ONE NATION, UNDER GOD
Director Alex Garland has shared an interesting career within the work of filmmaking, presenting a unique vision of directing style for some alluring subject matter that offers some bite and provoking notions within its viewing experience. With a career of several novels under his belt, Garland started out in the film industry as a writer for such films as 28 Days Later in 2002, Sunshine in 2007, Never Let Me Go in 2010, and Dredd in 2012. It wasn’t until 2015 that Garland got his chance to shine a film director with the release of the sci-fi film Ex Machina. Starring Domnhall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, and Oscar Isaac, Ex Machina followed the story of a computer programmer (Caleb) who is invited by his CEO (Nathan) to an isolated research facility to administer a “Turing test” to an intelligent humanoid robot named Ava. While the film didn’t have a robust box office success, Ex Machina did receive high praise from critics and moviegoers, praising Garland’s direction (for the movie), it’s sophisticated narrative importance on artificial intelligences, and the film’s small yet incredible cast. The film’s success paved the way for Garland directorial workings, with follow-up motion pictures endeavors with the lovecraftian sci-fi flick Annihilation in 2018 and the folk horror Men in 2022; both of which received generally positive reviews from critics and moviegoers, but, much like Ex Machina, were big “money makers” at the box office. Now, roughly two years after releasing Men, director Alex Garland and A24 releases their latest film in the movie Civil War. Does the movie find merit within its journalistic integrity scope amid the chaos of war, or does it flounder within its subtext findings in the feature’s grander premise?
THE STORY
Set within the near future, the United States of America is at war with itself, with the current US President (Nick Offerman) offering support to his forces as they take on a splintered factions across the nations. Yet, with oppositions everywhere against his tyrannical rule, rumors have begun swirl around the media the President may not have much time left in office. This prompts renowned photojournalist Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and her partner Joel (Wagner Moura) to elect a dangerous road to trip to Washington D.C., hoping to collect and interview with the leader. The duo is soon joined by Sammy (Stephen McKinley), an aged veteran / Lee’s mentor, and Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), a young and aspiring photographer who looks up to Lee’s professionalism. With the quartet formed, the group begins their arduous mission, tracking hundreds of miles across the nation that is maintained by the Loyalist States, experiencing the unsettling effects of the civil war and observing the conflict up close and personal. For Jessie, however, the task is almost too much for her bear, as her youthful naivety lands her to the full exposure of the horrors and hostilities that has ravaged the nation, and as the group get closer to their final destination, they encounter more violent conflicts against them, testing their determination to capture such the once-in-a-lifetime story.
THE GOOD / THE BAD
Borrowing my lines from my review of Annihilation….. Ex Machina…. how much I love that movie. Of all the movies I remember seeing during 2015 and this particular film caught me by surprise. Yes, it wasn’t my personal favorite one (Mad Max: Fury Road won that title), but this sci-fi tale was definitely something that wasn’t on my “movie radar” that year and completely took me by surprise, placing it as #3 on my Top 10 Best Movies of 2015. I really didn’t hear much about this movie during its pre-release months. Heck, I didn’t even know of Alex Garland and his previous work on 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Never Let Me Go, or Dredd. It literally wasn’t until a week before its nationwide release that I began to hear some positive buzz about Ex Machina. After doing some digging into the film (i.e. seeing the cast and viewing one of the movie’s trailers online), I decided to see it (in theaters) and absolutely loved it. I was totally engrossed in the movie and loved the cast (Vikander was excellent as Ava) and the whole narrative’s “highbrow” stance on artificial intelligence was entertaining and poignant. Plus, I did like the film’s twist at the end of the movie…. really didn’t see that coming. In the end, Ex Machina really does show how a feature film, despite it being low-budget (roughly made for $15 million) and with a limited cast, can really outshine some of Hollywood biggest budgeted / star-studded films. Due to how much I did like Ex Machina, I did go and see Garland’s next film Annihilation and found it to be another interesting and poignant sci-fi piece. It was definitely quite a lovecraftian narrative and presentation, with plenty of bizarre and weird situation, but I did like the cast and the story (albeit strange and peculiar to say the least). I did not have (as of yet) the chance to see Garland’s Men, but I have heard mixing feelings about, with some citing the narrative approach to the tale. Still, director Alex Garland is an interesting filmmaker that, while not having many motion pictures under his belt like other acclaimed directors, has shown that a man’s vision for cinematic storytelling is creatively paramount and integral to today’s moviemaking landscape.
