Civil War - Movie Review

Critics Score - 8 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

I’m a simple film critic. People make movies and I assess them via a number of measurables from a technical perspective, but also with my own preferences and biases I try and determine a films “worthiness”. I simply watch films and try and direct people to watch ones I think are of exceptional value or interest. Is what I do important? I don’t feel it is. It is my hobby, I don’t do it for money, I do it because I love it. I love that I live in a country where I have the freedom to make those decisions for myself and that I can live the way I want to with my family. I love that English director Alex Garland has the freedom to make the movies he wants to make, including the latest film from A24, Civil War. This film follows a group of journalists as they make their way towards Washington D.C. to try and interview the president. Except in this fictional world, the president has effectively ended the constitution and is staying in office for a third term when a U.S. President is only allowed to serve a maximum of two. He has mustered as much of the military power as he’s been able to hold onto and the country has been plunged into, you guessed it, another Civil War. When I say this film is as fascinating as it is bleak, I mean I sat on the edge of my chair for over half the movie. And this might possibly be the bleakest film I’ve ever seen. At just under an hour and fifty minutes, the film rockets by at incredible pace while sustaining high levels of tension. There are lessons about the importance of journalism here, there are lessons about power, corruption, tyranny, freedom and democracy here. But no words I put here in this paragraph can fully prepare you for the indescribable reality that this modern day Civil War presents you with.

SYNOPSIS - This exercise in mental fortitude starts with the President of the United States of America (Nick Offerman) walking into a room, he’s out of focus and we’re positioned on his right side as we’re observing his profile. As he slides to his right and gets closer to the camera, he begins to come into focus, but as he approaches, we start getting clips of the chaos the country is engulfed in. *Disclaimer* I’m not positive these clips aren’t actual videos of recorded moments of the Jan. 6th 2021 U.S. capitol riots. I’m fairly sure they’re manufactured for the purpose of the film, but I wasn’t able to find out with certainty either way. We see a man in a black ski mask in front of an American flag, a row of men in army uniforms with large clear polycarbonate shields, civilians tipping a silver SUV over, a man in shorts and black shirt being drug by his arm across the ground, face down, by a man in army attire. The President is practicing a speech he’s preparing to give to the nation, we hear him say “we are now closer than we have ever been” and “some are already calling it the greatest victory in the history of mankind”. Throughout the runtime, details of the world we’ve entered are sprinkled into the discussions and we slowly begin to understand what’s going on with this Civil War and what it all means. The president begins his address explaining that the “Western Forces” of Texas and California have suffered “a very great defeat.” The scene changes to a hotel room where this address is heard on the TV while we watch journalist Lee Smith (Kristen Dunst) walk across the room holding a large camera. She’s wearing a baggy grey shirt and sweatpants and sits down on the bed to watch the monitor. Lifting up the camera, she points it at the TV as The President continues his speech. We hear the shutter click. Next we see a profile shot of her head and we see out the hotel room window behind her as a large explosion lights up the night. A building far off on the New York City skyline becomes engulfed in flames as she turns her head to see. We hear the voice from TV, “God bless you all . . . and God bless America.”

A needle drop of the drum solo introduction of Lovefingers by Silver Apples begins to play, the scene switches to daytime and we’re given more NYC skyline views with plumes of smoke billowing from sporadic places along the horizon. The 1968 song continues throwing off serious Vietnam War vibes as we get an overhead tracking shot of a white Ford SUV with the words PRESS printed on the hood and sides. Lee rides in the passenger seat looking out the window as her driver and partner Joel (Wagner Moura) eventually approach and stops on the side of a city street. A large crowd has gathered and police cars have the street blocked for cars. Lots of police and press are interwoven in the crowd, a young journalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) is seen weaving through the gathering. We watch a young woman staring at the group sling on a backpack, her eyes unmoving, staring blankly ahead. The crowd begins pushing against some of the police forces in black combat gear who in turn start swinging their batons at the crowd, one of the police striking Jessie. Lee assists Jessie away from the riotous group, Jessie recognizes Lee as a famous photographer/journalist and Lee gives her the yellow Press safety jacket she’s wearing for protection. As Jessie puts it on, the dead eyed woman strapping on the backpack grabs an American flag on a pole and goes running into the crowd. Lee grabs Jessie and throws her to the ground moments before the bomb goes off. After they’ve collected themselves, Lee and Jessie begin to photograph the bloody bodies strewn across the pavement around the blast site. Lee and Joel go back to their hotel where they meet with fellow journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), who’s conversation offers more pieces of the havoc the war is having and it’s current status. We learn the President is in Washington D.C. and the Western Forces are on the verge of defeating the remaining Presidential allies, there is a shoot to kill order out on the U.S. President. Lee and Joel have been invited to photograph and interview the President before he’s removed from office and this realm of existence, but they’ll have to traverse the war torn country along with Sammy and the newbie Jessie, but they things they and the audience experience along the way will haunt us all long after the credits roll.

Where to begin on a technical assessment of this film? First, Alex Garland’s vision for this film is pretty staggering, it shines through in his direction, you can tell this is his fourth major film as his direction is very self-assured. There’s no wondering about what Garland’s thoughts on the topic are. War is a cruel, tragic and horrific thing. His ability to make this the most uncomfortable and nervous moviegoing experience I’ve had in years, possibly ever, is a testament to his ability to push all the buttons he’s looking to hit with what he’s created. I’ll state it plainly, this film may get dismissed by the Academy, but this staggering film is completely Best Director material. When it comes to the screenplay, also by Garland, it was well constructed, although I did take some issue with the conclusion of the the film. Without getting into spoilers, some of the characters decisions I found to be cheap and made for an inauthentic finale that I wasn’t really on board with. The film isn’t a massively aesthetic standout, in terms of the camera work. But the work by Rob Hardy does capture some interesting close-ups of characters faces one involving flowers and grass, another sequence of the foursome driving through a forest fire of sparks was engaging, a few other stunning shots provided some engaging visuals on a few occasions. Kristen Dunst was really a standout here on the acting front though, I was highly impressed with her portrayal of a war torn journalist who’s job has taken it’s toll on her mind. And the new girl Cailee Spaeny continues to show her worthiness of the roles she’s being handed. The incredible sound work on this film is jarring, to say the least, by means of the timing, volume and context of the sound design, specifically the gun shots heard. This is possibly the most disturbing aspect of the film but it’s difficult to fully explain how unnerving it is. Just use your imagination as to what a modern day Civil War with the United States fractioning and different parts at war with each other might look like. What is disturbing about this film is not the violence, it’s the context of the violence. What I’m about to say in this next sentence contains spoilers. This film depicts civilians shooting and killing “American” soldiers, American soldiers killing armed and unarmed civilians, American soldiers killing other American soldiers. Without getting political, the words democrat or republican are not mentioned in the film. Civil War is not only sobering and disconcerting, but it will challenge many viewers, especially U.S. citizens and their outlook on the future of their country.

SUMMARY - This film is like what Morpheus says to Neo about The Matrix. Unfortunately you cannot be told what Civil War is, you need to experience it for yourself. For U.S. citizens, this film especially could prove to be extremely troubling, I watched a young couple leave my screening about halfway through. But there’s a simple but powerful lesson behind the frames of this film. As a country, if we don’t learn from the mistakes we’ve made in the past, we’ll be doomed to repeat history, including our own Civil War.