After the parenthesis on Netflix with Annihilation and the unfortunate Men released a couple of years ago, Alex Garland returns to theaters with his Civil War, a raw and violent story that follows the events of a group of photographers traveling across the United States in which a war has broken out between separationist states. The objective of the director and writer of the film is certainly interesting, but it could be equally divisive (as is actually happening): to tell the present with a dystopian context, but at the same time extremely close to a possible future not only for the States, but for many other realities around the world. With the review of Civil War we would like to underline right from the start how this certainly is one of the best films of 2024and which certainly aims to be both a beacon and a warning of what could happen, depending on how the elections that will take place next November go.
War never changes…
Alex Garland packs an action film with Civil War extremely raw for how current it is in what it tells. The use of very long shots for most of this journey allows us to see all the consequences unleashed by the various clashes that have happened and continue to happen in all states, leaving in the viewer's mind a deep sense of restlessness and unease.
The use of the camera is almost textbook, even if very set up, so Garland decides to experiment very massively on the sound and editing side. In fact, we find some very impactful sequences in the feature film, constructed almost to perfection thanks to the expert hand of the editing director Jake Robertssuch as a shootout sequence that ends with one of the best needle drops of recent yearswhere the music blends perfectly with what we see on the screen thanks to slow motion and the use of camera shots to the rhythm of the music… in one word: sensational!
The director here becomes one with the same group of photographers. Without taking any side, it shows the cruelty of war, whether on the side of one faction or the other. Through their photographs this group of reporters immortalizes the brutality of this second American civil war, and all the horror that our protagonists are willing to endure for the sole purpose of documenting current events to the rest of the world and remaining in history.
A “photograph” of current events…
Garland has wrote this film in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic and in the midst of protests in the US, on the one hand against the armed forces (remembering the murder of George Floyd), and on the other against vaccine deniers. It goes without saying that with this film of his, the director and writer has theintention to open the eyes of both the American people, but also a little to the rest of the world, on how a conflict can really arise from nothing and lead to catastrophe. He gives neither incipit nor solution to this war, he simply wants to show what could happen if a state were to be repressed to the end, and what the consequences of inefficient leadership would be.
Returning to photography, the dop Rob Hardy create some atmospheres almost on the verge of the horror genre however macabre and plausible. Some shots see highways with kilometers of abandoned cars and ghost towns left to the control of a few gangs who have now taken power, and who also wage war among themselves with the sound of bullets, almost giving the idea that the director was greatly inspired by The Last of Us to give the idea of this total collapse of society due to an uncontrollable event.
The wise and careful use of light and shadow by the director of photography reaches its climax in two precise sequences of the work: in the finale, obviously, where Garland also decides to insert a strong message against the mass mediaand in the sequence starring Jesse Plemonswho despite the very short part that almost borders on a “cameo”, gives us perhaps the most impactful scene in Civil War, and confirms himself to be once again – as if there were any need – one of the best actors on the Hollywood scene .
…And a look at the future
And speaking of actors, Civil War features a first-rate cast, which is being praised even by those who didn't exactly like the film. In fact, in the group of protagonist photographers we have one Kirsten Dunst in a state of grace, who here plays Lee, a war reporter who has become very famous in her sector for the popularity and “beauty” of her shots, understood in the most ironic way possible. The American actress, through her looks and silences, conveys to us all the tension and fear of her character. A fear that he must repress completely to show in reality a strength of mind and absolute confidence, which with years of experience on the battlefields around the world has certainly now become an integral part of his character. In what could be the best performance in his careerKirsten Dunst fits perfectly into the role of a person ready for total self-sacrifice and determined more than ever to interview the president of the United States (interpreted by Nick Offermanfresh off an Emmy win for his role in The Last of Us).
Together with her in the group of protagonists we also find Joel (Wagner Moura) and Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), the first is Lee's historical colleague who, unlike her, decides to suppress the fear and tension of the battlefield through alcohol and competition, treating the tragedy that is taking place in his country almost as if it were a game; the second, however, is a young reporter and fan of Lee who almost secretly sneaks into the protagonists' van to follow her dream of becoming a war reporter just like her, but the reality will prove to be much harder and scarier for her than she could have imagined. . To close the quartet of protagonists let's see Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), veteran journalist and mentor to Lee and Joel, who decides to accompany the two on their nearly impossible mission to reach the White House.
“The truth for all to see”
Civil War is a necessary type of film therefore, which blows the truth in your face of what could happen in the United States or even around the world – especially taking into account the events of Capitol Hill of January 2021 – and which could greatly affect the general opinion that this film could receive from the public.
The advice is obviously to go and see it, to attend one textbook directorial and acting performance, seasoned with photography with attention to the smallest details and high-impact visual and sound editing, all topped off with a decidedly high-level soundtrack from A24. Obviously a political subtext hovers throughout the film, but as mentioned at the beginning, the director, like the reporters protagonists of the work, remains neutraldeciding to simply show reality of what is happening in this one dystopian – but not that far – reality.
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