Written by: Alex Garland
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno
Rating: [3.5/5]
While behind the scenes, photographers capture the ever-important moments of history. At times they serve as the sole reason why we know how certain events in the world even transpire. It comes from the brave work by those wielding a camera and within this tumultuous ride through a difficult time, Civil War, at its core, seeks to honor that. It also throws in a bunch of other stuff that makes this quite the thrilling ride.
In the midst of a war splitting the nation apart, photojournalist Lee (Kirsten Dunst) seeks to gain the opportunity to interview the President of the United States before he must surrender to a secessionist movement. On the treacherous journey to the nation’s capital with her colleagues, she reluctantly takes along a young aspiring photographer named Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), who wants to learn from the seasoned journalist.
When initially breaking onto the scene, Civil War found itself in a storm far beyond what it ever intended to create. Releasing in a contentious election year within a country aching to split into two with the aforementioned title meant that many individuals would have opinions. From the very fact that the forces from California and Texas would unite under any particular cause meant that this feature had plenty of difficult ground to cover but it goes to show the differences between expectation and reality. With most people drawing their own conclusions about what this film ought to be, Alex Garland applies his intentional message in a captivating manner. Through this setting many individuals can draw lines on the thoughts of those behind the film, but ultimately, this film remains one about the importance of not only journalism, but specifically photojournalism.
With various sides creating plenty of tension throughout this narrative, these characters don’t really speak on which side they stand on in this civil war but rather the importance of capturing the pivotal moments. That involves the possibility of dying before they even get the opportunity to reach the President as they continue to traverse a literal war zone. It therefore asks the questions of who or what they will encounter and what will occur when they reach Washington D.C. given the Western Forces are closing in and there’s no telling in what way the President will go out.
Having to encounter the different sides of a violent war, their positions stress the importance of their place as a neutral navigator there to record the events transpiring. They obviously exclaim their position as the press, but also wear gear clearly outlining it but that does not necessarily grant them full immunity. As one can imagine with the current political landscape and general feeling towards the media, not everyone sees the group led by Lee as a positive presence. This leads to some incredibly tense scenes and moments that threaten their safety. In these moments Garland’s direction really takes shape, which only gets furthered by the incredible sequence leading up to the entry of the White House. A stunning sequence depicting both these characters’ commitment to capturing this critical moment in American history but also how these soldiers see them as worthy individuals to have these journalists around.
Kirsten Dunst leads this cast, which always brings me joy to see her get a role like this, and she certainly stands out amongst the rest. However, she does have a strong supporting cast. Wagner Moura always shows out when given the opportunity, Stephen McKinley Henderson brings his general wise aura to his role, and the young Cailee Spaeny continues to demonstrate that her rise will be awesome to witness. This quartet of actors take on characters with varying attitudes towards their role in this wartime circumstance, but ultimately share the same goal of getting the scoop and appropriately capture something that will stand the test of time.
Filled with thrills and intriguing characters, Civil War walks a tightrope and does it very well. While the ending very callously and abruptly concludes the story to a somewhat baffling degree, this film still manages to craft a narrative worth watching. Alex Garland shines once again in his filmmaking, proving once again that I will be seated for anything he decides to put on the big screen.
Films with Josh 
