By CYNTHIA BIDDLECOMB
Los Alamos
Morbid curiosity … You could say that is what took this reviewer to see “Civil War,” which opened in theaters Friday and is now showing at SALA. “Morbid” because, in an election year, who really wants to imagine our nation warring against itself? “Curiosity” because the film’s trailers were decent, and because there are somewhat-encouraging numbers given it by IMDb (7.6/10) and Rotten Tomatoes (83%, with an audience score of 79%).
Fortunately, my concern wasn’t necessary. Writer-director Alex Garland intentionally left out any specific politics that would have led to this imagined civil war. All we learn is that a third-term president has led the nation into chaos. Garland’s intentionality is obvious when he allies California and Texas into a secessionist movement called the “Western Front”. Apparently, Florida has also seceded from the union, but on its own terms. In response to their secession, this president sent the military out in force to attack his own American citizens, causing massive fatalities, ravaging poverty, and huge devastation.
Enter our heroes. Kirsten Dunst plays Lee, a renowned photojournalist, at the peak of her career in global war zone reporting. Keeping her on the road and safe is her colleague reporter Joel, played by Wagner Moura. Stephen McKinley Henderson plays Sammy, a photojournalist from the previous generation; when he hears the two of them are heading to Washington D.C. to interview the President, he begs a ride from them.
To add poignancy to the photojournalists’ story, enter a 23-year-old novice photographer named Jesse (Cailee Spaeny). She marks the third generation of photojournalists to chase the story. She, of course, talks her way into joining the others on their road trip to D.C. Along the way, Lee and Joel show her the ropes and keep her safe, while Jesse revels in her luck, being among these nobles of the profession. But she has no idea what she’s in for.
What these photojournalists experience, especially the novice Jesse, is the heart of the film: death and destruction; scenes of impoverished folks banding together for food and services; Americans killing each other with little understanding of why. Impressively, the production employs a huge military presence: helicopters, bombers, Humvees, tanks, guns, and artillery. Despite a large part of the film providing a respite from the war, this is an action movie with plenty of war scenes, especially as it nears its ending.
Director Garland takes pains to show the audience where political extremism in the U.S. could lead. At the same time, he adds in moments of peace, and the beauty of life, nature, and human kindness. We wonder with Lee at the horrors she has seen in war and what it has done to her appreciation of the beauty of life. But Jesse says she has never felt more alive than this. That apparently is what motivates these war reporters.
Civil War is “Rated R for strong violent content, bloody/disturbing images, and language throughout.” But I found it much less disturbing than I had imagined it would be.
