Civil War Review: A Bold, Beautiful and Bleek Vision

CIVIL WAR Review – A Haunting Roundtrip across a broken America

War, good God, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Things Fall Apart as the divide states of America finds itself in a dangerous conflict. Civil War brings to the screen an alternate but very possible bleek future for America. The delicate threads that hold the 50 states together are cut and the population finds itself in the middle of a war zone

Civil War is directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina) and stars Kirsten Dunst as Lee Smith, a wary well renowned War photographer.  She’s been everywhere, seen it all and done it all but the years in combat zones is starting to take its toll. And now the unimaginable has happened. The war zone she is reporting on is not in some distant country but actually on the American homeland. The states have broken up and formed alliances with other factions, eager to bring down the president and what remains of his government.

With atrocities being committed on both sides, Lee and her colleagues capture these shocking moments with attacks on civilian populations and food shortages running rife. During one of these attacks, she saves aspiring journalist   Jessie (Cailee Spaeny)  who joins the group of journalists on their dangerous road trip to Washington to get an interview with the President before his government falls.

Civil War certainly wasn’t the movie I was expecting from the trailers. I expected a film that would support some thoughts I have over war and conflict and maybe challenge other ideas. I was hoping the film would present sparks that would encourage debate, but I don’t feel this was the case.

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Director Alex Garland has crafted a beautiful yet very bleak view of a near future America that has imploded. But rather than take a position, he has simply held up a mirror saying ‘look, this is where you could end up if you carry on the path of division and identity politics. While the film alludes to negative actions from the President and his government, there are no real good or bad guys to root for. Alex Garland has taken the position of the journalist, simply capturing and reporting what is going on, without passing judgment, simply showing us the horrors of what’s going on, which left it feeling a bit cold and disconnected

Despite this, I found Civil War to be fascinating and a real eye opener. We all see the images from war zones, but I never really thought of how much is risked getting those images and how close to the action they actually have to be to bring those stories home sometimes with only a florescent ‘press’ vest as protection. While there aren’t tons of action, what is there is visceral and brilliantly done, throwing us squarely into the terrifying action.

Kirsten Dunst is fantastic and delivers an understated tense performance. Much like a soldier who has completed one too many tours. She is dealing with PTSD and despite being good at what she does, the impact of that life is written all-over her face. The supporting cast Is also solid, including Wagner Moura, Stephen Mckinley Henderson and Cailee Spaeny.

This is a dangerous haunting road trip across a broken America. Its full of picturesque landscapes, amazing cinematography, and gripping moments, all leading up to its riveting climax as the Western Forces storm the White House. A chilling vision of America that tells a fascinating story but offers no opinion on the horrors we are shown

Civil War is out now in cinemas