Civil War: Alex Garland Paints A Disturbing Image Of Near Feature Of America

This article contains spoilers.

Civil War is a fictionalized, distorted view of a divided America.

The film tracks a team of journalists Lee Miller (Kirsten Dunst), Jessie (Caelee Spaeny), Joel (Wagner Moura) and their veteran advisor Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), traversing a battle-scarred country reduced to rubble, to film an interview with the notably third term autocratic President (Nick Offerman). The traditional governance apparatus of checks and balances has been dismantled and insurrection is the only way for citizens to be heard.

The film is a delicate case of art imitating life – perhaps a bit too closely to strictly be called fiction, but not too distant to be a documentary. Some events have not actually happened, but remain within the realms of distinct possibility.

California and Texas have ceded from the union to form an uneasy alliance called the Western Front. These unlikely bedfellows share one thing in common – democracy based on the will of the people.

Alex Garland

Florida has also ceded from the union to form its own alliance. There is a thin, but prominent  cinematic veil to ensure the separation of fact from fiction.

How Did We Get Here?

Civil War deliberately doesn’t take political sides, only presents points of view. There are no good or bad factions; only warring ones. There is little significant backstory to determine who wants what in the dirty war. Audiences only get the sense that the war has gone on for a long time and become firmly engrained in the daily lives of Americans.

Photographer Lee and her mentee Jesse faithfully chronicle the scarred American mid-Western landscape to remind themselves what it means to be a journalist. Freedom of the press is one of last bastions of a constitution remaining. Joel is the hardened interface between naïveté and harsh experience, while Sammy guides and counsels the trio to ensure they reach Washington DC alive.

Lee sees this movie as a “cautionary fable” of sorts. An allegory of the dystopian threat that dangles so dangerously close to us. It paints a picture of where America is heading if we don’t get our act together. We can change the trajectory if we have the belief and willing to take drastic action. The status quo is no longer an option.

Civil War repeatedly pokes the proverbial bear until it growls loudly. It is also careful not to pontificate, judge, or offer trite “why can’t we call just get along” solutions.

Lee is a seasoned career photographer. She’s both jaded and desensitized to it all, no matter how horrific and gut-wrenching things get. Another gunshot, another dead body is as common to her as a pin prick in a seamstress’ day.

Lee has nothing outside of her photojournalism. She constantly counsels Jessie to “not become her.”

Jessie (Caelee Spaeny) & Joel (Wagner Moura) Photo courtesy of A24

The humanity of the journalistic foursome holds this unsettling movie together. Lee and Jessie have a mother-daughter relationship and Joel (Wagner Moura), aged between the two, serves as something akin to a younger brother. Sammy is the aged sage who’s seen more horror than the other three combined.

The journalists deliberately lack an ideological spine. They are only in search of truth about these factions characterized by opposing beliefs about what America should be. They are not “opinion hosts.”

A Story Of National Disintegration

The origin of Civil War aren’t ostensibly political. It’s about the unravelling of America once bound by a set uniting principles. The country has become unrecognizable and the citizenry is rebelling. “What kind America are you?” asks a random soldier played by the haunting Jesse Plemons. He casually mentions an “Antifa massacre” which sounds like an actual event, but should be.

He’s grappling with a country broken like Humpty Dumpty, but can’t easily be put back together again.

Civil War doesn’t sensationalize war. There is no glamor, no medals, no salutes. Only a team of journalists bound by courage and camaraderie as they dodge random bullets and sniper attacks to get their job done. Occupational hazard. They are not portrayed as heroes because they are journeymen and women.

Garland was resolute in making Civil War an anti-war film grounded in sombre realism. Although there are solid elements of thriller and road movie, his genre of choice leans into grounded horror. Garland heavily referenced the Syrian war film Under the Wire and Come and See to set the tone.

The tone of Civil War draws from blistering war films including Apocalypse Now and Saving Private Ryan. It also draws from Alex Garland’s post-apocalyptic zombie film 28 Days Later.

Civil War notably ends with the death of the tyrannical President – a victory of sorts. His last words to Joel are ironically, “Don’t let them kill me.” What’s next in the new order of America?

by Staff Writer

From our in-house editorial team.