Civil War (2024)

“Don’t let them kill me.”

This is Alex Garland’s fourth (last?) feature film as a writer & director. His films, books & scripts are known to pack a punch, and often examine themes of duality & technology. With Civil War, the story is set in a fractured, fictional America and follows a group of journalists trying to make their way to the capital. Kristen Dunst plays Lee, a war weary photographer who is numb to the dangers around her. Her partner Joel (Wagner Moura) is a thrill seeking writer desperate to interview the president before he is ousted. As they get closer to their destination, the chaos around them escalatees, and Lee is forced to grieve her own choices.

The marketing campaign doesn’t really represent the tone of the film. The movie doesn’t have any political parties, no left or right wings. There is no political intrigue, and they do not explain why the war broke out. This is because the focus of every scene is on the characters, and the characters do not care about the politics. Their purpose, in their eyes, is to document the current events, and they stay hyper focused on ‘getting the shot’, even when it puts them in iminent danger. Their camera lenses become a pseudo emotional shield. As they get closer and closer to their destination, the violence culminates into one of the most intense action sequences I’ve seen in recent memory.

What makes Civil War so enthralling is its construction. Often the still photos that the characters capture are inserted into the action, so you have nowhere to look really but at the violence. Most of the action scenes take place in the middle of nature. Sometimes the camera pulls focus away from the people and onto over saturated blades of grass. The boredom and the tension blend into an amoral singularity, and the clicking camera shutter becomes indistinguishable from the whizzing bullets. Garland gives you time to contemplate the violence, and it’s deeply uncomfortable.