Alex Garland’s latest, Civil War, is a riveting cinematic event. It has been some time since a filmmaker has captured the climate of America so precisely. Paul Schrader’s powerful 2017 statement, First Reformed, is perhaps the last time and that was 7 years ago. Garland has created a grim and unsettling vision of America’s near future that can be seen as a companion piece to Schrader’s film, as both serve as stern warnings regarding blind faith and the country’s path towards violence.
A terrific Kirsten Dunst stars as Lee, an emotionally hardened wartime photojournalist making her way through the violent final days of the second American Civil War while trying to safely get from New York City to Washington D.C., where the “Western Forces” (an alliance between Texas and California) are planning to overthrow the government. Lee and her press partner, Joel (Wagner Moura), are desperate to make it to the White House to get a statement from the president before he becomes a prisoner, or worse.
Despite Lee’s protests, the two are joined by her old mentor Sammy (the always great Stephen McKinley Henderson), and young Jesse (Cailee Spaeny), a budding photographer who idolizes Lee.
As these four travel the dangerous roads of this war-torn America of the not too distant future, their detachment (and refusal to take a side in their quest to “get the shot”) becomes a stinging indictment of how modern news outlets feed on a headline-hungry public. These journalists are forced into an emotional remoteness that is almost a prerequisite for doing the job. While commendable, their important work is manipulated by the networks that employ them, turning the viciousness of war and death into must-watch tv and contributing to the dumbing down of the United States.
Let us be clear, this is not a cut and dried film about the divided ideologies of today. Garland is not concerned with the hows and whys that caused the latest American civil war. The filmmaker crafts his script into a personal tale of how these brave men and women are forever changed by risking their lives on the battlefield; their souls taking a damning hit with each new war. For Kirsten Dunst’s Lee, her already hardened heart is completely shattered by the fact that this is happening in her own country.
Garland doesn’t spoon feed the intricacies of the plot. Nick Offerman’s President is in his third term and gleefully practices a speech where he takes pride in sending air strikes against American citizens, disbanding the FBI, and casting anyone who goes against his administration as the enemy. The audience is well aware of whom the director is referencing and Garland presents a not-so-improbable scenario where (due to a leader such as Offerman’s character) armed conflict is close to becoming a reality. In a modern America where so many are salivating for the chance to take up arms in a misguided and uninformed stand to “save their country”, Civil War wants to be the warning that shows how devastating the outcome could be.
This is a high-concept motion picture and a visceral moviegoing experience. Rob Hardy’s camera puts viewers right onto the battlefield and in the middle of each firefight. The film’s immersive action sequences make the audience feel the danger, as if we are the ones risking life and limb. Garland paces each war sequence with precision, tightly winding the tension while jolting the audience to attention through the award-worthy work from his sound design and visual effects teams. Hardy’s cinematography gives the picture a stark realism, capturing compelling images and (as do the journalists) finding beauty when it reveals itself. A forest ablaze at night reflected on a windshield and purple flowers blooming in a battle zone are important visual motifs that give the film a surprising warmth.
During many scenes of violence and bloodshed, the director uses interesting needle drops, achieving a lyrical irony that juggles the exhilarating experience of an action movie with the gut-punch realities of combat. It is quite clever how Garland manipulates the viewer into experiencing the emotions of these photojournalists. As the audience is undeniably riveted by the well-choreographed excitement of the mayhem, we begin to feel their detachment; quickly realizing the frightening realities of what is unfolding on screen.
In one of the picture’s most chilling scenes, the four journalists (and two more who have joined them on the road) find themselves at the site of a mass grave watched over by three soldiers. An absolutely frightening Jesse Plemons is the leader. Menacingly cradling his automatic weapon, he questions each of our protagonists on the purity of their American blood. As the confrontation plays out, Garland pulls the dramatic wire tighter and tighter until the moment becomes a Hitchcockian-tinged segment of unbearable tension.
The film culminates in an incredible final sequence that finds Lee and crew following the Western Front forces as they fight through the streets of D.C., blasting their way to the assault on The White House. Beginning with a chopper cutting a vicious path through the city’s skyline, down to a battle at the Lincoln memorial, and on through to the executive mansion, this masterfully executed finale is a spellbinding thrill ride that will leave you breathless.
While disturbingly thrilling, at its core, Civil War has something real to say about our current sociopolitical predicament. The film begs us all to take a breath and think through our reactionary impulses. It is unfathomable how, in 2024, the U.S. is on the brink of another Civil War. As politicians set human rights back 70 years, legions of ignorance are pushing democracy to the edge of a political cliff. What’s past is most certainly becoming a dark prologue. As this dispiriting real-time threat looms over the country, Garland’s nightmarish vision becomes something of a horror film.
The broken America within the film becomes a frightening mirror to our current times that forces many emotions and leaves us with the possibility of one day being asked the question no American ever wants to answer, “Where were you when Democracy fell?’
Forgiving an ending that is too abrupt, Alex Garland’s Civil War is the most striking film of the director’s career and the most effective film of 2024 thus far.
Civil War
Written and Directed by Alex Garland
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offerman
R, 109 Minutes, A24, DNA Films
