In a future so near that it looks like the present, a second civil war is tearing the United States apart. A distinguished photojournalist, Lee intends to be the first — and undoubtedly the last — to speak to the president. Besieged in Washington, the latter has in fact not granted any interviews since the start of the conflict, which he is on the verge of losing. Having recovered from everything, but driven by an unchanged desire to document History, Lee hits the road in the company of two colleagues: the impetuous Joel and the veteran Sammy. Unwillingly, she also accepts the presence of Jessie, a neophyte who idolizes her. Driven by an exceptional performance from Kirsten Dunst, Civil War (Civil war) sends shivers down the spine with its oh-so-plausible anticipation.
Esteemed director and screenwriter, Alex Garland has created a great film, his best since his first as a filmmaker: the chilling Ex Machina, on the seductive perils of artificial intelligence. However, the production from Garland’s filmography from which Civil War most claimed is one of those he wrote, but not produced: 28 Days Later (28 days later), by Danny Boyle.
For the record, in a post-pandemic context, we follow the wanderings of survivors who try to get to a safe place while escaping hordes of “contaminated” zombies.
In many ways, the minimalist 28 Days Later most ambitious announcement Civil Warboth in the narrative structure and in the themes: the strength of the group, the finding of a destination different from what was expected, the distrust of military power…
Besides, if Civil War is so frightening, much more so than its spiritual predecessor, among other things because in this context devoid of accountability, armed humans prove more terrifying than any zombie. And also because the America that this variegated contingent is crossing resembles closely, much too closely, to the one that could materialize after the next presidential election: are these the Trumpian tomorrows that await us?
Just hypothetical enough, just amplified enough, the film acts like a barely distorting mirror. The reflection he sends back to us is all the more distressing. Anxiety-provoking, the film is in this case from start to finish.
Captivating heroine
More than in its visually accomplished, but narratively opaque Annihilation, another group journey into the heart of unknown darkness with this time an environmental backdrop, Garland sticks to a clear plot with clear milestones. This, in conjunction with an immersive production to the point of discomfort, even panic (during certain particularly tense sequences, I forgot to breathe).
For example, the occasional use of slow motion expands the fear of the moment, while evoking, more generally, a conflict that is getting bogged down.
From the outset, Garland immerses us in the dangerous daily life of Lee, who is intrepid without being hotheaded. In her profession, she is an authority figure. She knows that even while wearing the cockade and the “Press” bib supposed to protect her among the different enemy factions, she could receive a bullet at any time.
Complex, full of contradictions, and therefore eminently human, Lee is a captivating heroine: jaded but ambitious, instinctive but rigorous, misanthropic but empathetic…
Along the way, Lee will develop, again, almost against his will, a mentoring relationship with the very young Jessie. Never, in their discussions, does Lee water down the reality or the imperatives of their profession.
“If I get killed, will you take the photo?” asks Jessie. “You know the answer to that,” Lee replies without flinching. Lee who confides earlier to Joel that, if she photographed all these fratricidal wars around the world, it was also in order to dissuade her own country from making the same mistakes. In vain, she notes, nevertheless continuing her mission.
To buckle the buckle
Like his heroine, Alex Garland does not shy away, bringing his film to the only possible conclusion. And if the ending may initially seem cynical, it will impose itself a posteriori in all its inescapable logic.
On this subject, after the disconcerting Men (Them), which, like the aforementioned Annihilationsuffered from a complacently esoteric outcome, it is good to see the author reconnect with the implacable plausibility ofEx Machina.
Prone to a certain clinical coldness, or at the very least, to a relative distance, Garland conversely offers us here bursts of raw emotion, unseen in his work since 28 Days Laterhold.
Knowing this, if Civil War was to be Alex Garland’s last film, as he said, it’s hard to imagine a better circle. Ultimately, with his variously postapocalyptic stories, it is as if, like his ultimate heroine, Alex Garland had wanted to warn us against ourselves all along. In this, Lee is him.