A journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House. A few months ago when the trailer for Alex Garland’s Civil War first dropped, I immediately jumped to conclusions and said the movie looked terrible, divisive, and far from the usual smaller scale indie flick that A24 typically puts out. I was totally under the impression that this movie would be a feature length attempt from Hollywood to disingenuously label conservatives in America as the ones who would be the cause of a civil war during one of the most if not the most polarizing election years in our country’s history. Having seen the movie, I am pleased to report that my initial judgment was completely wrong, because director Alex Garland’s Civil War is much less about specific political issues/ideological groups than it is about what it would look like to be photojournalists in an alternative reality with America in a period of steep decline and civil unrest.
In the movie, California and Texas represent the Western Forces, as in the two states that have completely seceded from the Union. Seeing as how the politics in both of those states could not be more drastically different, it’s safe to say this is very much a work of fiction. What about us here in Florida? Well, I guess it’s not so different from what you see today as Florida and its neighboring southern states are labeled as the “Florida Alliance.” This dystopic map is explained in the simplest most effective way (save for a couple of things which I’ll get to later) by Nick Offerman in the very first scene, who ironically plays the president of the United States. Across the board, the acting is genuinely terrific, with everyone giving a raw and authentic performance. I totally bought Kirsten Dunst as Lee, a weary photojournalist who has spent years in wartime journalism. Right from the beginning, Lee and the other journalists give us the impression that they are fully used to seeing and being in the middle of hostile environments with guns blazing in the background. Kirsten is so good here at showing how apathetic and neutral a wartime photojournalist must be to take snapshots of gruesome deaths and murders in real time. She never flinches nor looks away, even during one grisly moment where she photographs a man being lit on fire in broad daylight.
On the flipside, there is Cailee Spaeny as Jessie, a fan of Lee’s work who ultimately persuades Lee into bringing her on the nearly thousand mile long road trip to the White House in an effort to “interview” the president. Being an amateur in this line of work, Jessie goes through a dramatic transformation from being adverse and hesitant to the horrors she photographs to being cold and neutral about it like Lee. The two have a great mentor/apprentice relationship and their chemistry improves as the film progresses. Also along for the journey are Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson as Joel and Sammy respectively. Henderson’s Sammy provides a lot of the film’s heart while Moura’s Joel is really just there for the adrenaline rush. Not much depth is initially given to these two supporting characters, but once a certain event takes place about two thirds into the film, I was surprised by how they were both fleshed out. Jesse Plemons. When that man is in any movie or show, he almost always plays the exact same role; the sniveling, gross, and despicable secondary villain character. Here is no different, because although he only has one extended sequence, that scene alone is extremely nail biting, full of tension, and had me on the edge of my seat. Plemons is too perfect as this unpredictable redneck militant and I only wish he had more screen-time.
Garland realistically depicts what it would look like to be a photojournalist in a hypothetical modern day American civil war. Much of this realism can be attributed to the theater shaking sound design but also the manner in which the film oftentimes cuts from Lee or Jessie following the gunfights to the moment either one of them snaps a photo mid-action. Excellent editing that adds to the involving experience. The final act is non-stop thrills, taking our characters to the frontlines of carnage in Washington DC and the White House. There are some pretty harrowing images of heavy gunfire and military tanks descending upon the White House which I can only hope is nothing we will ever witness in our lifetime. Is this movie subtly preparing us for a catastrophic scenario like this during one of the most consequential election cycles in American history? I don’t know, I’m not a magical oracle or time traveler. The social commentary is thankfully less reliant on exposition than it is in showing the viewer through the actions of various characters. Human nature and instinct in a time of crisis, I guess.
My two main issues with the film are its abrupt ending and lack of clear explanation of where Florida and “The New People’s Army” (which is shown on the film’s promotional posters) stand or factor in amid this fictional war. Most of the world building and rules are clearly stated, but it’s just those two things that are not given proper explanations. Like I said, the movie ends quite suddenly and perhaps I would have wanted a little more time for it to marinate. Aside from those qualms, I was surprised by just how much I was engaged in the movie from start to finish. Civil War is surprisingly uninterested in diving into specific political issues/groups and more so interested in the human angle as it pertains to wartime photojournalism. This vagueness and ambiguity benefits the movie’s watchability immensely and as a result, it never overtly belittles, favors, or generalizes any one particular ideological group, from either side of the political spectrum. Overall, Alex Garland’s Civil War is a very tense, oftentimes harrowing, and grippingly suspenseful thriller that brilliantly depicts the perspective of a group of wartime journalists during a period of nationwide unrest in a dystopian America.
Commentaires