Lee, a photojournalist, finds herself in a war zone for the umpteenth time in her career. The difference is that this conflict is taking place in his country: the United States. Torn apart by a second war of secession, the nation is on fire. Armed with her device and a press badge supposed to protect her, Lee intends to go to Washington to interview the embattled president. In the context of a post-Capitol storm America once again tempted to elect Donald Trump, the film Civil War (Civil war) turns out to be terrifyingly plausible. Meeting with its screenwriter and director, Alex Garland.
“The film was born from a growing unease that I have felt for several years with the state of the world. It was swelling so much and becoming so loud, like a deafening din in my head, that it was worrying. Because it had to come out, it ended up emerging as a screenplay,” explains the man who wrote the films 28 Days Later (28 days later) And sunshine (The last rays of sun) for Danny Boyle, before making the jump as a filmmaker with Ex Machina.
“If I’m perfectly honest, I would say that the discomfort was compounded by anger. And it all crystallized into a story. However, I knew from the start that I had to anchor the story well, focus it well. To hit your target, you have to aim precisely, not shoot in all directions. So it was imperative that I… channel my anxiety and anger. »
Note that if the deleterious influence of the penultimate American president on the social climate is palpable in the film, Civil War is no more pro-democrat than pro-republican. The film talks about war in absolute terms, denouncing its ravages, its absurdities and its turpitudes, without choosing a side.
Among the myriad of small and big events to have struck the filmmaker’s imagination before writing the film, there was this time when, in London, he saw two BBC journalists being spat on.
“The political class, the population in general and certain media also treat journalists with a distrust and aggression that worries me enormously. It contributes to a toxic social climate. »
Fascinating people
The bias towards having a photojournalist heroine, however, has much deeper roots than the attack on BBC reporters. Indeed, Alex Garland’s father was a political cartoonist, so the filmmaker rubbed shoulders with a whole range of journalists from childhood.
“Lee was born from my observations, which, indeed, date back to childhood, and continue to this day as I have many friends in the field, including war photojournalists. They are fascinating people, because they can be funny, then fierce, condescending, then vulnerable, cynical, then full of empathy… And all these characteristics which, at first glance, may seem contradictory come together in one. all coherent when we focus on the nature of their profession. »
In fact, what photojournalists see, capture and report, without being able to intervene, is often the worst that humanity has to offer.
” Exactly. What they face… The information they have to process, mentally, and then live with: it can be terrible. Their devotion to their work, to their mission, is also total, and readily requires extraordinary physical courage. In a way, I think I wanted to pay tribute to them for the work they do on behalf of all of us. »
Like a warning
In this regard, Lee not only witnesses the conflict, but stands at the heart of it, making us experience it with her. Certainly, Civil War shows a group embarked on a journey with an uncertain outcome, a recurring motif in Alex Garland’s screenplays, but the film remains firmly anchored to Lee’s point of view.
Lee who, during an exchange with a colleague, made this admission: “You know, documenting all these wars abroad was also like a warning to people here, in the hope that they don’t make the same mistakes. »
However, a good part of Alex Garland’s filmography can be seen as a series of, yes, warnings: 28 Days Later takes place after a pandemic (and, like Civil Warwarns against a military power no longer accountable), Ex Machina deals with the risks of being seduced by artificial intelligence, Annihilation addresses the environmental crisis from the perspective of changes…
Knowing this, we will be able to see in Lee the most personal character of Alex Garland, even his alter ego. Overanalyzing?
“You don’t overanalyze, no,” admits the main person involved. There is a form of warning in some of my films. That said, my concerns and fears are shared by many people: I am absolutely not unique or visionary. However, one thing that has often struck me is how collectively we are capable of seeing crises coming, but then how incapable we are of taking any action to prevent them. »
Make films to prevent? Act before the worst happens? Thoughtful, Alex Garland concludes: “Humans have this predisposition to denial… As if identifying a problem was enough to resolve it. It’s frightening. »
An observation which makes Civil War all the more plausible. Horribly plausible.
The film Civil War hits theaters on April 12. Read our review posted online on Tuesday.