Civil War
It has been a while since we’ve gotten a film as bracing, challenging, and entertaining as Civil War.
Writer/director Alex Garland’s chilling vision of a futuristic United States, splintered by an ambiguous chain of events yet not far removed from today’s polarized times, feels fiercely political and plays like a rallying cry for citizens who want to preserve democracy. And yet the British filmmaker behind Annihilation and Ex Machina wisely doesn’t identify heroes or villains, or even take a side — except being very much in favor of a free press in the face of flagrant propaganda and fascism.
This pro-journalism stance is undeniable, seeing as he chooses to follow seasoned war photographer Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and reporter Joel (Wagner Moura, Elysium) as they hop in their “Press”-emblazoned SUV and head from New York City to Washington, D.C. Their goal? Oh, simply interview the embattled U.S. President (Nick Offerman) before the Western Forces (an alliance between Texas and California) and/or the Florida Alliance overtake the capital — an area where journalists are allegedly shot on sight.
Tagging along is naive young photojournalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla) and film co-MVP Stephen McKinley Henderson as veteran journalist Sammy, who can’t quite quit the life despite age and mobility issues. The beloved character actor shares that prize with Dunst, who wears Lee’s seen-it-all detachment as if she’s tapping into a similar mix of professional ennui/dedication. Between the two, it’s a surprisingly character-driven experience, which makes the life-or-death circumstances all the more dramatic.
Like a four-wheeled version of Apocalypse Now, Garland’s film takes this quartet through a hellish landscape realized via Caty Maxey’s impressive production design and thorough attention to detail with set decorator Lizbeth Ayala. While filmed in Atlanta, Civil War is not quite the East Coast road trip that the characters take, but good luck spotting the CGI or anything that looks remotely fake.
Within this fully realized landscape, Garland puts our heroes through a series of tense and intense encounters that finds them bartering for gasoline with armed “attendants,” sleeping in refugee camps, and dreading a run-in with another vehicle on the roads south. Along the way, the filmmaker employs organic dialogue to drop hints regarding what led up to the current strife, but doesn’t spell anything out beyond the President holding on for a self-appointed third term.
Despite the surplus gloom and doom, humorous dialogue between the generally likable characters offer some welcome levity. And so do the handful of needle drops, most of which initially feel jarring to the point of inappropriate, but quickly prove intelligent choices that temporarily lighten the mood without disrespecting the very serious story.
The visual variety doled out by Garland’s go-to cinematographer Rob Hardy likewise keeps Civil War from becoming overly dour, particularly key B&W photographs taken by Lee and Jessie that put viewers in their lenses and add to the film’s overall engagement.
It all builds to a gut-wrenching climax where one character reaches a breaking point, another behaves strangely brazen, and everyone pretty much gets what they want — but in a way that, once the credits roll, is accompanied by a sick feeling in one’s stomach. That sensation stems from the current state of things, fears stoked by Garland of where they might be heading, and perhaps a powerlessness to stop it from playing out how they do here — a potent combination that only a master artist can whip up.
It’s only mid-April, but the standard for the year’s best film has been set.
Grade: A-minus. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co., Carolina Cinemark, the Fine Arts Theatre, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: A24)
