Good art sometimes intends to provoke, to shock, to invoke personal reflection, to inspire public debate. "Civil War" is good art.
In this work of speculative fiction, the setting could not be more provocative: a civil war on American soil in the near-distant future. But in the hands of Writer/Director Alex Garland ("Ex Machina," "Annihilation," "Men"), this film is anything but a traditional war movie, even though there are a few graphic battle scenes.
One of Garland's obvious goals is to emphasize the important role of war correspondents. Early on, Lee Miller (an excellent Kirsten Dunst) says, "Every time I survived a war zone, I thought I was sending a warning home: 'Don't do this.' But here we are." The lead character's name is an homage to mid-twentieth century photojournalist Lee Miller, who is recognized as one of the greatest war correspondents. After a career as a fashion model, she worked as a war correspondent at "Vogue," creating some of the iconic images of WW II while covering the London blitz, the liberation of Paris and the freeing of prisoners at the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps.
In interviews, Garland has stated that one of his goals was to offer a counterbalance to the current trend of demonizing the press. His script underlines the essential role of journalism in neutrally reporting facts and offering illustrative photographs. In his view, making meaning of these words and images is the responsibility of the reader/viewer. By implication, he offers an indirect critique of news organizations that increasingly seem to be drifting into the opinion business.
"Civil War" has been acclaimed by many but eviscerated by an equal number, primarily because the screenplay intentionally assigns no political labels to the two warring sides. In interviews, Garland has stated that he never intended to comment on domestic politics in the US. His emphasis is on global trends - particularly that fascism arises to confront the excesses of liberal democracy, a trend as apparent in Europe and the UK as it is in the US. As an Englishman, he sets this film here because, he says, America is the best current example of democracy. Simply put, if civil war can happen in the US, it can happen anywhere. "Civil War" is notable for its lack of exposition, lecturing or sermonizing. As with the war journalists he admires, Garland seeks to chronicle events as they occur, while respecting the moviegoer's ability to ascribe appropriate meaning to it all.
In "Civil War," the script drops the audience into the middle of the action, with no foreshadowing. We eventually create context and learn the backstory only as the narrative unfolds. With intention, this review offers no plot summary, in order to give the reader an equal chance to experience this immersive experience without any preconceived notions.
The cast here is excellent. The central characters are Lee (Dunst) and Joel (Wagner Moura - "Narcos"), who work for Reuters; Jessie (Cailee Spaeny - "Priscilla"), a novice photographer who tags along; and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson - "Dune"), who represents "what's left of the 'New York Times.'" While the performances throughout this film are consistently strong, the best acting involves Dunst conveying the world-weariness of an experienced war correspondent who's seen it all and has been changed by what she's seen.
The casual violence here may shock or offend you. Some of the striking visual images are likely to stay with you for a while. Hopefully, you will walk away reinforced in the notion that war, particularly on American soil, is unthinkable. That's good art.
In this work of speculative fiction, the setting could not be more provocative: a civil war on American soil in the near-distant future. But in the hands of Writer/Director Alex Garland ("Ex Machina," "Annihilation," "Men"), this film is anything but a traditional war movie, even though there are a few graphic battle scenes.
One of Garland's obvious goals is to emphasize the important role of war correspondents. Early on, Lee Miller (an excellent Kirsten Dunst) says, "Every time I survived a war zone, I thought I was sending a warning home: 'Don't do this.' But here we are." The lead character's name is an homage to mid-twentieth century photojournalist Lee Miller, who is recognized as one of the greatest war correspondents. After a career as a fashion model, she worked as a war correspondent at "Vogue," creating some of the iconic images of WW II while covering the London blitz, the liberation of Paris and the freeing of prisoners at the Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps.
In interviews, Garland has stated that one of his goals was to offer a counterbalance to the current trend of demonizing the press. His script underlines the essential role of journalism in neutrally reporting facts and offering illustrative photographs. In his view, making meaning of these words and images is the responsibility of the reader/viewer. By implication, he offers an indirect critique of news organizations that increasingly seem to be drifting into the opinion business.
"Civil War" has been acclaimed by many but eviscerated by an equal number, primarily because the screenplay intentionally assigns no political labels to the two warring sides. In interviews, Garland has stated that he never intended to comment on domestic politics in the US. His emphasis is on global trends - particularly that fascism arises to confront the excesses of liberal democracy, a trend as apparent in Europe and the UK as it is in the US. As an Englishman, he sets this film here because, he says, America is the best current example of democracy. Simply put, if civil war can happen in the US, it can happen anywhere. "Civil War" is notable for its lack of exposition, lecturing or sermonizing. As with the war journalists he admires, Garland seeks to chronicle events as they occur, while respecting the moviegoer's ability to ascribe appropriate meaning to it all.
In "Civil War," the script drops the audience into the middle of the action, with no foreshadowing. We eventually create context and learn the backstory only as the narrative unfolds. With intention, this review offers no plot summary, in order to give the reader an equal chance to experience this immersive experience without any preconceived notions.
The cast here is excellent. The central characters are Lee (Dunst) and Joel (Wagner Moura - "Narcos"), who work for Reuters; Jessie (Cailee Spaeny - "Priscilla"), a novice photographer who tags along; and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson - "Dune"), who represents "what's left of the 'New York Times.'" While the performances throughout this film are consistently strong, the best acting involves Dunst conveying the world-weariness of an experienced war correspondent who's seen it all and has been changed by what she's seen.
The casual violence here may shock or offend you. Some of the striking visual images are likely to stay with you for a while. Hopefully, you will walk away reinforced in the notion that war, particularly on American soil, is unthinkable. That's good art.