Film review: ‘CIVIL WAR’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
Civil War is the latest grim cinematic offering from British writer/ director Alex Garland who first came to our attention with the grueling zombie thriller 28 Days Later, chilled us with AI drama Ex Machina and weirded us out completely with the freaky psychological horror of Men. At times evoking Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket, Civil War is a confronting, even disturbing vision of a possible dystopian future and a cautionary tale about the devastating price of the growing division in our societies.
The film sees America in the grip of a second civil war, this time between a variety of factions but primarily the states loyal to the government and a secessionist alliance of Texas and California known as the Western Forces. In the midst of the ever-worsening conflict, photojournalist Lee (Kirsten Dunst), colleague Joel (Wagner Moura), veteran journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and eager newcomer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny, who we recently saw as Priscilla Presley in Sophia Coppola’s Priscilla) cautiously drive through war zone to Washington hoping for an interview with the President (Nick Offerman). Their journey exposes the horrors and bizarre contradictions of the conflict and sees each forced to confront their role as witness to this destruction.
It would be easy to go into this film with unrealistic expectations. This is a war film but it’s unlike most others. There is violent action but it’s in no way exhilarating or heroic. It’s often brutal like the battle scenes in Saving Private Ryan but with none of the wide-eyed patriotism. Also, the film’s poster art gives the impression of an epic, special effects driven spectacle. While this film does employ a big canvas, it’s more about human drama as the four and particularly Lee begin to succumb to the trauma of their experiences.
Strangely, the film’s quieter moments, that see the quartet bonding, squabbling and joking with each other as they travel the lush backroads of states like West Virginia, are reminiscent of the film Zombieland. Garland makes inventive use of music choosing upbeat songs particularly from De La Soul to provide a deliberately jarring contrast to the normal triumphalist tone of a war film.
To give this film a pulse, it was vital to have characters with whom we can connect. The cast do this wonderfully well with each giving a terrific performance, particularly Kirsten Dunst who is now reshaping her screen persona as a world-weary, middle-aged woman having defined herself as a teen and young adult star. Wagner Moura brings wit and fidgety energy to the role of Joel. Cailee Spaeny convincing captures the innocence and then growing bravado of a young photojournalist while Stephen McKinley Henderson has an engaging quiet dignity as Sammy. Kirsten Dunst’s partner in real life Jesse Plemons also makes an unforgettable cameo as psychopathically cold red neck soldier.
The film has a complex and slightly ambiguous view of war photographers which some might find difficult to reconcile. At times it depicts them as intrepid heroes fearlessly risking their lives to capture the truth, at others seemingly implicit in the carnage, their camera shots synched with sounds of gunshots and on occasion veritable ghouls looming over hideously disfigured bodies trying to capture that award winning shot.
The film is also vague on the history and details of the conflict. This seems to be deliberate as trying to build this world in too much detail and explain everything that’s happening would likely have bogged down the story. Garland, it seems, wanted to keep things a little murky so as not to become too caught up in contemporary partisan politics and to show that, in a world descending into chaos, right and wrong are a little tricky to define.
Nick’s rating: ****
Genre: Drama/ War.
Classification: MA15+
Director(s): Alex Garland.
Release date: 11th Apr 2024.
Running time: 109 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.