Movie review: ‘Civil War’ | MovieFone

‘Civil War’, starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman and Jesse Plemons, will be released in theaters on Friday (April 12).

Initial thoughts

‘Civil War’, written and directed by Alex Garland (‘Ex Machina’, ‘Annihilation’) is a deeply disturbing and terrifying film, and we mean that in the best possible way. Set in an America that looks a lot like the one we live in now, this brilliantly made film presents a harrowing vision of a nation tearing itself apart, as well as the story of a small group of journalists determined to witness history at a moment’s notice. . It matters what.

Garland’s film is so disconcerting because it almost downplays the conflict in some ways: Because America is so big, there are moments when it makes you think that vast swaths of the country are unaffected by the disaster unfolding in their midst. . But make no mistake, there is a pervasive sense of dread throughout ‘Civil War’, with terror and chaos lurking around every corner. The cumulative effect is devastating, and regardless of one’s politics, this is a film everyone should see, if only because it feels like we’re skating closer to the edge of the abyss that Garland and his cast so memorably portray.

History and direction

At some point in the not-too-distant future, a civil war broke out in the United States. The reasons are unsaid, as are the events that led Texas and California to form their own union, the Western Forces, who plan a final assault on Washington DC to remove the president (Nick Offerman) from office. Another faction, the Florida Alliance, appears in the background. Either way, the events that brought the country to this point are never explained, but it is clear that the United States has become a geopolitical and humanitarian nightmare.

In the midst of all this, Alex Garland’s film focuses on a group of four reporters: the tough and callous photojournalist Lee (Kirsten Dunst), the cynical Joel (Wagner Moura), the tired Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and the photographer rookie Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), who set out together from New York to travel to where the Western Forces are gathering for their final advance toward the nation’s capital.

Lee recognizes that Jessie has talent and reluctantly takes her under his wing, warning the young woman that far worse horrors await her if she follows her calling and that she must present the truth of what she sees without flinching. In a way, ‘Civil War’ is the parallel journey of these two women: Lee has become hardened to what she sees through her lens, but she may finally break down and allow herself to feel what is happening, while Jessie, Somewhat naïve and untested, she goes through a trial by fire to become the crusader for truth she hopes to become.

‘Civil War’ is also about journalism itself and the need for journalists to report and document what they see without bringing their own prejudices to the table. That means a lie is a lie, the truth is the truth (not “your truth” or “my truth”) and even the most righteous can do something unspeakable. Lee, Joel and company are there to chronicle what happens and let historians and future leaders discover what it means.

But even they, of course, are human, and imperfect at that: at one point in the film, our four protagonists and a couple of other reporters they encounter (who have been a bit arrogant up to this point) realize brutally that all the press credentials in the world will no longer protect them and that events are spiraling out of control faster than they could have thought. This is demonstrated in one of the film’s scariest scenes, featuring an uncredited Jesse Plemons (which you’ve already seen a bit of in the trailers).

The scene involving Plemons is the most disconcerting in the film, but it’s one of many that feature footage straight out of a UN war zone: Garland and cinematographer Rob Hardy expertly stitch together widescreen shots. of the American countryside (parts of it still pristine) with more close-up, documentary-style footage of refugee camps, burning urban areas, and hand-to-hand combat. Tanks rumble through American streets as fighter jets scream and anti-aircraft guns fire at them from below. Even a sleepy town hidden somewhere in Pennsylvania, where the war doesn’t seem to have touched anything, posts armed sentinels on its rooftops. ‘Civil War’ America is eerily recognizable and yet completely and indescribably warped.

In this and other ways, Garland channels another film about a violent conflict that descends into madness: ‘Apocalypse Now.’ At one point, our journalists come across two soldiers who are pinned down by a sniper in a distant mansion. No one seems to know whose mansion it is or which side everyone is on. It’s directly reminiscent of the scene in Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam epic when Martin Sheen and his team come upon a remote American outpost that has descended into chaos: “Who’s in charge here?” Sheen asks a stunned soldier. “It is not like this?” the soldier answers.

