Civil War (2024) By Alex Garland - Movie Review

Civil War (2024) Director: Alex Garland Writer: Alex Garland Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Nick Offerman, Nelson Lee, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Jesse Plemons Runtime: 109min Rated: 14A (Canada) 13+ (Quebec) R (MPAA) for strong violent content, bloody/disturbing images, and language throughout.

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A Measured Warning

In the not-too-distant future the states of California and Texas succeed from the union and wage a civil war against the US government and a beleaguered America. This is the setting of the new Alex Garland film Civil War.

There is no back story provided to explain why the USA has fallen into civil war. Viewers are simply dropped into the conflict midstream as a novice fledgling photojournalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) worms her way into joining veteran photojournalist and foreign war correspondent Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and her reporter colleagues Joel (Wagner Moura) and seasoned rival Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) on their perilous road trip to Washington D.C. Their goal is to interview the besieged President, a story Joel describes as the last story that matters.

Director/writer Garland started his film career as the writer for two Danny Boyle films: the zombie apocalypse film 28 Days Later (2002) and sci-fi film Sunshine (2007). His next major writing credit came on Pete Travis’ post-apocalyptic comic book adaption Dredd (2012) about a chaotic ultraviolent society governed by law enforcement officers who also act as judge, jury, and executioner. In 2014 Garland released his directorial début film Ex Machina the disquieting sexually charged near future sci-fi horror film about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. His follow up was an adaptation of Jeff VanderMee’s 2014 female-centric sci-fi military thriller novel, Annihilation (2018) staring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tessa Thompson. His next project was the gothic folk-horror film Men (2022) about a young woman traveling alone in the idyllic British countryside who encounters the pagan Green Man.

These are high tension films made for adult audiences that regularly weave genre-heavy themes with drama. They lean into millenarian angst, a kind of fear of some aspect of the unknown often rooted in apprehension about the future. Garland’s film projects ask: could a virus create a zombie apocalypse; if the sun was about to wink out dropping earth into a pitch black deepfreeze what would humanity do to try and reverse the calamity; is AI as dangerous and manipulative as people fear; what if aliens are more alien that imagined; what if elements of supernatural paganism are real; what if the world degenerates into a drug-addled violent cesspool; what if the United States of America was plunged into a civil war?          

Sidestepping AI, zombies, superheroes, aliens, and supernatural subject matter makes Civil War Garland’s most accessible film even though it deals with a challenging subject matter and distressing content. Genre films may have passionate fan bases, but these fan bases are often limited. In addition, releasing Civil War during an American election cycle—a move which has garnered criticism—will certainly generate heightened interest.

The film’s road trip structure provides Garland with the opportunity to present a series of vignettes. These brief episodes show a divided America filled with struggling people ranging from the apathetic to the opportunistic where political ideals are hardly discussed, and everyday life has been put on hold. Sometimes people are shown engaged in violent encounters where it’s unclear who they are fighting for or against.

Aside from a quotation of the American Pledge of Allegiance and political platitudes like “God Bless America,” there are next to no references to God or discussions of personal faith. Characters don’t even use blasphemous cuss words or phrases involving the name of Jesus or God and few if any church buildings are shown dotting the urban or rural landscapes. The keen observer may notice a Christian cross on a necklace worn by one of the unpleasant characters that populate the film, but this is nothing new in Hollywood films. Apart from the elderly reporter Sammy asking Lee if she’s having an existential crisis there’s little conversation beyond the characters’ immediate situation. Where bigger picture concerns come into play, they tend to revolve around the value of the vocation of journalism in society and not around matters of faith in the face of death. When the young Jessie reflects on the dangers she’d faced while traveling with Lee and Joel saying, “I've never been so scared in my entire life. And I've never felt more alive,” her thoughts are focused solely on her present experience and feelings.

One notable moment of religious content comes when the travelers become trapped in a standoff at a garish ‘Christmas’ themed golfing range. An instrumental version of Silent Night plays over a loudspeaker as they duck for cover. Without the words only Christians, and those familiar with the lyrics of the hymn, will understand the reference. The military fatigues, the cheap Santa Clauses and plastic decorations and ornaments all ring hollow as the bullets fly and Lee zones in on a small flower growing unaware of the situation surrounding its pretty blue petals.

America’s social ‘religion’ of sports also receives little attention. Garland is careful not to lean too hard into the iconic images of mom, baseball, and apple pie. He provides few references to that part of American life. There’s a Pittsburgh Steelers NFL reference spray-painted onto an overpass juxtaposed with victims of public hangings left for motorists to see as they drive and then there’s an abandoned high school football stadium engulfed in urban graffiti being run as a sort of refugee camp by an NGO in which the journalists spend a short time. These bits and pieces of life before the civil war are depicted as sad reminders of the past. The past seems so far in the rearview mirror of their lives that after stumbling upon a town seemingly untouched by the conflict and spending a couple minutes shopping in a clothing store Lee says to Sammy something to the effect of “It's everything I thought I'd forgotten,” to which he replies, “Funny I was going to say it’s everything I remember.” The truth of the moment is revealed when Sammy points out men with firearms guarding the streets from the rooftops.

