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Civil War, starring Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny
Trailer: A24

Civil War
Directed by Alex Garland
Rated R
Fought 12 April 2024
#CivilWar

With Civil War, Alex Garland wants to make a bold statement, but it’s undermined by shoddy storytelling and generic characters.

Blue Dawn

The scenario is simple: four intrepid journalists embark on an 857-mile road trip from New York City to Washington, D.C. in hopes of landing an interview and a photo session with the President of the United States.

Fine. How hard can it be?

Well, when the country’s in a state of civil war, it can be mighty darn life-endangering. It’s basically open hunting season for journalists in D.C., who are viewed as terrorists in an environment fueled by a president who absolutely hates the press.

The road trip concept allows for an episodic story structure in which the journalists encounter soldiers either strategically and carefully holding their ground (and therefore unappreciative of the distraction of photographers) on one extreme and, on the other, soldiers flat-out maliciously murdering innocent people based on their nationality and other allegiances (and therefore completely unconcerned by any level of media presence).

But writer/director Alex Garland — perhaps best known for the well-crafted Ex Machina — doesn’t really do all that much with the setup. It’s certainly a horrifying story, one that teeters on the edge of becoming an unofficial sequel in The Purge series. Nonetheless, there isn’t much to take away from Civil War.

Certainly, there’s a wealth of material to exploit. The simple misguided notion of “it couldn’t happen here” is a treasure trove all its own, particularly with all the heightened political tensions in modern times which have been exacerbated with the tumult of the pandemic. The threat of a new civil war in the U.S. has been a topic of conversation among talking heads in the aftermath of another date-defined event, the Capitol raid on Jan. 6, 2021.

State of Play

Putting journalists front-and-center is a great idea. The world needs journalists providing quality, balanced journalism. However, in Civil War, more could’ve been done to reinforce the significance of their work and the precarious state of the journalism field as “organized” media faces declining readership while unchecked social media wields greater and greater influence. A comment about filing a story with “whatever’s left of the New York Times” isn’t enough.

Garland keeps it all too simple to generate much in the way of resonance or emotional connection, relying on the shock factor of watching the United States collapse as states secede and neighbors kill neighbors. The Lincoln Memorial is destroyed by rocket fire. Mass graves conceal atrocities.

And, in IMAX, the shock of even a single blast from a rifle is amplified as it reverberates around the theatre. Indeed, Civil War in IMAX is a triumph of sound design, creating an immersive experience built around explosions, gunfire and the thunder of helicopters. Visually, though, the sharper image quality is offset by some lackluster visual effects.

The Post

Let’s dig deeper into those four journalists.

Lee (Kirsten Dunst, The Beguiled) is a seasoned, world-weary 40-something who’s apparently quite a renowned photographer. But she’s fixated on digital still photography. Even as she goes around sporting a Sony Alpha digital camera that can make fantastic videos. Wouldn’t that be helpful? To show the world the action and the sounds and the words — the anguish — beyond a single still photo? Even Lee suggests a “keeper” photo is at the wrong end of a 30:1 ratio.

Jessie (Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla) is 23 and all-in on film still photography. She even has a portable kit so she can develop her photos while on the road.

Joel (Wagner Moura, Narcos) is the writer. He wants to land that interview with the president before he’s hauled out of the Oval Office in a body bag.

Granted, the civil war has downed cellphone towers, so the instant gratification of posting on social media and “live” coverage has been muted. But that’s only one vehicle for journalists who should be thinking about fully documenting this calamitous event for historical purposes. You know, so people can — hopefully — actually learn from it later.

And there’s one more journalist, Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson, Beau Is Afraid). He’s the oldest of the bunch; heavyset and relying on a cane for stability. Sammy wants to stay out of D.C. and cover the front lines; he thinks entering D.C. is a suicidal fool’s errand.

The Year of Living Dangerously

Each journalist is something of a one-note wonder, a portrayal that’s a disservice to modern journalists the world over who risk life and limb while covering war zones in a more-or-less rational fashion. They’re typically not directly in the line of fire, side-by-side with soldiers trading bullets. A formally embedded journalist would have some level of access balanced by some level of protection. But that’s also in consideration of an organized military operation, which may or may not be the reality of the grassroots armed forces on display in Civil War.

The foursome essentially act as “unilaterals.” In theory, that’d also grant them a veil of objectivity and a lack of bias. In theory. But, given they’re not trying to learn anything, only “cover it,” it’s hard to describe them as truly unbiased journalists.

They’re on their own and they are right there in the thick of it all as bullets zing by, killing targets with terrifying precision. But they’re not really documenting it for the modern age. It’s absolutely insane. Their slipshod approach to covering the civil war? No video recording. No audio recording of off-the-record, candid conversations. Not even a pen and notebook. Just a couple cameras. And maybe some recollections jotted down in a journal later.

Lee admonishes Jessie to always wear a helmet, Kevlar and a fluorescent vest. Great advice. But it’s also something Lee and Joel rarely seem concerned about doing.

Their reckless approach to covering the war is borderline silly, but most certainly it’s intended to convey the necessity of journalists in turbulent times.

• Review originally published at MovieHabit.com.