Garland punctuates this accumulation of haunting images with a sinister, vibrant score by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, as well as incredibly delicate folk songs and somber pop numbers, bringing a nostalgic and overwhelmingly sad emotional undertone to the horrors unfolding on screen.

The cast

Kirsten Dunst gives easily one of the best performances of her career as Lee, the combat photographer who says at one point, “Every time I survived a war zone, I thought I was sending a warning home: Don’t do this. But here we are.” Lee has seen it all and then some, and at the beginning of the film, she almost seems as if nothing is shaking her or affecting her emotionally. But that changes once she meets Jessie, as she sees something of her younger self in the inexperienced photographer and she wants to nurture and protect him.

It’s a subtle and complex performance from Dunst, and it’s complemented by Wagner Moura’s charismatic turn as Joel. The Brazilian ‘Narcos’ star gives Joel an easy charm, a rakish demeanor and a compassionate undertone, all of which gradually wears off as the film progresses. Like Dunst’s Lee, Moura’s Joel undergoes a gradual transformation and achieves his goal of landing an interview with the president, but perhaps not in the way he initially envisioned.

Somewhere between the two is Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), an older New York Times reporter who is not currently physically prepared for the arduous journey ahead, but is willing to keep going no matter what. One of our great character actors on stage and screen (with recent indelible performances in films like ‘Fences’), Henderson effectively portrays Sammy’s world-weariness and cynicism, even as he remains alert and knowledgeable about what’s going on. around it. Compassionate too, his sense of humanity is pushed to the limit by what he experiences on the road to DC.

While we admire Cailee Spaeny’s work here (and in last year’s ‘Priscilla’), we’re not as effusive about her character’s narrative. At first, Jessie is cheerful, headstrong and somewhat naive about the job she wants to do and, as the story progresses, she becomes more shocked and terrified by what she experiences. But some of her decisions, as well as her abrupt conversion into a fierce photo warrior (throwing herself into danger to take the photo), feel somewhat rushed and forced, making for a character who should be more of an avatar for the younger members of the audience. in a plot device.

Final thoughts

Moviegoers will bring their own politics to ‘Civil War’ and read it however they want, which is part of what makes Alex Garland’s film so great. There has been some criticism online about Garland’s decision to keep the reasons for the war off-screen, as well as his decision to merge California and Texas – two states that today couldn’t seem more politically separated – into a seemingly unlikely alliance. But turning Nick Offerman’s brief turn as president into a version of Biden or Trump, and turning the film into a blue-state vs. red-state polemic, would not only instantly date it, but create a more concrete polarization that would lose the spot.

‘Civil War’ doesn’t detail how we got to this point; instead, the film asks, “Okay, we’re here. What are you going to do about it?” The fact that the film offers no definitive resolution or easy answer is perhaps most disturbing. With ‘Civil War,’ Alex Garland shows us a possible future in all its terrifying plausibility: the What we do about it will either keep this film in the realm of speculative fiction or turn it into a prophetic document of a great nation disintegrating due to its own mistrust, misinformation, and fear.

‘Civil War’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.

What is the plot of ‘Civil War’?

In a near-future America, the United States has descended into civil war as different factions prepare for a final assault on Washington DC to overthrow the president. A small group of journalists race across a once familiar, now dangerous country to get to the front lines and witness what happens.

Who is part of the cast of ‘Civil War’?

• Kirsten Dunst as Lee
• Wagner Moura as Joel
• Cailee Spaeny as Jessie
• Stephen McKinley Henderson as Sammy
• Nick Offerman as President of the United States
• Jesse Plemons as unnamed soldier

Kirsten Dunst in ‘Civil War’. Photo: A24.

Other Alex Garland movies:

Buy tickets: ‘Civil War’ movie schedules

Buy Alex Garland Movies on Amazon