[SXSW 2024] CIVIL WAR -- A Perfectly Imperfect Allegory for Today's America

Review by Sean Boelman

Some of the best satire about the American government comes from outsiders looking in. Annihilation and Ex Machina filmmaker Alex Garland’s latest film, Civil War, is somehow both his most ambitious work yet and a return to his roots. It may not be fully cohesive, but Garland’s satire is incredibly cutting, allowing the movie to overcome its narrative messiness.

The film follows a group of war journalists who voyage into hostile territory on the eve of an impending civil war, hoping to document the country's downfall before it happens. In terms of Garland’s work, it probably shares most in common with 28 Days Later — it’s an edge-of-your-seat road movie brimming with undeniable tension.

Unsurprisingly, Civil War is a movie that wears its commentary on its sleeve. It’s clearly an allegory for the division in modern-day America. While it’s extreme in its depiction of the consequences of this partisanism, this type of spoon-feeding might be precisely what is needed right now. Some other themes — particularly regarding the war journalism aspects — aren’t as well-developed. Still, its political commentary is so strong and focused that it’s understandable that Garland didn’t have as much time to flesh out these other ideas.

Although virtually every scene is masterful individually, the film as a whole feels somewhat messy. Garland clearly had a ton of ideas on what he wanted to say and how to tell them creatively, but the film moves from one point to the next. There’s not a whole lot of connective tissue between scenes, keeping the characters’ arcs from breathing particularly well.

Garland also does an incredible job of developing his characters just enough for the audience to care about them but doesn’t deliver needless exposition. Telling this story from a neutral party's perspective helps the audience align themselves better with the story, regardless of their political leanings. Of course, the movie is not politically ambiguous, but this allows it to feel less like it’s taking aim at a single person and more like it’s taking aim at the entire group of people.

Garland has managed to assemble a small but fantastic cast for Civil War. When Kirsten Dunst is the weakest link of your four leads, you know you’ve done something right. But Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson are all so brilliant that they overshadow even the talented Dunst. And while Jesse Plemons and Nick Offerman’s roles are both smaller, they make quite an impact.

From a technical standpoint, the film is unequivocally incredible. Its scale is massive in terms of cinematography, production design, and visual effects. However, the real hero of Civil War is the sound design, which is incredibly effective. The sound immerses viewers in the battles during the more action-packed sequences, but some awesome sequences use silence or juxtaposed needle drops in innovative ways.

Civil War is undoubtedly very messy; however, our country is also incredibly messy. That makes this a perfectly imperfect allegory for the political zeitgeist. With his latest movie, Garland has created some absolutely unforgettable imagery that will shock audiences to their core. It’s designed to elicit a reaction, and do that, it will.

Civil War screened at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival, which runs March 8-16 in Austin, TX.

​Rating: 4/5