Action and danger dominate Alex Garland’s “Civil War,” a blockbuster set during a second American civil war in the not-so-far future, released on April 12. The film follows four journalists working to document the brutal conflict between the U.S. Government and the secessionist Western Forces. While little is known of why the civil war started or the politics involved, ‘Civil War’ is an intriguing thriller that provides excellent insight into the processes involved in war journalism.
Kirsten Dunst stars as Lee Smith, an experienced war photojournalist who works alongside Joel (Wagner Moura), a journalist at Reuters covering the war. They are joined by Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), a veteran New York Times reporter, and Jesse (Cailee Spaeny), a young photographer. They set out to travel from New York City to war-torn Washington D.C, in the hopes of meeting and interviewing the authoritarian U.S. president (Nick Offerman).
The journey is a dangerous one, as much of the United States has been shut down since the onset of the war. Gas and other resources are hard to find, and the journalists’ van is virtually the only vehicle on the road. They manage to escape several dangerous situations as they document local militias fighting against the U.S. Army. A recurring conflict between the characters is present throughout the movie, as the photographers like Lee and Jesse have to decide between getting the “kill shot” or ensuring that the people around them are safe.
Dunst and Moura are excellent in the lead roles, and Spaeny adds another good performance to her growing career. Offerman was solid in his smaller role, and Jesse Plemons has a shocking uncredited appearance. This movie also acts as a comeback for Dunst, who has not starred in a feature film since ‘The Power of the Dog’ in 2021. This film further builds upon her stellar filmography with her performance as a cold and determined protagonist adding to her list of endearing characters. While Oscar season has just begun, Dunst’s performance is above and beyond what I expected, and surely one of the best of the year. She is excellent in portraying a conflicted but experienced character fighting an internal battle against PTSD from her life spent photographing wars.
As Dunst’s character says early in the film, her role as a photographer is not to have an opinion on a conflict, but rather publish her photos to help others take a side. The photographs taken by the characters are shown throughout the film, allowing the viewer to literally see the war through their personal lens. While the neutrality from the characters fits their role, the characters do appear somewhat shallow and uninvolved when faced with the casualties of the war.
As mentioned before, the film talked very little about the political divide in America that led to the war, and the western alliance between California and Texas seemed a bit unrealistic. However, I felt like such details were unimportant considering the main idea of the film. Instead of being a social commentary that has some meaningful message about political strife in the U.S., it was simply a story about journalism. The graphic events of the film seemed out of place in modern America, but in reality, violence like this exists all across the world, every day. By choosing to set the film during a second American civil war, the writers and producers brought to an American audience the horrific ways of war, and the trauma that can be present for somebody recording it. Personally, I felt that my worldview was altered from seeing the movie, as I was given the understanding of what it would be like to see my country torn apart through conflict.
While ‘Civil War’ is light on worldbuilding, it has a realistic outlook on what a hypothetical second civil war would look like. The movie lacks a true good side or bad side, and even the members of the press come off as unsympathetic and sensationalist. The plot is fast-paced to fill a relatively short 1:49 hour runtime, and both the beginning and end of the movie are fairly dynamic. There’s no closure at the end of the film, and there are certainly dozens of loose ends that remain unanswered. However, this is fitting considering the harsh nature of the film. Its exposition is solid, and the movie does a really good job of focusing on just one plotline.
Overall, ‘Civil War’ is an excellent film that combines an exciting idea with a captivating plot, and is sure to entertain those who go and see it in theaters. While not everyone will love it, I really enjoyed ‘Civil War,’ and would rate it a 4.5/5.
