The honeymoon phase of Alex Garland’s directorial career, beginning in 2015 with Ex Machina, felt unlike anything we had seen from a genre filmmaker in ages, a miracle of sorts. A long-time screenwriter and novelist, Garland’s foray into directing his own screenplays with a quiet, beautifully crafted British indie captivated discerning film fans and general audiences alike, and helped shape A24 as a distributor in their early days. His follow up, the studio-produced Annihilation (2018), somehow raised the bar even higher (in my eyes, most view Ex Machina as his swansong), going bigger, weirder, and scarier, and any film that can piss off studio executives the way that Annihilation pissed off the suits at Paramount and Skydance is a win in my book. Then, the reality of our marriage set in, and while a grand return to the shores of A24 seemed like a match made in heaven, particularly since A24 had graduated from simply distributing films to producing them themselves in the interim, we got Men (2022). On paper, Men should’ve been everything I could’ve wanted from Garland, a quiet, unnerving, highly metaphorical little horror film with Jessie Buckley (i’m thinking of ending things) at the center of it all? It’s everything I could’ve ever wanted. And then I saw the film, and decided to reconsider what it is I want from films going forward. It felt like Garland’s style remained, but his ability to translate that style into saying anything of substance was stripped in the process, and I began to wonder if Garland had run out of steam.
Nick Offerman as President in Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR. Photo Credit: Murray Close. Photo courtesy of A24.
So when the trailer Civil War, the very secretive directorial follow-up to Men, also produced by A24, dropped online, I was hoping that Garland’s footing was found once again, only to be treated to a teaser trailer that assaulted my senses with a ridiculous premise and promised somehow even more ridiculous storytelling. I felt as if my faith in Garland was misplaced, and that, somehow, the highs of his career had been a fluke. Everything felt so out of touch, and leading up to its release, my trepidation turned to dread as I feared having to face the reality of what Garland had become.
And then I realized that A24 simply needed to fire the trailer editor for the first Civil War trailer, because what we’re treated to is far in line with the highs of Garland’s talent, and not of Men. The sigh of relief I felt when I realized he was absolutely cooking here was immeasurable.
Kirsten Dunst as Lee in Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR. . Photo Credit: Murray Close. Photo courtesy of A24.
In the near, unspecified future, the United States of America has segmented under a brutal civil war consisting of the Western Forces of Texas and California (please stay with me, I know it sounds stupid on paper); The Florida Alliance of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma; The New People’s Army of Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon; and the remaining Loyalist States of what remains of the U.S.. The country war-torn and on the verge of collapse, a group of war journalists, including Joel (Wagner Moura), photographer Lee (Kirsten Dunst), veteran New York Times journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), and aspiring war photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) leave from New York City to attempt to infiltrate Washington, D.C., to interview the President of the United States (Nick Offerman) before rebel factions descend upon the Capitol. As they journey through what remains of the American Empire, they are faced with the depths of human depravity when all rules of warfare are suspended, and with the nature of their jobs once their protected class lacks the protection they were once promised.
Stephen McKinley Henderson as Sammy in Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR. . Photo Credit: Murray Close. Photo courtesy of A24.
I think where the marketing for Civil War went wrong was in trying to portray the film as some grand look at the logistics of a Second American Civil War, particularly when it comes to who the rebel factions are, and why they are fighting. It’s clear very early on in Civil War that Garland is entirely uninterested in the “why” of anything going on, rather focusing on the “now” of what the characters we’re following are experiencing and attempting to survive in real time. The “why” doesn’t matter when there are bullets flying mere inches from your head, or when you can’t get gas without facing down a crazed armed militia shaking you down, or when war criminals take you hostage for the simple fun of it. Whatever the reason might be as to why the U.S. has become what it was, and whether or not there is a “good guy” or “bad guy” in the entire endeavor is irrelevant. It’s not that Garland is afraid to take a stance on anything concrete, as it might seem like on paper when you read about a film called Civil War being “neutral” in its depiction of war, but more so in that whatever remains of the American Empire, and whatever is made of those who leave it, will likely retain the same bloodthirsty, gun-horny, militaristic bullshit at its core, and the semantics of whatever caused said conflict don’t matter when the same core tenets of American exceptionalism will remain with whoever retains power. One could call this bothsidesing, when it’s far more “nosidesing” when the “side” perpetuates the same forms of destruction. Garland knows that everyone wants the high of engaging in a heated ideological debate on the film and its central powers, and he is entirely happy in refusing to dignify anyone with the satisfaction of vindication.
