Warning: Major spoilers for Civil War ahead!
Summary
- Civil War transcends political divides, focusing on unity over partisanship in the face of a fascist government.
- The film showcases the civilian experience in modern civil war, emphasizing the devastating consequences of deep political divisions.
- An anti-war movie, Civil War aims to start a conversation about the dangers of polarization and the need for compromise.
Civil War writer and director Alex Garland would need to address them.
Garland chose to focus on of the press as opposed to soldiers in Civil War, which allows for some of the movie's most disturbing imagery to be viewed literally through a camera lens, elevating the intensity of the film's immersive effects. As journalists, the main characters are not beholden to either side of the conflict, and are typically not targeted as combatants. This actually serves as a perfect analogy for Garland's opaque approach to politics in Civil War, which focuses on the devastating effects of deep-seated division.
Civil War Is Not A Right Vs. Left Political Movie
Neither Democrats Or Republicans Are The "Heroes"
All the events of Civil War take place in the final days of the conflict between the so-called Loyalist States, who still answer to the federal government, and the various factions that oppose them led by the Western Forces of California and Texas. While Texas and California typically fall on opposite ends of the political spectrum, their unification serves as the primary explanation for the movie's political stance: it's not about right vs. left, Republican or Democrat. Garland explained why Texas and California are allies by pointing to the President, played by Nick Offerman:
The main thing is to do with how the president is presented and what can be inferred from that. Then it’s saying that two states that have a different political position have said, ‘Our political difference is less important than this.’
The two states set aside their political differences to fight against a fascist government led by a president who has forced his way into a third term, violating the very principles America was founded upon. Garland is implying that the real enemies that America faces are not on the other side of any political aisle; they are the people who would violate our freedom and pursuit of happiness, and those individuals can come from any political background.
It's no accident that it's difficult to tell the varying factions of soldiers apart from one another throughout the movie. In fact, the only people who stand apart are the of the press, marked by their labeled vehicles and vests. The similarities in the soldiers on both sides ask an uncomfortable question: who, in this war, are the "bad guys?" The answer is that there are no bad guys or good guys in the conflict, there are just combatants, and they can come from either side.
Is Civil War's President Based On Donald Trump?
The Movie Is Not Based On The Former President
Naturally, the inflammatory remarks made by former President Donald Trump throughout his political career have spurred questions about whether Nick Offerman's unnamed president is intended to be a stand-in for Trump. That is not the case, as the entire purpose of the treasonous politician is that he violates the freedom of all Americans, regardless of political allegiance. As a far-right Republican, Trump's political allegiance is clear, wheres Offerman's character could be aligned with either Democrats or Republicans.
Civil War is now playing in theaters everywhere.
The President in Civil War shows no such political leanings; instead, he antagonizes citizens across the political spectrum by violating the Constitution and staying in office for a third term. Offerman's unnamed President is not intended to act as a stand-in for any past president, as each has their own party affiliations. He personifies the type of dictator that the American partisan political system could expose itself to by refusing to cooperate and find a bipartisan compromise to the problems facing the country.
Civil War Is An Anti-War Movie About The Polarization Of Politics
It Wants To Start A Conversation
In an interview with Time, Garland provided insight into his purpose behind creating Civil War, knowing full-well that it would lead to polarizing opinions in its approach to politics.
"It’s really a film about why polarization is not a great thing,” he says. “It’s trying to have a conversation. It’s trying to find common ground.”
Civil War is by no means a "war film" in the traditional sense. While there are plenty of intense combat scenes throughout the movie, the film's message is intended to act as a warning against the deep divisions that would lead to a civil war. Kirsten Dunst's character, Lee Smith, opines on her role as a war photographer, which has left her deeply haunted and nearly numb to the violence and devastation she's witnessed her entire life. "Every time I survived a war zone, I thought I was sending a warning home. 'Don't do this.' But here we are."
With a production budget of $50 million, Civil War is A24's most expensive film to date.
Civil War acts as Alex Garland's own warning sent to America. His film is devastatingly effective at showing the gruesome, unconscionable brutality of a war on American soil. It takes images that the average American would see coming out of a far-off conflict like Russia's assault on Ukraine or the violence engulfing Gaza and places them in familiar settings like the Pennsylvania countryside. Civil War confronts America with the potential consequences of its deepening political divisions, and encourages compromise and cooperation – or else.
What Civil War Says About The State Of America
The Movie Focuses On The Civilian Experience
Civil War focuses on what the civilian experience might be like in a modern civil war. Perhaps the most terrifying scene in the movie is when the main characters are questioned at gunpoint by Jesse Plemons' unsettling death squad soldier. When the characters come across him and his fellow soldiers, they are preparing a mass grave and dumping bodies into it.
Civil War states in gruesome, difficult-to-watch detail, that if compromise can not be found on the most important political issues in our country, civilians will experience the fallout.
An essential detail, highlighted when Cailee Spaeny's Jessie is knocked into the mass grave, is that most of the bodies are not in any sort of tactical gear. They were likely killed for aligning with the "wrong" side when confronted by the death squad. Plemons' soldier proves how nothing but a person's allegiance matters by not only asking everyone where they're from, but by killing those who give him an answer he doesn't like.
The scene provides the most haunting look at the civilian experience in the entire movie. The idea is that the people who suffer the most won't be the politicians who bicker on the floor of the House of Representatives, it will be the average citizens who are impacted by the decisions made by elected officials. Civil War states in gruesome, difficult-to-watch detail, that if compromise can not be found on the most important political issues in our country, civilians will experience the fallout.
Source: Time
Civil War
- Release Date
- April 12, 2024
- Runtime
- 109 Minutes
- Director
- Alex Garland
Cast
Kirsten DunstLee
Wagner MouraJoel
WHERE TO WATCH
Civil War is a 2024 action thriller from writer and director Alex Garland. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Civil War takes place in the near future and shows the United States entering a new Civil War after California and Texas attempt to separate from the country.
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