The United States is crumbling in Alex Garland's sharp new film "Civil War," a bellowing and haunting big screen experience. The country has been at war with itself for years by the time we're invited in, through the gaze of a few journalists documenting the chaos on the front lines and chasing an impossible interview with the president.
Garland, the writer-director of films like "Annihilation" and "Ex Machina," as well as the series "Devs," always seems to have an eye on the ugliest sides of humanity and our capacity for self-destruction. His themes are profound and his exploration of them sincere in films that are imbued with strange and haunting images that rattle around in your subconscious for far too long.
In "Civil War," starring Kirsten Dunst as a veteran war photographer named Lee, Garland is challenging his audience once again by not making the film about what everyone thinks it will, or should, be about. Yes, it's a politically divided country. Yes, the President (Nick Offerman) is a blustery, rising despot who has given himself a third term, taken to attacking his citizens and shut himself off from the press. Yes, there is one terrifying character played by Jesse Plemons who has some pretty hard lines about who is and isn't a real American.
But that trailer that had everyone talking is not the story. Garland is not so dull or narratively conservative to make the film about red and blue ideologies. All we really know is that the so-called Western Forces of Texas and California have seceded from the country and are closing in to overthrow the government. We don't know what they want or why, or what the other side wants or why and you start to realize that many of the characters don't seem to really know, or care, either.
Smart, compelling and challenging blockbusters don't come along that often, though this past year has had a relative embarrassment of riches with the likes of "Dune: Part Two" and "Oppenheimer." "Civil War" should be part of that conversation too. It's a full body theatrical experience that deserves a chance.
"Civil War," an A24 release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for "strong, violent content, bloody/disturbing images and language throughout." Running time: 119 minutes. Three stars out of four.
This image released by A24 shows Cailee Spaeny in a scene from "Civil War." (Murray Close/A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Nick Offerman in a scene from "Civil War." (Murray Close/A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Stephen McKinley Henderson in a scene from "Civil War." (Murray Close/A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Stephen McKinley Henderson in a scene from "Civil War." (Murray Close/A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows a scene from "Civil War." (A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows promotional art for "Civil War." (A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Kirsten Dunst in a scene from "Civil War." (A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Kirsten Dunst in a scene from "Civil War." (A24 via AP)
This image released by A24 shows Kirsten Dunst in a scene from "Civil War." (Murray Close/A24 via AP)