Without that, we’re left with what is essentially the world’s worst road trip film, and that’s what makes Civil War so goddamned engaging as an audience member. Without the necessity for determining good vs. evil (even refusing to specify the allegiances of many of the film’s central fighting powers during key moments), we’re left with the story of survival and duty of four dedicated journalists as they look to deliver the true face of the final days of war to the world, once again wishing to deter the world from repeating the same mistakes, or to at least prolong the hiatus between said mistakes. Turning this into a deeply human story, as opposed to some grand political thriller spanning years with dense political intrigue, it elevates the sense of urgency and real danger that these characters are experiencing as it introduces audiences to the incredibly effective fear of the unknown on top of everything else playing out in front of them. What else does this former shell of a Republic hold? What atrocities are lying within the remains of a suburban utopia? And what is the dark secret at the center of those choosing to simply ignore it? Not knowing what to expect from anything gives the film a volatile energy akin to an uncaged animal liable to viciously attack at any point for any reason.
And it really doesn’t hurt either that our four protagonists at the center of Civil War are simply just very likable in their own unique ways, however, for as good as Dunst (The Power of the Dog), Henderson (Lady Bird; Dune), and Moura (Puss in Booots: The Last Wish) (who might be the hottest anyone has ever been in a movie this decade?) are, it’s Spaeny (How It Ends; Bad Times at the El Royale), continuing her absolute riptide of star-making performances that I am praying comes to a violent head when she leads Alien: Romulus this August. Spaeny’s plucky portrayal of upstart amateur war photographer Jessie is a soaring testament to the spirit of war correspondents at their most pure, before the reality of the world and its atrocities sets in. As she is exposed to the reality of war beyond what she sees on the news, we get to travel on the journey with her, experiencing the same horrifying revelations as she does. As she finds her footing amongst the chaos, we do, too, and every time she lands a perfect shot of said chaos surrounding her, a pang of pride and triumph washes over as if I was a proud parent. It’s a wondrous performance.
Cailee Spaeny as Jessie in Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR. . Photo Credit: Murray Close. Photo courtesy of A24.
While Civil War is a film that is far more intimate than the trailers might suggest, don’t get it twisted, this is a film made to be seen in the IMAX format. While not shot with IMAX cameras, the film utilizes its 1.85:1 aspect ratio to great effect, with an emphasis on height scaling that gives the film a towering, colossal feel when the shit begins to really hit the fan. It gives spaces like refugee camps amongst an abandoned football stadium, the streets of New York amongst riots, or the war-torn remains of Washington, D.C., an immensity in their imagery, only complimented more by the film’s excellent sound design. Only one other time has my Apple Watch given me repeated warnings of my environment’s sound being too high for safe listening (which was Dune: Part One in IMAX earlier this year), and Civil War had mine going off multiple times throughout. It’s finely tuned, but fiercely brutalizing as the scale of militarism grows with each mile towards D.C. our protagonists get, with a soul-shaking finale that feels almost tailor-made for the format.
Wagner Moura as Joel in Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR. . Photo courtesy of A24.
Contrary to popular belief, I adore being wrong, especially when being wrong means that something I thought would be bad based on marketing materials actually is far from it, and even more so when that means a filmmaker I love, but felt slighted by with his last film, still has it after all. I already know Civil War is going to create some of the most insufferable “discourse” online once it releases to the public, mostly because there are already stark tastes of it amongst the crowds who have gotten to see it thus far. “It’s too political,” “It’s not political enough,” “It’s too obvious,” “Why doesn’t the film explain more about the nature of its existence?,” etc. For as much as people maligned the film early in its marketing cycle about the logistics of the war, there sure seems to be a lot of the same people complaining that Garland doesn’t spell things out in black-and-white for them. Again, audiences seek vindication for their own beliefs, and when they are denied the satisfaction of such, they somehow feel more uncomfortable with that than if the film was merely antithetical to said beliefs. Civil War should make you feel uncomfortable, you should ask the questions knowing you won’t get the answers, and if you’re still angry about whether or not you know who the bad guy is at the center of it all, I’m afraid you’ve gravely missed the point, and I’m sorry you’re denying yourself that.
In theaters and IMAX April 12th, 2024.
For more information, head to the official A24 Civil War webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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