Hello and welcome back to Mindless Movies Reviews. The weather here has been teasing us with warmth, but a chilly day hit, so it was a great day to get back into the theater for another review. This week, I got the pleasure of watching A24’s “Civil War” with my son and I got to experience it in a theater I haven’t been in for a while, so those were both fun. I was instantly drawn in to see this film based solely on the description without seeing the trailer yet. Before I dive too far into this though, here is the necessary spoiler warning. I will be discussing parts of this movie in detail, so if you are not ready for that yet, then please go here to check out some other reviews first, then come back for this one.
So, I don’t know Alex Garland’s original vision for this, but I really enjoyed what the final product was. Having been a fan of “28 Days Later” and “Ex Machina” I knew it was going to be good, but different and that’s exactly what we got. So, “Civil War” actually picks up close to what we believe is the end of the war. Lee (Kirsten Dunst) is a wartime photo journalist and Joel (Wagner Moura) is her driver/partner/friend and from the looks of it, he has been for a while. Currently in New York City shooting some pictures of the war violence, she assets up-and-comer photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) when she gets too close to the action.
This is some of the best acting I’ve seen Dunst do in quite some time. Personally, I thought it was better than her appearance in “The Power of the Dog”. From the jump, she constantly looks like the world has beaten her down and rarely has a smile on her face. After the altercation, she runs into her old friend Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and this is when we find out that her and Joel’s plans are to make it to the White House and interview the President (played by Nick Offerman). Sammy talks his way into getting a ride from them and along with Jessie (much to Lee’s chagrin) tags along too.
The four are making their way to D.C. via Pittsburgh due to all the road blockages and down bridges on the main path. Along the way, we see some truly horrifying scenes of a war-torn America as places are left in ruins in the aftermath of many battles. Lots of camps are set up to house those without a place to go and Lee starts to form a bond with Jessie, teaching her the ways and showing her how to stay alive in this environment. They also had several encounters with various people (both military and civilian) including a haunting meetup with an unnamed soldier played by Dunst’s real-life husband Jesse Plemons. It’s during that encounter that Sammy saves the day but gets shot as well.
By the time they make it to a safe zone, Sammy is dead, and this starts a downward spiral for Lee. Her pain and anguish can clearly be seen on her face, as well as the pure emotion that Joel feels as well. Both Dunst and Moura put in some A+ performances as they fear their journey is nearly at an end without having the chance to complete their goal of meeting and interviewing the President. As they make the final push to get to the White House, Lee is practically pulled along by Joel as Jessie finally seems up to the task with her picture-taking. Spaeny was the one showing off her skills early on while Jessie was struggling. Now, she seems to be getting the better shots.
The barricade around the White House is finally breached. Then, after what was a fake Presidential getaway was stopped, the three journalists and a few soldiers enter the White House and shoot their way to the President. Along the way, Lee sacrifices herself to save Jessie and falls dead just moments before the rest of them complete their challenge. Joel stops the assassination attempt just long enough to get a quote from the President, then allows them to continue when he gets what he wants.
That’s it, it’s all over just like that. I mean the movie, not the war. We don’t have a clue to know if this is going to stop the war, make it worse, or change the direction of it. But the movie ends and leaves a couple of questions in my mind. Like is there a “good” side and a “bad” side? As a viewer, I don’t know which side I am supposed to be more tied to or who I want to win the war. I’m sure that’s exactly what the filmmakers wanted out of this, and it leaves us to figure it out in our own minds (which I can appreciate). Also, is Jessie going to go back and get Lee’s camera to get all of the pictures she took before her demise? Finally, what was the war about anyway. We don’t get any clues as to why California and Texas wanted to secede from the rest of the United States and what was the catalyst for starting the war.
In the end, it was an enjoyable movie to watch, and it also sort of opens your eyes. It’s not hard for a country to get divided on a topic. Just look at every Presidential election in the last 20 or so years, there are two distinct sides that will never see eye-to-eye. I’m not saying that would ever happen or if that’s even what Garland had in mind when he wrote it, it just makes you think.
I do wish we had some more back story on why the country was at war with itself, but it definitely didn’t take away from the movie. But for the fact that it makes you think so deeply about our current nation along with the grim performances by the cast, I give this high marks with an 8 out of 10!
Thanks for reading and come back again next week and join me for another mindless movie review of some sort.