This brings me back to talking about Civil War, a 2024 dystopian action thriller and the fourth film to be released by director Alex Garland. I can’t recall the exact time when I first heard about this movie, but I remember hearing that Garland’s next film (after Men, of course) was going to be something along the lines of political thriller and about a civil war that breaks out in the United States. After that, I didn’t hear anything about this upcoming project until the film’s movie trailers and other marketing campaigns began to appear online and in theaters. From the trailer alone, the movie looked to be quite an intense thriller piece, with the showcased footage a full out war across the US nation, with plenty of intense exchanges / encounters with the main characters. It definitely looked quite an appealing piece, especially with all the political turmoil that the US has been going through for the past several years. To do a movie on such a topical discussion piece would be quite eye-opened and thought-provoking, which is why I placed this movie on my Top 15 Most Anticipated Movies of 2024. Thus, I was quite interested in seeing what this movie had to offer and decided to check out Civil War when it was scheduled to be released on April 12th, 2024. I did go to my local movie theater a week after the film was released, but, due to my work schedule and getting other movie reviews done, getting to work on my review for Civil War sort of fell through the cracks. So, after some time and clearing up so many other reviews, I am finally ready to share my thoughts about this feature. And what did I think of it? Well, I liked it. While certain elements were a bit muddy and some aspects could’ve been expanded upon, Civil War is a captivating and methodically political thriller that is layered with the director’s signature integrity, styles, and ambiguity. The movie might be misleading to the uninitiated to Garland’s work, but, for everyone else, it’s study of people’s mindsets and the topical and political premise that works within the feature’s background themes and commentary message.
Given Garland’s past endeavors, his decision to make Civil War was a bit of mixed feelings. I was a little bit leery about him helming this project, which was mostly due his experience of sci-fi / horror-like feature film and not so much on political thrillers. While there may be some type of truth in that concerned statement here and there (more on that below), Garland actually does quite an impressive job with this particular movie, approaching the film with a sense of realism and grounded gravitas throughout much of the feature’s presentation, which is kind of what a narrative like this needs. Indeed, Civil War is very much a social / political commentary feature film that reflects such hostilities in the real world we live in. Such a depiction of a subject matter is at the film’s forefront, with Garland keeping Civil War grounded in realistic life-and-death situations in such a newfound unforgiving land. Given the political climate in the US of recent years as well as somewhat civil unrest the nation that has appeared of late, Garland’s Civil War comes at a precarious time where art almost imitates life in sort of weird cinematic way.
