Civil War
“Civil War” is a real interesting movie. I'm not exactly sure what it's about. And what I mean by that is that it's pretty simple and even neutral in it's storytelling, and I absolutely believe that's by precise design. The entire civil war that's taking place is never expanded upon, it just is. There are a few hints here and there to suggest why things might've been so bad, but mostly it just allows you to exist in this world instead of beating you down with backstory. Even all the characters are set in their ways and act the same predominantly throughout the film (until just moments before the very end). It's not explicitly and anti-war film, but it's definitely not pro-war, showing many horrific scenarios of this potential universe. But if there's one take away of what it's actually “about” (if it's about anything at all), is that war journalism is a horrific experience whether you “win” or whether you “lose”, but the first hand documentation of world events is maybe more important than ever.
When you take a photo, the image is still. What happens before that moment or after it is left to the image viewers imagination. I feel like that's the approach they wanted to take with the series of events in this film. If not, it's certainly a juxtaposition you could interpret.
Now, all this talking about meaning shouldn't sour you on the idea of just coming in and watching a great action movie, because really that's what it is. There are countless pulse-pounding, thrilling segments. And the film is shot with such realism it really sells the war journalism angle. There are a bunch of great segments that are closer to thriller than action with thick tension. In fact, I would say if you have a hard time at movies like that, this might not be for you. It's not a journey for the faint of heart given some of the realism and brutality.
The entire cast is great, as has come to be expected from A24 made films. Kirsten Dunst (whose the lead character - “Lee”) is probably the most interesting role in the film, because she's matter of fact and almost emotionally mute throughout. A seasoned war journalist whose almost gone numb from all the things she's captured over her career. She's paired with Wagner Moura (“Joel”) whose essentially the polar opposite, an adrenaline junkie whose fuelled by being in the conflict, and Cailee Spaeny (“Jessie”) whose an overly-enthusiastic young photographer who idolizes Lee. The trio embark on a “Last of Us” style journey across war-torn America (minus the literal monsters) with a few other characters joining them for sections along the way.
For such a concept I could easily see a filmmaker getting lost in the weeds and spending too much time on interactions with the people that inhabit destroyed and divided America, making some (probably) boring point about how life goes on in tough times (and it does). But Alex Garland goes the other route and keeps the focus on a few great characters and leans into the thrilling action sections frequently and expertly.
For as much as you can try to dig into the meaning of their journey at the end, it plays just as well as a fabulous action movie you can turn your brain off to (if you want to).
8.5/10
