Civil War
Civil War is playing in theaters at the time of writing. Rated R. Common Sense says 16.
STORY: B+
This isn’t the story you were expecting. It’s better.
A group of war reporters crisscrosses the country, capturing stories as a divided America rages in civil war.
We learn little about why the United States is fighting itself. We learn little about its big battles. We learn little about who’s on whose side.
Those omissions aren’t an accident. They serve to open up enough space in the narrative that allows it to make a major statement. More on that statement in a bit, in the elective class.
THE SCOOP: Check out Civil War’s IMDb page, here.
PEOPLE: A
Dunst, Moura, Spaeny, and Henderson deliver extraordinary performances.
The four lead actors perform their roles to near perfection.
A lifetime spent capturing violent images has chiseled everything about Lee (Dunst) down to stone, everything except for her ace photojournalist’s eye. Joel’s (Moura) ego balloons as the film rolls on, sticking its flag firmly - and painfully - upon his soul by film’s end. Sammy (Henderson) acts as the story’s conscience. The audience winces every time his friends fail to heed his warnings.
It’s Jessie (Spaeny) who’s the main character. Her transformation is the real story, and her eyes attune to every step of her descent from naive newbie to jaded pro.
CAST PARTY: Check out Letterboxd’s interview with Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny, here . (9 mins.)
FILM NERD STUFF: A-
Like the war reporters we follow, writer-director Alex Garland can tell an amazing story with a camera.
At one point, our heroes become separated. They find their friends’ empty, abandoned car crashed in front of a picturesque farmhouse. As they walk toward the farm, the camera gently falls until the buildings behind the house are covered by beautiful, rolling green hills.
At this point in the film, our alarm bells are fully synced to the potential danger lurking behind every corner. Sure, those buildings might contain nothing but combines, bales of hay and bushels full of Brussels sprouts. But we sure wouldn’t bet on it.
The shot is a metaphor for the American myth. Our leaders often blanket themselves in our gorgeous iconography in order to conceal the sordid things that occasionally must be done to maintain that myth’s survival.
You’re free to debate whether the metaphor is valid for today’s version of America or not. But within the world of this film, it’s deadly accurate.
DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY: Check out director Alex Garland breaking down a scene from the film on the NYT’s Anatomy of a Scene, here. (3 mins.)
THE WAR IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE (Elective Class): A
The movie is terrifying not because it shows what might happen. It’s frightening because it reveals an exaggerated version of what’s happening right now.
War reporters embed themselves in the ugly muck of war so they may bear witness. They duck screaming bullets flying in from every angle. They crouch behind cars, risking their lives to peek out and grab a great shot. They carry notepads, firing questions at soldiers as the soldiers fire guns at the enemy.
Most of us will never get as close to war as these four reporters. But when we read their stories and collect their photos, we’re also bearing witness. Which means that non-combatants will also suffer the same consequences as the press who covers war: addiction, brokenness, a slow creep of indifference. The consequences may not be as severe, but they are dangerous nonetheless.
Many of us only witness battles through our screens. We tell ourselves it’s something that happens far, far away. But this film is screaming at us, trying its best to warn us that the distance we believe keeps us safe is no defense at all. Enough exposure - or avoidance, for that matter - will eventually turn all of us into these four reporters.
FINAL COMMENTS:
Garland delivers a shot to the heart and the conscience of our Western world. This film isn’t the Ghost of Christmas War Future. It’s the Ghost of Christmas War Present. And it’s necessary viewing for those of us who haven’t taken the lessons from the Ghost of Christmas War Past to heart.
It’s a beautifully crafted, impressively acted, thought provoking film that keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.