While many were probably wanting to see an explosive blockbuster style motion picture that explores various fights and battles in amongst a variety of national / iconic landmarks, Garland subverts expectations and gives an interesting cinematic piece that’s interrogates several stories threads together, which is all pulled together through the lens of journalism (more on that below). Suffice to say, the movie and Garland, who pulls “double duty” as both director and writer for the feature, shapes the movie with quite heavy material that’s raw and tough subject matter to navigate through, especially because it’s about political opinions, tyrannical opposition, and clashing point of views of how today’s world would function if the United States was plunged into a civil war. Yet, Garland does know to “capture a story” in the movie as it certainly does that, weaving a through-provoking and mindful tale of war, loss, humanity, and journalism, while also keep the feature entertaining and engaging from start to finish. Of course, the film does still have action sequences that help bolster such hostilities and opposition that the main characters run across and / or coming contact with and, while not as much as many were expecting (more on that below), the director still knows how to manage such coordinated scenes. Most of these moments are contained to the third act, which is quite explosive and intense and truly does capture such a grand and climatic finale for the picture, but some of Garland’s best work does come from the smaller moments of characters exchanges in how conflicted ideologies and human trauma that are intermingled with this type form of reality for the nation. In truth, there are several and important confrontation scenes that occurred during the first and second act of the movie that proved to be the most effective, with Garland generating some terrific dialogue driven sequences that are truly captivating and almost nerve-racking to watch, which is incredible for such a skilled director like him.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect that Garland does with the movie is in commentary message about photojournalists. Yes, as I mentioned, the political aspect of the feature does shine through and creates a lot of subtext themes and dialogue conversations about such a “what if?” scenario that plays in the film’s background, yet the so-called “beating heart” of the feature is found within the subtext of photographers / photojournalism and the thrills and dangers that come with the territory. Within the main characters in the narrative, Garland weaves a story that explores not just a divided “land of the free” United States in an internal conflict within its various states, but delves into the mindset of such individuals who almost have to be impartial to everything going on, documenting what they see all around them for the sake of prosperity and for fueling their own internal needs of fixations. The dangers they (the characters) find themselves in and how they are in “the heat of the battle” to capture such imagery of various shots is an intriguing notion, with real-world extrapolation can be found within photojournalist that go to extreme measure (traveling to hostile territories, being embedded in military units, etc.) to get that one defining shot of their career. In essence, Garland does what Kathryn Bigelow did with 2008’s The Hurt Locker by ways and means of showcasing the adrenaline and almost addictiveness rush what journalist will go to great lengths to capture a particular photoshoot / story in such harsh conditions and situations. The parallels are there, and I think that Garland does a beautiful job in capturing such movie illustrations.
Overall, I was quite impressed with what Garland was able to achieve with Civil War, capturing an immersive story that feels both topical in political social commentary themes, intense during such heated sequences of character driven moments, and very reflective to today’s world of humanity and of character understanding. A concoction that’s quite potent and intriguing from the moment the feature begins and doesn’t let go until the credits roll.
For its presentation, Civil War certainly feels quite large and expansive within its background setting, especially given the subject matter, yet also feels very private and imitate (as mentioned above), which can be seeing as a good thing. Naturally, a commonplace director with a big studio backing would’ve untitled a large production budget to fully capture the immense size and scale of such a war torn landscape of the United States. However, with Garland at the helm, along with A24 as the film studio, such a project, which has a budget of around $50 million, gets minimalized to a certain degree, with such blockbuster flourishes delegated to smaller pocket areas. That’s not to say the movie “looks cheap”, which it doesn’t (by no means), but you can tell that the movie isn’t about the large scale warfare of set pieces, but is presented in a way that feels organic and grounded in realism, especially when the feature explores a lot of various “pocket area” communities throughout this war-torn nation. Plus, with the movie taking place in the not-to-distant future, the film’s various dcorum and costume attires feel appropriate and real world lifelike. Thus, the film’s “behind the scenes” key team members, including Caty Maxey (production design), Lizbeth Ayala (set decorations), Meghan Kasperlik (costume designs), and the entire art direction team, for their efforts in making the film’s world feel grounded and believable within this cinematic representation.
As mentioned, action is still present and such scenes (presentation-wise) are still highlighted quite well, with cinematographer Rob Hardy, who had collaborated with Garland on his past three films, does quite a good job in capturing those moments cinematically throughout. Such various shots of dynamic and clever usage of shadowing and lightening works well in and out of the many paramount scenes of reflection, commentary, and action. Plus, I do have to admit that the film’s sound editing / mixing was really great and helps build upon a lot of the film’s action scenes with hard-hitting sound designs that feel life-like and pulse pounding. Lastly, the film’s score, which was composed by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, delivers a satisfying musical composition throughout the film’s entirety. The music certainly sets the mood and has the right amount for cinematic dramatics bombastic feeling as well as softer moments for character dialogue, while the film does feature a selection of songs (scattered throughout) that help provide a different musical layer that may sound off-putting a few times, still manages to convey some type of meaning within the scenes that they are utilized.
