Civil War (2024)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Arriving with a lot of controversy and buzz, Alex Garland’s Civil War finally lands at the multiplex.
Will stoke a lot of conversations about the fragility of a polarized America.
Has strong technical proficiency, especially in the film’s intense sound design.
NO
Squanders four really good performances for the illusion that this movie has any meaning whatsoever.
The cinematic equivalent of a conversation where someone pretends to dig deep on a polticial issue, but quickly shows you they have no idea what they are talking about and lack any depth of understanding beyond the surface.
Gruesome and violent, bleak and lacking substance, Civil War is forgettable and not worth the fabricated controversy surrounding the film.
OUR REVIEW
America has splintered into four warring factions, the President is trying to hold onto power in a third term, and four photojournalists are attempting to document everything they see on a road trip from New York City to Washington, D.C. to attempt to interview the President as a rumored uprising to take back the White House is gaining momentum.
As Childish Gambino rapped a few years’ back… This Is America. Or a future dystopian America, at least as envisioned by writer/director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation). In his new movie, Civil War, Garland presents a bleak, harrowing look at how easily a democracy can fracture and how wanton criminality and explosive tribalism can metastasize into something untenable and forever remain out of control.
In a stroke of marketing genius or grotesque convenience (take your pick), Civil War opens in U.S. theaters exactly 163 years to the day the real American Civil War began - April 12. If you find that clever or if you find that shameless - then congratulations! You’re proving Garland’s point that Americans only think in one of two ways and everyone believes they are correct.
Sold to audiences as boldly apolitical, Garland’s gimmick here is to say a whole lot without saying anything at all. He sends viewers on a gruesome road trip, showing how a group of four photojournalists can document America becoming a lawless warzone. The work of photojournalists is vitally important, a point no one should argue. Many of the the most remarkable and lasting photos in our nation’s history have come from the brave men and women who have embedded with the military, at massive personal risk and sacrifice, to show the horrors of war, conflict, and the tragedies left behind.
In Civil War, our four main characters are presented as dedicated and fearless, also at times jaded and heartless. Paraphrasing Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), a renowned photojournalist in Garland’s fictional world, you do what you have to do to get the shot. Smith serves as an inspiration to 23-year-old rookie Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), who stows away with Smith and her team after she is saved by Smith following a suicide bombing in New York City.
Rounding out the foursome is reporter Joel (Wagner Moura), who accompanies Lee on her travels, and veteran reporter Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), a former mentor to Joel, who asks to go to D.C. with Joel and Lee looking for one last story.
But what about the actual Civil War, you ask? Great question!
We get next to no details or context about why America has descended into madness. What Garland does share is either covered in a few lines of dialogue or sprinkled in through the discussions the journalists have on their road trip. In multiple interviews and in marketing materials, Civil War’s apolitical stance is touted, almost as if it serves as a badge of honor in how Garland designed his film. While I do not need him to take a stance either on the left or right side of the political aisle, providing some understanding as to how America got into this situation would be quite helpful.
Without it, the film feels like a sour and feckless critique of American culture and society.
Which begs the question - what is the critique exactly? Is it that Americans are one step away from devolving into this kind of world? That a President who claims a third term will send everyone into chaos? In this presentation, there is no order. Bodies lay bloody, maimed, and scattered in the streets. Snipers embed on roofs. Cars are strewn everywhere. There is no cell service or networks, yet the military appears to be fully operational and functional. We have people running gas stations and convenience stores, sitting outside with guns and torturing hostages. But why? Why do we seldom ever see children?
If you stop and think about it, the depth of Garland’s story is literally just the premise: “America is in a second Civil War.” That’s it. We don’t need a movie defining itself politically to dig deeper. We simply need better understanding as to how Garland envisions that our nation will so easily devolve from a fully functioning society to a world of unmarked graves, nihilism, and a bloodthirsty lust for power.
In that regard, the film is little more than an act of cowardice. Provocation for provocation’s sake. A third-grade primer on history goes more in depth than Garland dares to do here.
What complicates matters is that, despite those choices, Garland remains a gifted filmmaker. The finest example comes in an emotionally vacant but visually stunning denouement once everything descends onto the Nation’s Capital. The crackling sound mix and dazzling cinematography (by Garland veteran Rob Hardy) envelopes us in an immersive viewing experience in the film’s final 20-25 minutes. Elsewhere, a choice to splice in still photos in key moments when Lee and Jessie snap their cameras adds a nice element, reminding us of the power of a still image or photograph. Also, a few scenes are set up well, especially early on, delivering uncertainty as to what we may experience whenever the journalists stop and investigate their surroundings.
Even with solid performances from the four main characters, few films come off as this conceited and hollow. Garland has succeeded only in mansplaining a story and premise with no actual context. Ultimately, when a ridiculous comment about journalistic ethics is thrown at us, one cannot help but wonder if this whole exhausting endeavor was simply to make a statement that no matter the assignment and no matter the risk, journalists always sell their soul to get “the story.”
In conclusion, let me see if I have this right.
America is so fragile that when a President tries to assume a third term, citizens with differing ideologies will turn against each other, millions will die and the nation will become a tribalistic battleground of four factions. Journalists will still work for news outlets but have no morals when it comes to their work. Everything is hopeless.
CIvil War is the cinematic equivalent of someone’s social media feed. Perhaps Garland can tackle the War on Christmas with his next film.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephan McKinley Henderson, Nelson Lee, Evan Lai, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons, Karl Glusman, Sonoya Mizuno
Director: Alex Garland
Written by: Alex Garland
Release Date: April 12, 2024
A24