As a cautionary war story, it stings and stings
When democracy begins to recede and safety nets fail, violence and chaos inevitably rush in to fill the void. civil warA crisply edited, lung-powerful political thriller, driving the main point with unsettling energy and a rare level of insight and honesty. Writer-director Alex Garland envisions a dystopian near future in which the United States, no longer united, is on the brink of spying on itself. A dangerously pompous president in the White House and an array of armed warriors—never sure who wants what and why, but it doesn’t matter—are locked in a terrible war.
It is not the details but the devil behind them – the harm of abuse of power – that civil war Probe The English director’s penchant for unconventional material and approach stands him in good stead. The former machina was science-fictioned, destroyed by cosmic terror, and the men served earthy horrors in an English countryside setting.
civil warAlex Garland’s fourth film explores the irreparable damage that political vendetta can cause. Amid the cracking action that punctuates the film’s quieter moments, the focus is firmly on the dynamics of truth amid an escalating conflict. The candidates are four journalists.
The insurgents – they came from a ‘Western Force’ of two politically isolated states, Texas and California, united under a two-star flag – set out to launch an attack on the White House and overthrow a president who, against democratic principles, had arrogated to himself a third term in office.
The journalists – battle-scarred photojournalist Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), seasoned Latino reporter Joel (Wagner Moura), their mentor Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), and a rookie news photographer Jessie (Kylie Spany), who is hiding in the group. Embark on a road trip from New York to Washington DC for an interview with Lee’s distraught – President (Nick Offerman) – the first in 14 months – and quickly cover the unfolding events.
Alex Garland doesn’t take sides though the allusion to present day reality is clear enough throughout the film. The approach adopted by the director is essentially that of an observer. This reflects the objectivity of journalists at the center civil war. This plays very well against the impact intensity of the action.
The polarizing thriller, at once visceral and cerebral, is a searing commentary on what happens to a nation when its tried and tested political structures are compromised by the lust for power and the reactions it provokes.
In the opening sequence, a group of journalists in New York City witness a violent police attack on street protesters. Lee – The name is a hat-tip to Lee Miller, a war correspondent who rescues 23-year-old Jessie (Kylie Spany) from harm’s way for Vogue.
The equation that develops between the two women, separated by age, experience and temperament, becomes a focal point of the story. Jesse idolizes Lee. The latter, a hardened pro seen to bleed too much to be affected by emotion, maintains a steely exterior.
As the battle reaches the White House, the tables turn. The wide-eyed newcomer proves to be a quick learner. The older woman, who has been there and done that, suffers a steep mental breakdown. He almost sinks into a stupor until he returns to who he’s always been in one final dramatic outburst.
Both Lee and Joel, who are as seasoned as ever but far less tough, look up to wise old Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson). Praveen has slowed down due to his advancing years but has lost none of his edge, a fact he showcases in a kickass action sequence towards the end of the film.
The president disbanded the FBI and ordered airstrikes on civilians. We see the demagogue briefly in the Oval Office early on. He goes back and forth over a few lines while rehearsing a blustery, hyperbolic speech.
Suppressing what he called the Florida Coalition, he declared: “Some are already calling it the greatest victory in the history of mankind.” He then backtracked and revised the tall claim to “the greatest victory in the history of military conflict”. Only words matter. Not the blood that flows in the streets and cities.
Two balancing acts, both extraordinarily impressive, stand out in the picture. One, the director achieves a mix of intimate character-driven dialogue that highlights individual stories and collective histories and gripping, explosive and exciting action sequences.
Two, Alex Garland doesn’t water down the film’s central premise—journalists as a troubled nation’s last line of defense against authoritarianism and the erosion of individual freedom—even when his focus is on the uncomfortable role model-admiring drama involving the two photojournalists.
civil war Excellently served by the work of cinematographer Rob Hardy, who misses nothing to accentuate the impact of the visuals of the war-torn landscape. Be it a deserted JC Penney car park, a football stadium turned into a medical relief camp, bombed tanks and vehicles or shattered helicopters, the camera inscribes suffering in every frame.
Film editor Jake Roberts provides a relentless pace to the action. The music score (Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury) and sound design are no less impressive.
The four lead actors play people from the same fraternity but are different from each other as individuals and professionals. They deliver their interpretations with a surprisingly wide range of experience and passion.
Kirsten Dunst is brilliant. His performance will undoubtedly rank alongside his all-time best. Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson are also great. Holding her own among these stalwarts is Cailee Spaeny. He captures Jesse’s evolving form to absolute perfection.
Watch out for a chilling cameo from Jesse Plemons as a nameless soldier whose question to the men at gunpoint adds to a significant part of what Civil War seeks to clarify: What kind of American are you? The prisoners’ lives depend on what they answer.
As a celebration of uncompromising journalists holding their ground in the face of grave danger, Civil War is right up there with The Year of Living Dangerously. A cautionary, insightful war film about a world headed for pandemic, one political crisis at a time, and the search for truth as a bulwark against tyranny, it stings and stings.