While I did greatly enjoy what Civil War had to offer, there were a few remarks and criticisms that I had with the movie. Nothing utterly major that could make me dislike the movie, but some things that could’ve been better ironed out more in the grand scheme of things of the feature’s undertaking and execution. How so? Well, for starters, the movie’ s marketing campaign sort of did a little bit of a “bait and switch” with how the movie was gonna be presented. As stated above, the film’s movie trailers showcased more of action and intense moments of gunfire sequences, which many believed that Civil War was gonna be almost like war action feature. However, the truth of the matter is that, Garland made the movie more of a political drama thriller, with the presentation of action being more sparsely utilize against the backdrop of the narration, with many of the truly gung-ho action scenes occurred during the third act. Thus, those expecting more battles and action standoffs throughout the entire movie’s runtime will be quite disappointed with Civil War, with Garland headlining the film with political discussions and character studies of human behavior elements as the focal point. Given Garland’s work on Ex Machina and Annihilation, I can of knew that this was going to be the case, with the director subverting expectations for something more of character study of the main players and the subject matter of the conflict being more paramount that the cinematic assault of combat action. There is still some incredible moments of such violent action in the movie, but it’s not as much as some were expecting it to be. Thus, such “bait and switch” tactic can be seeing as a downer for some out there.
Continuing what I mentioned above, Garland is quite the skilled director, but does (at times) get caught up in some superfluous moments where such cinematic embellishments sort of becomes a distraction. Naturally, this means that Civil War can be seeing as being bloated at times and does cause some sluggish scenes where such pacing issues can occur. Such indulgence of several key sequences do help create some great character built moments, which allows the acting talent in the movie to play to their strengths as well as the script handling to shine through the subject matter, but such scenes in the movie do feel a bit overstuffed and are stretched out too much, which does result in Civil War from having the tightly finished focus product that could’ve been. Again, not a deal-breaker for me, but it is something that I did notice, which did make the film drag a few times here and there.
As I mentioned above, the film’s climatic third act is where the action is and does generate plenty of excitement and intense filled moments during this finale set piece. However, the film’s actual ending is left a lot to be desired. Much like Garland’s previous works (as well a lot of A24 releases of this same caliber), the conclusion has that metaphysical presentation that sort of vague and shrouded in ambiguous, more about drumming some thoughtful meanings that are open up for philosophical interpretation rather than fully drawing the subject in its entirety. Such an approach can be aided by such thought-provoking moments of clarity and personal views of the story being told, but I felt that Civil War’s closing moments felt a tad limited and rushed at the same time, leaving the story unfinished and could’ve benefited from a more proper (and maybe traditional style) ending.
Lastly, as a very extremely minor point of criticism, the movie never fully describes how or why a civil war breaks out in the United States, with very little details on what caused such a great upheaval in the nation. I know it’s been said by many that the movie’s point isn’t about why such events occurred in the movie, but it is more about the photojournalism, the situations that they find themselves in during such conflicts, and the community / people’s reaction towards such divisions during such a war-torn landscape. I definitely get why those points are the film’s thematic and social commentary messages being highlighted greatly in the movie. However, such background knowledge as to why everything happens to make this civil war begin would’ve been a nice little detail to add, especially when the movie’s story sort of drops you (as the viewer) in the middle of everything and expected to know the various factions (i.e. the Western Forces and the Florida Alliance) with not a whole of time to fully digest everything. Again, not a major deal-breaker by any means necessary, but such little details that could’ve benefited more on the film’s backstory of events.
