There are countless words you could find to describe the film ‘Civil War’….
Disconcerting? Without question. Eye opening? Yes, that’s two words, I know. Topical? Absolutely.
Here’s the one word that truly gives me the chills though, one in which you hope fiction never drifts into reality…
Premonition.
Currently, thank goodness, this IS fictional stuff, although the timing of its arrival does give it that extra bit of spine tingling oomph. In ‘Civil War’, a seasoned war photographer (Kirsten Dunst), along with a few generations of colleagues, travels to the outskirts of an intense war zone in D.C. as her own country, the United States of America, is divided and tearing itself to pieces. A conflict waged by the Western Forces, a conjoined army consisting of Texans and Californians whose states have seceded from the union. The reason behind the rebellion is never really clear, probably the biggest clue lying in the sitting President (Nick Offerman) and his Constitution-defying ‘third term’. In other words, when his time was up, he didn’t leave, democratic process be damned.
….hmmm. Should I say it?
Really, it’s a near impossible chore NOT to get political when you’re reviewing a film with subject matter such as this – yet, I’ll try to resist throwing a lot of stones. Because whether you sit left, right, or on the fence, I think it’s evident that there’s a crap storm brewing very close to home and a project like ‘Civil War’, make believe or not, CAN act as a wake up call. To everyone.
And writer/director Alex Garland does play things pretty much down the middle, probably why he leaves the roots of the discord mysteriously vague and the culmination shockingly brief, leaving us with more questions than we had when we came in. The statement he’s making here isn’t necessarily who’s right and who’s wrong, rather – look how quickly and messy things can become when the pot is left to boil over. Also simmering underneath the surface, not surprising with the selected focal characters, is the role of journalistic ethics. But that’s a ride with even MORE layers, and if nothing else, Garland paves the way for some pretty heavy talking points well after viewing ‘Civil War’ – and in my mind, that’s usually the sign of a very, very good film.