Written by Andreas Babiolakis

Midway through Alex Garland’s latest film, Civil War, budding journalistic photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) is trying to take a photo of her idol, veteran photojournalist Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst) during some downtime in a store while the latter is trying on a dress. Jessie takes her time lining up a shot when Lee reminds her that there is a “sweet spot” when it comes to timing a photograph (you can’t take too long or shoot too quickly either). Even though this quote pertains to how long one waits before photographing, I think the notion of the sweet spot is a crucial one that Garland had in mind while making Civil War: what easily feels like his most conventional film as a director whilst still being as uncompromising and polarizing as ever. We still see horrific images, get major shocks, and feel Garland’s scrutiny throughout the whole film, but this feels as Hollywood as he may ever get. The end result feels like the desensitization that we’ve all obtained through endless hours of late-night doomscrolling. We’re watching our world go to shit and we feel helpless in being unable to stop this deterioration. We’ve become numb. We may even make memes about it. Civil War is that middle ground of today’s sociopolitical climate: we acknowledge how bad everything is, and yet we’re oddly forced to accept the inevitable, it seems.

Tonally, Civil War feels very similar to the Garland penned, Danny Boyle film 28 Days Later, where we are facing the hideousness of a dystopian world while also spotting the fun and beauty whenever present. We get to know the protagonists as friends before catastrophe hits for good. We begin in the United States in what feels like not too many years from the current day. The country has descended into a multiparty civil war, and the POTUS (Nic Offerman) appears to be a real POS: a president who refuses to quit after two terms and is now functioning as a dictator. Lee wants to interview the president before the rebels hit the capital as intended on July 4th, and she has a few colleagues who are joining her. The uninvited youngster Jessie works her way into the party, much to Lee’s chagrin. Lee’s been Jessie before. Dunst acts as Lee wonderfully, with a thousand-yard stare and a lack of light in her spirit. Spaeny represents the next generation in a world surrounded by hate and violence who beams optimism at first and slowly becomes jaded and traumatized as the conditions of this road trip to Washington D.C. worsen. In this way, Civil War feels like another Garland film: Annihilation. The closer to the destination our protagonists get, the harder the mission is.

*Civil War* is able to get its message across to cinephiles of both popcorn flick and arthouse realms.

Civil War washes out many pivotal moments with silence or non-diegetic music, which sounds like a disservice until you recall the intentional aesthetic style of the film: the power of journalistic imagery. As we watch photographers capture horrific scenes, we are reminded of what photographs can do, what they can say, and how they can pass messages across. Garland wrings out much of the emotional weight of these moments by forcing us to grapple with them as if they were photographs we stumbled upon in a newspaper or online while feverishly scrolling through social media platforms. How do we respond to them in our own way? Despite how by-the-book Civil War feels compared to Garland’s other directorial efforts, it still allows us to form our own emotional and personal connections. Garland still nudges us in his own way, mind you. If the score by Garland mainstays Geoff Barrow (of Portishead fame) and composer Ben Salisbury isn’t ambiguously uncomfortable enough, then the clever needle-drops may do the trick, including Sturgill Simpson’s “Breakers Roar”, and an ironic use of De La Soul’s “Say No Go”. Then there’s my favourite use of a song in the film reserved right as soon as the trip to Washington begins: the highly appropriate “Rocket USA” by Suicide (if this doesn’t scream “suicide mission”, nothing else will).

As Civil War dips its toes in the action blockbuster genre via staunchly political means (much in the way Kathryn Bigelow would), it makes much of the horror feel somewhat glossed over, capturing that unfortunate familiarity we have with similar atrocities. This is a rare dystopian film that doesn’t just imply that this is where we are heading; it flat-out connects us as if we’re on the doorstep of this reality. It tries to include as many aspects of this future without getting too heavy-handed, including racism, classism, and those who fight blindly out of rage (just to say something in a world that refuses to listen). Something I have personally feared for over ten years now is that this kind of possibility will arise. As we keep enduring financial crises, countries are forced to pick sides, the middle class gets eliminated and many of us drop into the lower class while the elite gets away without a hitch, and so many other factors divide us and force us to flounder (now toss in the threat of many jobs thanks to AI), I fear the breaking point will be any day now. Garland has clearly had the same idea in mind with his latest film.

As *Civil War* ventures forth, it gets more and more shocking with its depictions of national divide.

Like Garland always does, Civil War saves its best cards for its harrowing ending (even a film as flawed as Men knew how to wrap up in style). Without spoiling anything, we get a final say in how we can decide what to pass on to the next generation: doom or shelter. While Civil War isn’t quite as neutral as I was hoping it would be (down to dressing the tyrannical president in a navy suit with a red tie), it still allows its messaging to encompass as many walks of life as possible, and this includes its parting words (perhaps it was best that a British director and screenwriter made them, otherwise an American may have the CIA at their door any day now). With the guise of an action film, Civil War gets its points across to those who likely have avoided any other Garland film before now because of his challenging nature.

I also don’t feel like Civil War needed to be more daring. We’ve seen Garland push the envelope before. It’s nice to see what him playing ball looks like, especially because he never settles for mediocrity or pedestrianism. As much as I like this film, I won’t pretend that he’s going out on a high should Garland not direct for a while (or ever again), given that he has stated that he is taking an indefinite break from directing and will focus on screenwriting for a while. However, should Civil War wind up being his last film (for now, or ever), it’s a great-enough effort that reminds us how skilled Garland is at creating dread, setting the tone, and conveying difficult concepts via strong world-building in his films. If any Garland film had the potential to make money, it’s this one. Hopefully, a nice box office return will finally help Garland — who is usually fighting tooth and nail with studios — keep making the motion pictures he aspires to make (whenever he sees fit). He’s too gifted to be limited. Civil War, his answer to mainstream cinema, is proof of this; if he’s this inspired to make a film for the masses, what does he have left when it comes to making or writing even more daring films?

Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.