What’s the Alex Garland Movie About?

If you don’t want spoilers, but do want answers, let us explain.
Photo: A24

Civil war It’s not even out yet, but Alex GarlandThe new film has already caused some slight controversy on the Internet, and a handful of people are wondering if now is the right time to invoke the idea of ​​a violent national conflict. The actual movie, which premiered Thursday night at SXSW before hitting theaters April 12, anticipates those concerns. It is a pacifist discourse that has less to do with the war itself than with the psychological cost that that conflict entails.

It’s also a road movie. Civil war follows four journalists: two photographers (Kirsten Dunst and priscilla‘s Cailee Spaeny) and two reporters (Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson), making the intrepid journey from New York City to Washington, DC, where they hope to interrogate an authoritarian president (Nick Offerman) who treats members of the means as enemies. combatants. The pit stops they make along the way expose the group to armed thugs who would be only too happy to execute them for saying the wrong thing. As the hardened quartet travels, the film focuses on the paralyzing effect of war. They encounter Americans who have alternatively militarized their entire lives or turned a blind eye to the situation entirely.

The first reviews are largely positive, but if you’re still wondering what exactly it is Civil war es and if it’s worth the pre-release skepticism, here’s some spoiler-free information.

what you see in the movie trailers That’s pretty much all the context Garland’s script provides. Texas and California, the so-called Western Forces, have broken away from the union, protesting a third-term POTUS who has disbanded the FBI, armed the police, and authorized airstrikes across the country. That’s right, things are so bad that Texas and California are finally agreeing on something. Florida too! America has fallen into chaos: you’re either with the government or against it, and there could be someone lurking nearby to kill you based on that position. But don’t wait Dunkirk-level battles here; This is a character study with a handful of explosive scenes. Ultimately, if you’re in the mood to watch an uplifting movie in 2024, stick with kung fu panda 4.

The movie doesn’t specify it. It’s supposed to be in the near future, but there’s no timeline explaining how this lawless president extended his administration or what led to the violence.

this is not The hunt, if that’s what you’re thinking. It is never made clear what the president’s political party is and there is no mention of Republicans or Democrats. That ambiguity might disconcert some audiences hoping for more backstory, but it works: By avoiding clichéd left-versus-right ideologies, Garland makes the conflict feel more human, like a population that has simply run its course and gotten out of control. There’s nothing more chilling than Jesse Plemons asking “What kind of American are you?” as he holds an assault rifle.

On Reddit and X, people who haven’t actually seen the film are debating whether a realistic depiction of modern civil war is irresponsible given the relentless polarization of our current moment. A Reddit user he worries that “he could be interpreted as a role model for MAGA groups if he is not presented carefully.” Someone else pointed out that that thought sounds similar to the false alarm surrounding jester, when some prophets of doom decided that the comic book movie would surely spark angry men’s rights protests. (It was not so).

Whether or not the average moviegoer will want to experience a fictional, possibly prophetic internal war is another question (my next question, actually), but overall: Garland finds partisanship beside the point and apparently intends for anyone to screen anything. They want to get into the conflict. It’s up to you if it hits too close to home.

The sheer realism of it all, particularly as it relates to a tyrannical government that has overturned the Constitution. In 2022, Donald Trump He suggested that “termination” of the Constitution would be justified if it meant overturning the results of the 2020 election. By not drawing a firmer parallel with a Republican Party that supports his anti-law platform, some might charge Civil war of hitting.

The most intense scene, in fact. Plemons’ role is small. Without giving too much away, he is a militant who terrifies passersby with an M4 carbine and pink sunglasses that Elle Woods could wear to a costume party. This new world order seems to have given her the power to create her own little fascist bubble. Dunst & Co. cross paths on the way to DC, perhaps the only time Dunst’s intrepid character breaks down. This is the couple’s third joint project in real life after fargo and The power of the dog. This was also how Dunst met Spaeny, whom recommended to Sofia Coppola for the lead role in priscilla.

Aside from the fact that Garland has never been much into the backstory, it’s quite different. ex machina, Annihilation, Menand the FX miniseries Developers They were all science fiction or horror. Civil war It’s certainly horrifying, but it’s not a genre film in the same sense. It’s a difficult kind of speculative fiction, more interested in blowing up the Lincoln Memorial than creating mutated beasts.

With a budget of $50 million, this is A24’s most expensive project yet. The studio strives to make movies that are more commercialsome based on existing IP, and Civil war It is a kind of preparation for that new era. (An adaptation of the best-selling video game death stranded will kick it off in earnest.) A24 will forego its typical platform strategy and release the film on April 12. The trailers certainly feel commercial, emphasizing the action in a way that is likely to appeal to moviegoers who don’t know the difference between red rocket and The green knight.