Civil War shocked us by ignoring politics and delivering powerful action movie thrills

In this era of divisive and high-stakes American politics, it’s no surprise to see so many people reacting to the whole Alex Garland concept online. civil war As if it were inherently toxic. Director Garland’s latest film (after a rather cryptic fable-like story) set in and around the front lines of a near-future America divided by separatist forces. male) seems like a timely but opportunistic provocation, a film that can’t help but feel exploitative or all too familiar in a country where the name America sounds more ironic and laughable every year. .

But that doesn’t seem to be Garland’s goal. civil war not at all. This film is about as apolitical as any story set in the modern American civil war. This is a character piece that has a lot to say not so much about the state of the nation as it does about the state of modern journalism and the people behind it.

Too little is almost perverted civil war Identify both sides of the central conflict, or the causes and crises that led to the war. (Viewers who came to see the movie expecting an action movie that affirmed their political biases and demonized their opponents will likely leave feeling particularly confused about what they just saw.) is not a story about the causes or strategies of the American Civil War. A personal story about the hows and whys of war journalism, and how the field changes for those who cover wars on their homeland rather than on foreign territory.

Lee Miller (Kirsten Dunst) is a veteran war photographer, a celebrated, award-winning, but jaded woman who has made a career out of pretending to be bulletproof in bullet-ridden arenas. She or she has been bulletproof for at least long enough to take some memorable photos of her. The video conveys the effects of bullets on the bodies and minds of other people. Her latest assignment is for her and her longtime business partner Joel (Wagner Moura) to help President (Nick Offerman), who has broken his public silence for more than a year and is now in his third term. He has been promised an interview with.

This is a dream-like opportunity for a war correspondent. A chance to make history, and perhaps more importantly, to make sense of a man whose choices may have been key in pushing his country over the line and into war. But securing an interview would require traveling more than 1,300 miles to Washington, D.C., through a battle zone and past hostile barricades set up by state militia and other heavily armed local forces. And accompanying you on this dangerous road trip is Jesse (Priscilla Star (Kylee Spaeny) is a green but ambitious 23-year-old photographer who Lee clearly thinks is likely to commit suicide on the way, or kill all of the travelers.

Tensions between Lee and Jesse – potential mentors and successors, the past and future of their chosen careers, and the same within a small profession known for rivalries and compromises between publications. Competitors who are allies in pursuit of the… form the center of the story. civil war, is much more than tensions between particular political viewpoints. Nevertheless, Garland said the film is being released at a time when experts continue to warn about the possibility of a new American civil war actually breaking out. civil war There are few details about the conflict.

Which states are in rebellion (although California, Texas, and Florida are all mentioned as separatist states) and the soldiers (mostly in the South and many rural areas) spend a fair amount of screen time. ), there is plenty of content for viewers who want to read between the lines. . But Lee’s angry exhaustion and Jesse’s fear and excitement to learn more about the profession from someone she admires are the real heart of the story.

all of that civil war This film is less about any particular perspective on current American politics and more about why war correspondents are drawn to the profession. And it’s a wonderfully immersive meditation on war journalism. Lee and her colleagues are portrayed as half thrill-seeking adrenaline monkeys and half faithful documentarians determined to bring back records of events not recorded by others. As the film suggests, they have an important job to do, but they must be more than a little reckless in their choice of profession and in returning to the battlefield again and again.

Lee doesn’t give a big speech about the differences between covering the war in Afghanistan and the war in Charlottesville, but he doesn’t like how his country is in such a rickety and desolate state, and how the stalwarts on both sides are fighting against others. It’s clear that he’s under pressure after seeing so many Americans demonized. Americans have demonized all foreign countries. Jesse doesn’t seem to feel the weight of that reality at all, and yet he’s not all that used to brutality or combat. The two women push each other, and when Lee looks at Jessie, she sees herself younger, stupider, kinder, and when Jessie looks at Lee, she sees her own future. , are clearly and beautifully drawn, but push each other in an implicit sense. A famous, talented and confident journalist.

All of this character’s work is set in a series of intense, immersive action sequences, with Lee’s group repeatedly risking death to advance across battle lines or huddle with soldiers in the heat of battle. I’ll try. The finale scenes, a gunfight on city streets and inside narrow buildings, are a gripping thrill ride, directed by Garland with the immediacy of a war documentary.

The entire movie is paced and planned with that dynamic in mind. This drama is shot through the eyes of two photographers who are used to capturing vivid and convincing images of everything around them, and with a loving warmth that reflects their perspectives. It’s a drama. A later film sequence in which the group drives through a forest fire is particularly beautiful, but the film overall seems designed to impress viewers on a visual level. By the middle of the film, it becomes clear that Lee is shooting with a digital camera while Jesse is shooting with old-fashioned film, making it clear that the choice is important and symbolic for both of them. Become.

Similarly, Garland’s shot selection and the film’s vibrant colors keep reminding audiences that this is a film that doesn’t just record a moment, but captures it enough to captivate the audience. In some respects, civil war I feel a little nostalgic for the early days of journalism and photography. With the collapse of the internet, news seems to have reset to the point where print journalism dominates television and social media, and no one seems to be getting their news online. It’s the most notable retro aspect of the story, and otherwise reflects a potential future.

The film is not about taking sides in any particular current political conflict.It may surprise and disappoint those interested civil war Because they think they know what it is. But it’s also reassuring. It’s hard to keep a message movie about current politics from becoming a lame polemic. It is difficult for any historical document to accurately record what is happening. That’s the job of journalists like Jesse and Lee. These are people who are willing to risk their lives to bring back reports from places where most people wouldn’t have the courage to go.

And while it feels opportunistic to frame their stories specifically around the new American civil war, it’s hard to see the narrative choices as timely and radical, or as cynical and attention-grabbing. Regardless of how viewers see it, the setting still feels far less important than the vivid, emotionally rich story. The complex drama revolves around two people, a veteran and a newcomer, each pursuing the same dangerous job in their own way. civil war seems to be the kind of movie that people usually talk about for the wrong reasons and without seeing the movie first. That’s not what they think. This is better, more timely, more thrilling, a thoroughly engaging war drama that focuses on people over politics.

civil war will be released in theaters on April 12th.