The kinds of images Garland creates in Civil War — while jarring and arresting — are familiar to audiences. While a quick perusal of current social media or the mainstream media will garner a never-ending series of images of war-torn cityscapes, human cruelty, and war crimes, it is unsettling to see these modern images and scenes set in the USA, even more so for American audiences. Garland’s intention is to deliver an anti-war film that avoids the kind of romanticization which could stoke the viewers’ desire for bloodlust. With the ominous and apocalyptic imagery running through the film, Christian viewers will want to remember what Jesus says about future troubles in the world, “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains” (Mark 13:7–8). In the midst of these troubles Jesus advises the Christian to “be on guard” because in these times the danger of persecution for faith in Him will increase.

While not an example of religious persecution, one of the most distressing moments in Civil War comes at the muzzle of a gun when a soldier played by Jesse Plemons, caught in the act of filling a mass grave, demands to know “what kind of American” each of the journalists identify as. The wrong answer will result in instant death. As unnerving and unsettling as this is Christians can take comfort in Jesus’ words, “I tell you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do” (Luke 12:4). Rather, Christians are taught to place their trust in God who has dominion over both body and soul and who promises them the resurrection of the body and eternal life. Such comfort isn’t meant to encourage foolhardy behavior or reckless living but in times of personal danger it is meant to give the Christian peace in the face of physical death.

This harrowing encounter with the soldier played by Plemons hints at xenophobia as a reason for the civil war but again this is never stated explicitly. Xenophobia, the obsessive distrust of foreigners, is not something Christians should embrace because Christians are charged with spreading the good news of Christ Jesus to people from every nation, tribe, and language without exception (John 3:16, Matthew 28:19, Revelation 7:9). The broken nature of the conflict creates an underlying question that crackles with each interaction throughout Civil War: whether that neighbour is someone right next door, down the street, or within the region or nation, how is the neighbour to be treated? The Christian has something to say to this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39); “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44); “do good to those who hate you,” (Luke 6:27b). But, as is often the case, saying this while looking down the barrel of a gun is perilous. In life and death situations, like the ones depicted by Garland, ethical questions of self-defence and self-preservation become paramount for both Christians and non-Christians. Throughout the film characters succeed and fail at caring for the physical needs of their neighbours even risking their lives to ensure others might not die. There are a couple standout moments where Garland confronts viewers with unspoken encouragement to live virtuous lives of purpose, especially if someone died to secure that second chance. 

One of the positive elements in the film is Lee’s willingness to eventually display sacrificial love towards Jessie. This is not necessarily a religious allegory but rather an acknowledgment that Lee, against her initial judgment towards the young girl, grows to see Jessie as the flip side of herself, and as such she sees her as someone worth living into the future. Deep in this realization is a kernel of hope in the face of hopelessness.

While Garland works to avoid romanticizing violence and warfare, he fails at avoiding romanticizing the work of photojournalism. For example, Jessie uses an analog 35mm Nikon FE2 camera shooting in gritty black and white. She’s even shown agitating and developing her own film. These details harken back to the past and will hit a certain nostalgic note with some viewers. Garland does not aggrandize soldiers and militia men and women, yet he makes photojournalists and reporters the panicle of bravery. Granted, they are armed only with a press badge and camera but it’s not just the nature of the scenario it’s the way it’s shot and presented.

Regardless of the American public’s general angst in the months ramping up to the 2024 presidential election Civil War may in fact have less to say about the current American political landscape than it has to say about the ugly nature of war in general and civil war in particular. If there’s something positive Americans can take from the film, considering it is set in America, it may be that the film could help personalize the dangers of heading down the path towards a second civil war and thereby encourage individuals away from that kind of thinking. It’s also a strong warning against polarization; of course, such a warning can be applied by viewers long before an actual civil war breaks out. It may also encourage a sober second opinion on the practice of stoking discontent in foreign counties, or championing the causes of foreign conflicts, risking the spread of such conflicts into various parts of the world including America.

A film like this will not be for all audiences; the content is brutal and at times dehumanizing, but that’s the point. It is a very direct cautionary piece of filmmaking. The same story could be told with the addition of zombies, aliens, or supernatural pagan forces but it’s not necessary. Such genre themes often serve one of two functions; either to help the audience dismiss the underlying intentions of the filmmaker or to slip the underlying intentions of the filmmaker into the viewer’s subconscious mind. Here Garland sets aside every excuse for combat and conflict zeroing in on the real-world dangers of man’s capacity for self-justification and violence. Lee says to the veteran reporter Sammy, “Every time I survived a war zone, I thought I was sending a warning home: Don’t do this … but here we are.” She’s normally a foreign war correspondent but finds herself in the midst of a war in her own country. This of course is the core fiction of the film and by the grace of God will stay that way.

Rev. Ted Giese is lead pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada; an award-winning contributor to The Canadian Lutheran and movie reviewer for the “Issues, Etc.” radio program. Follow Pastor Giese on Twitter/X @RevTedGiese. Check out our Movie Review Index!