The cast in Civil War is actually really good and helps grounded these characters to raw and fundamental human emotion and characteristic, which helps make such players in the story relatable and believable within this cinematic representation. Along with vague backstory / worldbuilding exploration, the characters aren’t fully fleshed out as much as they could’ve been, but one can assume that was part of the design for these roles, which does leave an air of mystery to them all as well as giving the acting talent that plays them enough creative decisions to make them their own. Such a prime example of this notion is found within the character of Lee, a renowned war photojournalist from Colorado, who is played by actress Kristen Dunst. Known for her roles in Spider-Man, Jumanji, Marie Antoinette, Dunst has been quite a capable actress with her career speaking for itself over the many roles she has portrayed. Thus, to have her play such a character like Lee in Civil War is quite a “juicy role”, which probably enticed Dunst to try out for this particular movie. To her credit, Dunst is actually really good in the role of Lee, with the actress taking control and charging head on with her performance, thrown herself in the persona of Lee, which, despite her cold demeanor, is quite the complex character. Dunst showcases a perfect character balance within Lee, with poised, stoicism, and experience within her respective career field that continues to be peeled back as the feature’s narrative progresses forward. There is a cold and distant feeling within Lee’s persona, which gives Dunst plenty to play around with. Much like the main plot, there isn’t much revealed about her character’s backstory beyond a few snippets here and there, but this sort of vagueness helps shroud Lee’s personality in the movie, with Dunst building upon that notion wonderfully, revealing some layers to the battle-hardened photojournalist as the feature reaches its climatic third act.
Co-leading alongside Dunst in the movie would be actress Cailee Spaeny, who plays the character of Jessie, a young and aspiring photographer from Missouri who accompanies Lee and Joel on their journey. Known for her roles in On the Basis of Sex, Priscilla, and Alien: Romulus, Spaeny is quite the young and upcoming actress of today’s Hollywood, appearing more and more frequently in more prominent roles in even more known movie releases. Thus, to see her play a part in an Alex Garland movie was definitely a treat and Spaeny is up to the task to play such a great performance. As to be expected, the character of Jessie acts as our eyes (the viewers) in this war-torn United States of America, with the young girl showcasing a sense of naivety within every situation that she finds herself in, learning about the how the nation works now underneath the wartime affairs of a civil war breaking out everywhere. She almost acts as guide, experiencing everything first hand, and Spaeny does a terrific job in her performance, navigating and conveying such situations for Jessie to encounter and learn from as well projecting the right type of emotional fears and terror for such an inexperience young woman thrust into some terrifying events. There is a type of humanity found within her character, a sort of “lost innocence” of what life was like before the nation’s civil war broke out, with Dunst’s Lee acting as a product of such depictions and career business within photography work during war times. This results in some fantastic and engaging moments that Jessie and Lee share, with the two actresses doing some great character scenes together.
Behind Dunst and Spaeny, actor Wagner Moura (Narcos and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) does quite an impressive job playing the character of Joel, a Reuters journalist from Florida / Lee’s colleague. While not as quite as defined in the movie as Lee or Jessie, Joel is still quite a compelling character to watch throughout Civil War’s story, with the role requiring a lot of different facades to wear that includes being brash, hot-headed, frustrated, compassionate, street smart, and somewhat caring in this harsh new reality. Moura balances all those personalities within Joel’s cynical nature and gives a very multi-façade performance that helps keeps a neutrality / reasoning for both Dunst’s Lee and Spaeny’s Jessie. The last of the main quartet of main character is found in the role Sammy, a veteran journalist for The New York Times and Lee’s mentor, who is played by actor Stephen McKinley Henderson (Dune and Fences). Of the four, he was probably the most stock-like character, with the role acting more like an aged / veteran of journalism, offering up advice here and there. It definitely works in the movie and McKinley does a solid job in playing the part some compassion and insight in such a harsh reality, but the character of Sammy isn’t as quite as dynamically driven and / or complexed as the other three were presented to be.
