April 30, 2024 by Francisca Schmalz (‘24)
Released on April 12th, 2024, Alex Garland’s Civil War has seemingly taken the world by storm. For the first two weeks of its release, it managed to stay number one at the box office, despite three new movies coming out last week. Garland is someone who does it all, he directs, produces, and writes movies and television series, while also being a novelist. Civil War is the fifth project he’s directed, the others being Men (2022), Devs (2020), Annihilation (2018), and one of his most famous works, Ex Machina (2014). He helped write the 2002, 28 Days Later along with all of his directorial pursuits. Garland’s work has been sneaking up on casual movie fans, and Civil War just may be the movie to push him over the edge and make him a household name.
Civil War stars Kristen Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, and was produced by A24 Films. Dunst, Spaeny, McKinley Henderson, and Garland have all worked with A24 previously, while this was Moura’s first time working with the production company. A24 is typically known for more ‘indie’ type movies, like The Florida Project and Mid 90s, or horror movies like Midsummer, and Hereditary. Personally, Civil War feels like a horror movie, but not in the typical A24 fashion. A24’s horror movies usually have some aspect that makes it seem out there, or purposefully being controversial to scare the audience. Civil War doesn’t feel like that, and that’s what makes it even scarier.
Officially Civil War has been classified as an Action/War movie. It follows a team of war journalists/photographers in a dystopian America racing against time to reach Washington, D.C. to interview the president before rebel forces take over. The movie has a phenomenal pace, and the story doesn’t seem to drag. It runs for 1 hour and 49 minutes and by the end you will want to just sit with your thoughts for a moment. Garland also has every major chapter in the movie on a countdown to the team’s miles to D.C. that reminds the viewers where the group is headed and how far they have to go, just when you seem to almost forget.
One thing must be known about Civil War before going in. The politics in the movie do not matter. Garland is meticulous with what he shows in this movie about dystopian America’s politics. His social commentary in this film goes beyond America’s current politics, and the fictional politics displayed. If you go into the movie expecting in-your-face explanations about the fictional civil war, you will be disappointed by the end of it. Expect nothing going in, keep your mind open, and don’t try and guess what’s going to happen.
However, if you are to see Civil War for only one reason, let it be the effects. Civil War is loud. This makes sense, considering the premise. However, it doesn’t sound like any other war movie I’ve personally seen. The sound effects sound like they are happening mere feet away from you at all times. Combining the sound with the stunning visuals of Civil War you get a movie that you can tell was made with care. Garland’s attention to detail is everywhere in the film, which means this movie is easily rewatchable. I’ve seen it twice at the time this article was written and was able to pick up so much more on my second watch. As a suggestion, try out one of Garland’s other films and see if you like them before viewing Civil War.
Overall, Civil War will be a hard watch. It’s rated R for a reason, you will be uncomfortable, and you will feel scared. It’s meant to do that though. Allow yourself to be uncomfortable and scared. It’s an emotional movie because it’s meant to be. If you decide to view one movie that has come out/will come out this year, let it be Civil War.