“Once you start asking those questions you can’t stop. So we don’t ask. We record so other people ask.”
Lee
Alex Garland’s timely depiction of a USA descended into civil war will hit too close for some, while not engaging in sufficient reflection for others. Garland makes a deliberate choice to sidestep party politics — the secessionists Western Forces are led by red and blue states and the President’s affiliation is never confirmed (some Trumpian rhetoric in the opening scene notwithstanding). This understandable decision leaves a void in the fictional world building, with little explanation or examination of how the nation collapsed. Yet watching Civil War just a year after release, one finds these gaps at least partially filled by real events. Instead, the war-torn country provides a backdrop for a road trip movie as a group of journalists make a dangerous journey to attempt to interview the President before he is deposed. Photojournalist protagonists allow for real immediacy in the action as they (and the cameras) move in amongst fighters as well as justifying more beautiful cinematography than might be considered appropriate for violent subject matter. Kirsten Dunst excels as Lee (her name a nod to acclaimed WW2 photographer Lee Miller), a veteran war photographer who unwillingly takes on a young protégé, torn between the desire to nurture talent and protect her from inevitable trauma. Dunst succeeds in depicting this through Lee’s hardened shell, her face usually stern, eyes searching and analysing. Cailee Spaeny, who evidently impressed Garland in Devs, provides a fresh and eager audience perspective. I found the film frequently reminiscent of Monsters with its personal story unfolding against the backdrop of a dangerous journey and threatening environment. Although the plot amounts to little more than a series of vignettes along the trip, we find significant depth in each of the central characters as events unfold. Civil War is routinely nerve-wracking, with its final assault on the White House as tense as any war film. Like the Homefront videogames, it is the surreality of placing military violence within the USA the proves particularly arresting for a Western audience — by turns tragic and disturbing, emphasised by the familiarity.
8/10