Of the supporting cast, who actually shines the best (or rather gives a memorable and small scene) is actor Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog and Game Night) as an unnamed racist ultranationalist soldier that runs across the main characters during one pivotal scene. Yes, the character is only in one scene in the movie and doesn’t really have any type of character development, but the scene itself is ultra intense and suspenseful, with Plemons doing such a great job in playing the role. Even more surprising that Plemons, who is Dunst’s real-life husband, stepped into the role while visiting her onset after the original actor backed out a week before shooting started. Again, its small scene, but Plemons (as well as the main cast and even Garland) deliver a solid job in making this scene so tension-filled and exhilarating to watch.
Who is actually the most underutilized in the film would be actor Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation and The Founder), who plays the unnamed President of the United States. While not as a strong name to be considered as an “A-lister” actor, Offerman is still quite a capable and very talented actor, with his career and characters that he has played being quite memorable within the various projects he has worked. Thus, to see him being attached to an Alex Garland movie was quite interesting and was intrigued as to what Offerman was going to offer in his role in Civil War. However, I felt he was somewhat underutilized on the film, with Offerman only appearing in a few scenes here and there and doing some voiceover work. The parts he’s in are good, but are limited and that’s a shame.
The rest of the cast, including actress Sonoya Mizuno (Crazy Rich Asians and House of the Dragon) as British reporter that is embedded with the Western Forces named Anya, actor Jefferson White (Yellowstone and Blindspot) as Anya’s cameraman Dave, actor Nelson Lee (Mulan and Stargirl) as a reporter from Hong Kong / colleague friend to Lee and Joel named Tony, actor Evan Lai (Shameless and Sons of Anarchy) as a foreign reporter who is a colleague of Tony named Bohai, actor Greg Hill (Sneaky Pete and Operational Finale) as Pete, actor Edmund Donovan (Gossip Girl and High Fidelity), and actress Juani Feliz (DMZ and Harlem) as Secret Service agent Joy Butler, are the remaining players that acts as minor supporting characters in the film. While some only have one or two scenes in the movie, which results in them having limited screen time, the acting talent involved in this group is solid across the board and certainly do bring a certain character acting presence within their respective scenes in the picture.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As civil unrest engulfs that nation that tethers upon the brink of succession and destruction, a group of journalists make their way across the land to reach Washington DC before the war ends in the movie Civil War. Director Alex Garland’s latest film takes stab at political intrigue in a wartime United States of America landscape, weaving a narrative yarn of journalism integrity and the harsh reality that they must survive to capture those singular moments of what they lived through. Despite some limitation within its background story explorations, ambiguous moments here and there, some elements that could’ve slightly fleshed out more, the movie itself is quite a compelling piece of entertainment, with special thanks from Garland’s direction, a sharp script, several poignant political commentaries, hard-hitting thematic messaging, a solid presentation, and some great acting from the cast. Personally, I really liked this movie. Yes, there were a few things that I think could’ve been fleshed out / ironed out in the film’s grand scheme of things, but, for the most part, I felt that the film was truly engaging and intriguing to watch. Naturally, the heavy real-world subject matter certainly hits “close to home” and such political background themes and commentary messaging is raw and grounded in realism, which does work in Garland’s favor and helps generate such a mesmerizing endeavor. Plus, the film’s cast was solid across the board, and I think they all did a great job. Is Civil War Garland’s best work? Well, I still think Ex Machina is, but this particular movie is still up there as another win for the acclaimed A24 director, and I did find it more enjoyable than Annihilation. Thus, my recommendation for this movie is a highly favorable “highly recommended”, especially for those who are fans of Garland’s previous work, A24 releasees, and even those looking for a motion picture that has some bite within its action, storytelling, and dramatic flair. In conclusion, Garland’s Civil War is fantastic and riveting piece of cinematic storytelling, interweaving several characters of various mindsets, topical opinions of current events, while exploring such political unrest in a war-torn nation that’s under distress from within.
4.3 Out of 5 (Highly Recommended)
The Official Website for Civil War Link: HERE
Released On: April 12th, 2024
Reviewed On: January 18th, 2025
Civil War is 109 minutes long and is rated R for strong violent content, bloody / disturbing images, and language throughout
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