Civil War is going to be one of the most divisive movies of the year.
Alex Garland's new movie offers a deep dive into a haunting, too-close-for-comfort modern war, boiling down current political tensions and bringing the all-too-seen imagery of armed conflicts into the pristine cities of the US.
We've seen places like New York being devastated by zombies, climate disasters, aliens, ghosts and even Marvel superheroes, but this is a different kind of destruction. This is not an alienating fantasy, but feels rather like an ominous sight of a not-so-distant future.
Famous for his philosophically-charged sci-fi stories like Ex Machina and Annihilation, the British writer and director delivers his closest-to-reality movie while staying true to his veiled warnings to humanity.
Well, here it's not veiled at all — Civil War is as clear as day, every single thought as loud as the bombs dropping from the sky.
The movie is not interested in the particulars of the conflict, instead focusing on a group of journalists who are reporting from the line of fire on the conflict that has taken over the US.
Experienced photographer Lee (an excellent Kirsten Dunst), hot-headed reporter Joel (Narcos' Wagner Moura), veteran political journalist Sammy (Dune's Stephen McKinley Henderson) and newcomer Jessie (Priscilla's Cailee Spaeny) are some of the professionals working in New York City to feed images of the ongoing conflict to the media.
Lee's exhaustion from years of witnessing death overseas is wearing on her while Jessie (her self-confessed biggest admirer) is eager to put herself in danger. Meanwhile, Sammy is living his last hurrah before retiring and Joel just wants to get the exclusive no matter what.
As representatives of different generations of journalists, their dynamics are endearing, quickly becoming the emotional core of a movie that sometimes feels emotionally detached from its most gruesome images. They are not immaculate heroes, though, as the movie offers a beautifully complex reflection on the tricky ethics of war reporting.
When the journalists' sources reveal that the President (played by Nick Offerman) is about to be cornered and executed in the White House, they team up and travel all the way to Washington DC in order to secure one last interview.
As viewers will soon enough realise, Civil War leaves many questions unanswered.
We hear Texas and California have joined forces in a so-called Western Front, and that the President is on an unusual third mandate, suggesting he might be illegally holding onto power. In the end, it doesn't really matter if we understand what is happening. It feels like part of the purpose of the movie.
In one revealing scene, the journalists find themselves in the middle of a shoot-out in an abandoned theme park. Two snipers are trying to kill a shooter, who in turn is targeting them from one of the windows of their country house. They don't know how this little battle started, who they are shooting at or what side they are fighting for.
That's how the whole conflict feels in the movie — people simply have turned against each other, shooting before asking, swallowed in a blurry chaos.
While the particularities of the war seem distant, Garland's imagery feels very real.
We've seen this post-apocalyptic visual style on screen before, from Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men to the French limited series The Collapse (L' Effondrement) and even zombie movies like Garland's own 28 Days Later. Even the helicopter shots seem to evoke Apocalypse Now. However, the movie stays true to real-life images instead of aiming for alienating grandeur.
Iconic monuments are desecrated by violence, football stadiums are turned into refuges for displaced people, currency is no longer valid and essential resources are scarce. The mayhem North Americans would usually see on their TVs through reports on their armed ventures in foreign countries is now flooding their own streets.
Some viewers might even think of the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021 (particularly during the movie's thrilling ending), but it would be short-sighted to reduce the movie to an answer to that incident.
True to his writing style, Garland strips everything down to its essence, avoiding an overpacked story, delivering memorable images and exploring crucial concepts.
Civil War is not only about the Earth-shattering ramifications of political tensions and gun politics or the violent possibilities of an armed conflict, but also about how that story becomes history; how the present is reported, recorded and afterwards remembered; how journalists' role in that is far from simple and filled with ethical conundrums, and yet entirely essential.
Other aspects of the movie will catch the viewers' attention, but Garland's beautiful portrayal of journalism is, probably, the gem hidden amongst the brutality of the setting.
In one scene, Dunst's Lee says her work as a war photographer has been a warning that went unheard. "And here we are," she laments. Alex Garland seems to feel a bit like that too, as Civil War becomes his clearest, loudest warning to date.
Civil War is now out in cinemas.
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Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas.
Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK.
She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.
Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor.
