concealed bomb goes off. Social fabrics withering away, seeing a man in uniform with a gun in hand means nothing, only when they point it at you does it mean friend or foe. It’s dire, pessimistic, sometimes feeling like its from The Purge or a post-apocalyptic film, take that as you will if that means nuanced or histrionic. Yet with it all we feel that we are in the car, just riding along and watching that nation just wither to forests and backyard target practices.

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

Yet that façade feels just that, as a façade. Pulling the cap off shows a dirty lens capturing blurry pictures. Kirsten Dunst and Wagner Moura are the two lead journalists. Kristen is Lee, the veteran photographer with legend and disillusionment following behind, while her right-hand man Joel played by Wagner is the adrenaline junkie with a good heart. As they pack their car with two companions and ride 600 miles to the site, the messaging and intent of the film turns its head. What is this film? As the characters ride and ride, a few sparse words are woven to parse through their intent “we want to tell the truth.” They are what is in between the world changing events, and the people of the world who have no idea what’s going on. Neutrality is expressed in one breath, but again in another breath they mock the everyday civilians who want no part in the battle, “Do you guys know that there’s a Civil War going on?”

​

Little is added in support of the nation that Alex Garland has crafted. How the nation fell apart, how the coalition and armies formed to fight against the sitting president in Washington D.C, what foreign powers think, little to none of it is explained. It is clear that the intent of the artist was to not do that, to not pontificate on realistic what ifs and the woes of today, more to using the political stage as would a director use a western for set pieces and pushing the politics aside. Yet when it comes to the immersion of the audience, when we are following journalist ducking under gun fire from tanks and Apache helicopters on the White House front lawn, one can’t help but wonder, “What thousand wrong turns were made before we got here?”

 

 

While the film seems to in one breath swing for the fences and yet not say too much, it leaves one wanting more. Which is a shame, and maybe reviews will do a disservice to the work of the film. It is truly an immersive experience, jolting me out of my seat when an unexpected gun shot goes off, wondering what may await around a corner. As I followed along with the characters ducking under gunfire the suspense blossomed. If it isn’t clear yet, I really liked the sound design. The performance all around, beyond Kirsten or Wagner, but from the intimate side characters performed by Cailee Spaeny and Stephen McKinley, wrapped us around their fingers and siphoning empathy from us, at times more than the two leads. While Alex Garland is recognized as a writer first and foremost, his knack for striking imagery shows itself with inter-cut black and white photos of the battle. All in all, the world has texture and grain.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Controversy of the film arose immediately before its release, with the trailer, the headlines, snip bits, advertisement, released stills often ballooning to empty fear mongering. With A24 soaring into the wide spanning public attention, so too has their reach and vying to become a major player in the film distribution market with plays (and misses) to snatch up properties such as Halloween. These recent plays, as well and advertising campaigns, it seems to be the case that A24 is pushing Civil War forward as their premiere action thriller box-office draw. And, the presentation and quality is there.

 

 

Yet as we endure the odyssey and near episodic encounters as we head to, ‘the zone’, my mind goes back to what is missing. The group of journalists and their connection to the war feels, well, thin. Little do they butt heads and spin off their own perception of the battle or democracy or the ethics of documenting a war. They are the heart of the story, it is through them that we and the film’s civilians should come to understand the battle. Yet in the same vein as the reader of their articles, I imagine that they don’t understand it as well either.

​​

​​

​​​​​​​​​​​​

​​