Civil War (2024) A24/Action-Drama RT: 109 minutes Rated R (strong violent content, bloody/disturbing images, language throughout) Director: Alex Garland Screenplay: Alex Garland Music: Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow Cinematography: Rob Hardy Release date: April 12, 2024 (US) Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offerman, Nelson Lee, Evan Lai, Sonoya Mizuno, Jefferson White, Juani Feliz, Edmund Donovan, Jesse Plemons.
Rating: ****
Of all the scary movies released in the past few weeks, Civil War is the scariest one of all. It paints a frightening portrait of a very possible scenario, one that could come to pass if America doesn’t get its act together. Written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), it depicts a dystopian America engulfed in a second Civil War. Americans are fighting other Americans for murky reasons having to do with a dictator-like President (Offerman, Parks and Recreation) serving his third term in office. Is it mere coincidence that it’s being released in an election year? Hmmm, I wonder.
Despite appearances to the contrary, Civil War is NOT another end-of-the-world disaster movie. It more closely resembles films like Under Fire, The Killing Fields and Salvador all of which dealt with American journalists covering wars in foreign countries. In Civil War, they’re on their own turf taking pictures of the horrors of war. They are hardened photojournalist Lee (Dunst, Spider-Man 1-3), her colleague Joel (Moura, Elite Squad 1 & 2), veteran journalist Sammy (Henderson, Fences) and aspiring photojournalist Jessie (Spaeny, Priscilla). They’re travelling from New York City to Washington D.C. in hopes of getting an interview with the President before the WF (Western Forces) makes their final assault. Some of the things they witness along the way…… they’re horrific!
Garland does a lot of unexpected things with Civil War like dropping us right into the thick of the action with nary a word of backstory or expository dialogue about how we got to where we are now. We have to infer a lot. He doesn’t even give us a clear picture of who “the good guys” are? Who are we supposed to root for? It’s impossible to say. Besides it’s not really the point of the movie.
At its core, Civil War is a searing drama about journalistic ethics and how far the characters will go to get their story. What price are they willing to pay? Their souls or even their lives? So it would seem judging by how they constantly put themselves in harm’s way, snapping photos while bullets whiz past them, sometimes missing by inches. The character most at war with herself is Jessie, a young girl who idolizes Lee and wants to be just like her. At least that’s what she thinks when she hitches a ride with the group. What she sees….. well, it isn’t pretty. To say it rattles her is a gross understatement.
There are moments in Civil War that will remain seared into my brain for eternity. The one that really stands out is when the group encounters a small band of nationalist soldiers (led by Dunst’s real-life hubby Jesse Plemons in an unbilled cameo) dumping bodies into a mass grave. Hostile doesn’t even begin to cover their interaction as it becomes clear they might not walk away from this situation intact. You don’t have to be a political expert to understand who Garland is pointing his finger at here.
The acting in Civil War is uniformly superb. Dunst nails it as a seasoned reporter who doesn’t get rattled. It’s the job; you just have to suck it up. That’s the lesson she tries to impart to Spaeny’s naïve newbie. She’s equally great in her role. I’m telling you, this girl is going to be a big star and soon. If you don’t believe, check out last year’s Priscilla Presley biopic Priscilla. She should have been nominated for an Oscar. Henderson is terrific as the older, wiser reporter who writes for “what’s left of The New York Times”. He walks slowly with a cane which makes him a liability in battle situations, but he’s not ready to chuck it in just yet. He’s still got plenty of determination left in him. Moura, an actor I’m not familiar with, does fine work as the South American-born journalist determined to interview the President even though it could cost him his life. This particular Commander-in-Chief has an intense dislike for reporters. He has them killed if they get too close. Uh…. yeah. Let’s move on.
All in all, Civil War is an outstanding, fascinating and sometimes harrowing drama about a possible futurist hellhole America. Garland does some seriously awesome world-building here, creating a nightmarish place where bombs go off and gunfire erupts at all hours. Another scene that stands out is when the group stops in a small, peaceful town seemingly untouched by the ongoing war. It’s a reminder of the place America used to be and might not ever be again unless it can get its s*** together. I’d tell you not to read too much into Civil War, but why bother? It’s going to spark discussion and debate. It’s definitely going to be divisive. Is that a bad thing?
