I had some trepidation going into this new film, Civil War, thinking, “Is this the film that we need in this country right now?”’” And after watching the movie, which is an extremely well-crafted, intense and poignant work of art, I’m still asking myself that same question.
Written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), the politics in this tale are mostly ambiguous, which was a smart move and, I’m certain, a task that was difficult to accomplish. But even as bipartisan as the narrative is, it will probably still generate controversy on both sides of the spectrum.
As the film begins, the country is in disarray, with some states having seceded from the union and with a president into his third term. It’s not clear who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. One soldier sums it up by saying, “They’re trying to kill us and we’re trying to kill them.” That’s about all we know of the conflict.
The story unfolds as a van of journalists travels across the bloody countryside to Washington, D.C., where they hope to get an interview with the president (Nick Offerman), who is hidden behind a massive military guard.
The band of journalists is made up of Joel (Wagner Moura) and Lee (Kirsten Dunst), a hardened, well-traveled writer and photographer team, and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), an older/wiser reporter who is not healthy enough for this journey, but is determined to make it anyway.
Also along for the trip is young newbie, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), who looks to Lee as her hero and she manages to charm her way into the van against the photojournalist veteran’s objections and there is a definite “as you were, I was, as I am, you will be” vibe going on here. The performances here are all excellent, across the board.
The violence is jarring and will often catch you off your guard. It shook me up more than once and let that be a warning to anyone with PTSD out there who might think about going to this movie. It is unsettlingly realistic and raw.
As a former military photographer myself, from before the advent of digital photography, I was amused at Jessie’s old school Nikon FE2 and her processing of film in the field. It was interesting how they incorporated these details into this story where electricity and Wi-Fi signals are sparse.
Is this the right movie at the right time? It should encourage much needed discussion between the sides of our fractured nation… it should make us think. But will that happen? I dread that some “burn-it-all-down” wackadoos will see this movie and simply think it looks like a great idea.
Despite my misgivings about whether this is a movie that should ever have been made, it is an excellent piece of filmmaking. Hopefully those who do see this film will come away with the same lesson Edwin Starr tried to teach us back in 1969 … What is this good for? Absolutely nothing.
