Civil War (2024)

"It's so weird. This place is like everything I've forgotten." 
""Funny; I was thinking it felt like everything I remembered."" 

I'll be completely honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from this film, but it wasn't a lot. Upon seeing the trailers and title, I thought that this was going to be a political movie about war; I wasn't entirely wrong, but it was so much more than that. I absolutely loved this film, definitely a four-to-five star rating from me, where I gave it five stars solely because of just how much I was invested in the plot and characters by the end of it. 

As someone that comes from a journalism, communications background, I was already intrigued when reading that the film was about war photographers and journalists who are chasing stories during a dystopian war. This concept alone was enough for me to be fascinated in how they told the story of having to report during tough times, which I think Alex Garland did a phenomenal job at. It truly covers all of the emotions, both of veteran-shooters and newbie-shooters on the scene. 

I must also really hand it to Cailee Spaeny, I'm really beginning to love her. After seeing her in A24's previous film Priscilla and not being a huge fan of the film itself but really admiring her portrayal and acting along with her recent casting in Alien: Romulus as the lead and now in this, she's having an amazing year where she's gaining popularity, with good reason. 

At the beginning of the film, we see Jessie Cullen shell-shocked and traumatized by what she sets out to photograph. Surviving a suicide bomber attack, Jessie appears to be terrified of violence and the outcome of such acts. On the other hand, we have Lee Smith, a veteran photographer, who essentially tells her to suck it up if she wants this career as bad as she says. Lee Smith even goes as far to answer affirmatively when the young Jessie Cullen questions whether or not she would photograph her death if given the opportunity. The juxtaposition of these two characters at the beginning of the film and how we see them develop towards the end was fascinating to me and remarkably well done. 

The entire premise of the film is highly interesting; the dystopian America split into two divided parts, which I would assume to be the Western Forces and the federal government located in Washington, D.C., led by the president. The inhabitants of the dystopian country are divided, which is highly representative of our country now. Within the dystopian country, we see those who are fighting against the federal government and president, and those who believe in the ideals that the president claims to want to restore. There are those who take it to the extreme, regardless of whether or not it's what anybody is encouraging, those who refuse to do anything or even acknowledge anything wrong, and those who are focused on reporting the truth of what's going on, regardless of what "side" they align with or what either "side" is doing. 

It's very interesting to see this from a journalism standpoint, where it's taught that any story that would gain popularity is a good story, regardless of who headlines it. We see both "sides" of the civil war taking place in this film essentially doing the same thing: standing up for their beliefs, fighting for what they believe in, and killing people with a very "whatever it takes" mindset. The journalists are reporting both, using both sides to generate press and recognition. 

I think the film does a good job showcasing each type of person within the war. There's those who are trying to bring the country back to its "original" and "true" state, in which we see someone kill others who he believes "are not American enough." This was truly something that resonated with me as someone who is an Asian-American, where the man who believes he is "restoring" the nation to those who "truly belong here" is eliminating those he does not deem "worthy." The representation of such mindset is truly impeccable, where the details are amazing. If you look at the people he's killed, they mostly appear to be people of color. If you analyze the scene in detail, the only two people who were executed at that scene were the only two who could not pass as white-passing Americans and, even closer to home for me, Asians. While it's a hard truth, it's one that Alex Garland absolutely hit spot-on with how some people believe and how I, myself, are sometimes not seen as a "true American" despite living here for the entirety of my life aside from my first year. Judging a book by its cover, unfortunately, is enough and a basis in this country. 

Then we turn to the society that operates as if there is no civil war happening at all. Joel even goes as far to ask the woman whether or not she knows what's actually happening, where she answers that of course they know what's going on, they choose not to acknowledge it. Truly the embodiment of the saying "ignorance is bliss." This can also be applied to our current situation, where there are those who choose not to get involved and to "protect their peace" by choosing to ignore what's happening, both to our country and around the world to others. Remarkable that Alex Garland captured and represented this mindset so authentically as well. 

Throughout the film, we see all of the characters progress, each in their own ways. Joel seems to be the representation of those who, despite everything that's going on, try to keep it light-hearted and focus on "getting the job done." We see Lee Smith, who seems to be a pessimist, ashamed of the world she's living in and reporting both as a distraction and also a way to cope with what's going on, focusing on "this is how it is, and it's our job to capture it, because nobody else is." We have Sammy, who is an optimist, choosing to remember the good in the world and hoping to one day get back there. We see Jessie, who is naive and young, scared of the world, but wanting to make her way and wanting to do whatever it takes. Seeing each of these characters develop in their own, unique ways is interesting, especially in how this film showcases how war can change a person. We see mental breaks, we see post-traumatic stress disorder symtpoms, we see anxiety attacks, we see changes; we see the effects of war. 

The changes in Jessie and Lee are truly something to marvel at. We see Jessie, at the beginning, terrified of violence and scared of the position she claims to want to put herself in. We see Lee as someone who seems to disregard Jessie's life entirely, saying she's only allowing Jessie to tag along because it's what she says she wants, and when something happens to her that she will remember "she asked for it." At the end of the film, we see how their characters have changed, including the previous quote between both characters and how it relates to the ending. 

This film was a brilliant representation of the country being split into two and the different categories that people align themselves with when country goes into conflict, whether it's current or dystopian. The way that Civil War represents each category of person, and does an amazing job at doing so, as well as illustrating the effects of war and how it can change people was something that I was invested in from the very beginning at the opening scene, up until the very conclusion. I would happily rewatch this film to see what I missed and think it's very relevant to the events going on today; I think regardless of how you land on the division, it showcases that there truly is no winner.