Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR might not be the film that America needs right now, but it’s definitely the one we deserve. Viewers on the left side of the political spectrum are already saying that it doesn’t take a strong enough political stand, while viewers on the right are dismissing it as “divisive garbage”. Both of these takes are wrong. The message of the film, seen through the eyes of war journalists, is right there in front of you, but stops short of hitting you over the head. In a time when media literacy is at an all-time low in America, many will need that extra push to make them feel better about where this film goes and where it ends. And America is already divided. If your takeaway was that this film pushes divisiveness, then perhaps you’ve been living under a rock for the last several years.
Film fans are trained to believe IMAX is meant for big, sweeping films. Grand landscapes, monster battles, and eye-popping visuals that you have to see explode on a screen standing five stories tall. CIVIL WAR in IMAX is most effective at driving home smaller, intimate moments. It immediately reminded me of Terrence Malick’s film, A THIN RED LINE. It’s the quiet junctures amidst the chaos that pull you right in with the characters; I found myself emotional multiple times throughout, but held back my tears (so as not to ruin the experience for anyone around me).
The journalists depicted in CIVIL WAR aren’t like the ones from SPOTLIGHT or ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN; no one is sitting behind a desk or getting secret sources. CIVIL WAR feels like Alex Garland’s version of FULL METAL JACKET. The latter hit us viewers hard with its anti-war and anti-toxic-masculinity missive. Here, the audience is dropped into the middle of the action with a group of professionals whose job is to tell a story without taking a side. Lee (Kirsten Dunst), Joel (Wagner Moura), Jesse (Cailee Spaeny), and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) reminded me more of Joker, Cowboy, and team from Kubrick’s masterpiece than any journalist character I’ve seen portrayed recently in film.
Cailee Spaeny has been on the radar for a while with smaller roles in PACIFIC RIM UPRISING and VICE, and recently had a star-making turn in Sofia Coppola’s PRISCILLA. CIVIL WAR should cement her into leading actress status. This movie belongs to Kirsten Dunst though. Her portrayal of a photojournalist who has seen the worst humanity has to offer is exceptional. She hits every line, every emotion, with flawless perfection. There is no weak link here. Moura, Henderson, Spaeny plus Nick Offerman and Jesse Plemons in smaller roles each shine.
Alex Garland, for those who don’t know, is British. I imagine a lot of Americans don’t want to be judged by a white, upper-class, Gen X man. I asked myself, “Is a film about the unraveling of the United States Garland’s story to tell”? The voice inside my head quickly answered that having a tale such as this told by someone outside of the American media storm was the right way to go. He never treats the material as a cautionary tale (although perhaps it should be). I imagine he sees himself as Lee; the journalist who has seen it all and he needs to tell what he observes happening in front of his eyes. I imagine along the creative journey, there was possibly a point where someone in Garland’s circle said to him “But are Americans going to get it? Or is it just going to piss them off?” My headcanon tells me that his response would be “Probably not” and “Good, I hope it does.”
Be forewarned, CIVIL WAR has a handful of very disturbing scenes. Some people are going to be upset by what they see because it feels too real for them. Others are going to be mad because they don’t believe anything like this could happen. Wherever you fall, there’s a character in the film for you. It could be Lee or Joel or Jesse or maybe Jesse’s parents. We as the audience are asked to look within ourselves and find the powder keg that could start this whole thing off. Are we so addicted to the endless cycle of violence and anger that we can’t walk away? Is it voyeurism? Tribalism? I walked out of the film asking myself these questions. There are no easy answers, and Garland is not going to serve them up to you on a silver platter.
CIVIL WAR hits theaters exclusively on Friday, April 12, 2024.
