Written and Directed by Alex Garland
Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Cailee Spaeny

For some, Civil War will serve to be quality popcorn entertainment. Nothing more and nothing less. For others, me included, Civil War is an ominous glimpse into a near future for the United States of America that is scarily not at all far-fetched. Especially as the U.S approaches its 2024 election.

So, what is the state of play exactly? Just what kind of America is being brutally depicted?

The type where a small group of Americans cross paths with another American and the answer to his question “What kind of American are you” is the difference living and dying. An America where its President (Nick Offerman) is serving his third term, has disbanded the FBI, and made any journalists not supporting his cause enemy of the state.

Here is a helpful map of America in Civil War obtained from the film’s Wikipedia page. I’ve decided to include it in my review as it is only very briefly mentioned and could be beneficial to know prior to watching the film.

Blue represents loyalist states. Red is known as the Florida Alliance. Green is separatist Western Forces (referred to as WF) and yellow the New People’s Army.

As the film begins, America is already quite far into its devastating civil war. The POTUS is nervously rehearsing a speech in the White House even he is struggling to believe claiming they are closer to victory than before. Closer than EVER before. Closer than anyone on the face of this Earth has ever been to victory. Ok, I intentionally added those last two sentences for reasons I’m sure are apparent!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the former mainland in New York, a group of people consisting mostly of accredited and highly experienced journalists are about to begin an extremely dangerous mission; to travel by car to Washington D.C where they aim to interview the President. They include Lee (played by Kirsten Dunst), a hardened yet highly regarded photojournalist who has witnessed many atrocities before this war. Her colleague, another experienced journalist, Joel (Wagner Moura). Lee’s mentor, Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), who makes up for his lack of mobility with his wisdom and coolness in a crisis disposition. And lastly, Jessie (Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny), an up-and-coming war photographer who is about to have a baptism of fire into the profession.

Civil War is independent Entertainment company A24s most expensive film to date, possessing a budget of $50 million, and is also likely to be writer and director Alex Garland’s last film as director, as he wishes to focus solely on writing. Described by Alex himself as “a sci-fi allegory for our currently polarized predicament”, it is quite incredible and mightily impressive what Civil War visually illustrates on what is not a huge budget compared with other films of similar genres.

As our quartet journey across disunited and dystopian America, encountering a series of confronting and life-endangering people and predicaments along the way, the sheer destruction and devastation they pass by is graphically and immaculately detailed. Scenes of severely damaged infrastructure, numerous burned-out automobiles abandoned on highways, countless dead bodies scattered across the lands. These are hardly uncommon sights in such a film, but a number of factors are behind what places this above most others. Civil War is very artistically produced. It meaningfully and cleverly incorporates imagery and footage captured from the perspectives of our central characters into the feature film, in both colour and black and white. The pacing of those respective shots is also regularly adjusted to maximum effect. Civil War is also very capable of dictating what it decides via its tone. For most part, it is fair to say this is quite an intense experience and it undoubtedly has a small handful of extremely intense sequences. However, its unsettling imagery and intensity are also regularly offset by rapport-building scenes between the central characters that momentarily make you forget this isn’t just a road movie. Furthermore, it has an eclectic and sometimes questionable music score that supports an opposite effect to what’s seen on screen on numerous occasions. Finally, given what is depicted is not a first, but a second civil war, and in such globally recognisable locations, the rawness and realness of it all really is quite incisive. 

 One of my most valued film genres are those based on true stories. This is one I hope to never see remade as just that in years to come.

Civil War is showing in cinemas across Australia from April 11th.

Moviedoc thanks Roadshow Films and IMAX Melbourne for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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