Alex Garland’s “Civil War”: Thrilling Drama Hits US Theaters on April 12

TFD – Explore the intense drama of “Civil War” by Alex Garland, coming to US theaters on April 12.

Although it’s difficult to see California and Texas agreeing on much, much less seceding from one another, the plot of writer-director Alex Garland’s gripping, visceral thriller “Civil War” isn’t actually about that. Though it doesn’t stay in the memory as long as it could or should, the action film succeeds on that level against the somber dystopian backdrop of the US transformed into a war-torn nation.

Indeed, Garland might be known for cerebral sci-fi films like “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” but “Civil War” goes in a different direction, fueled by a sense of danger around every bend in the road. A quartet of journalists brave the trip – in a vehicle labeled “PRESS” in big letters – heading from New York to Washington, D.C., where the White House and a president (Nick Offerman, briefly) who has bombed his own citizens is under siege by something known as the Western Forces.

Two seasoned journalists, combat photographer Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and reporter Joel (Wagner Moura, of “Narcos” fame), are among the group of journalists. They are joined, much to Lee’s dismay, by a rookie photojournalist named Cailee Spaeny and an experienced veteran named Stephen McKinley Henderson.

Garland’s picture was released during a period when politically charged voices in America were amplified digitally, and the title and subject matter alone suggested that the film would be particularly thought-provoking and unnerving. The narrative, however, skips over any backstory that may go deeper into those details in favor of an episodic journey across a setting characterized by striking visual flourishes, ranging from desolate highway parts to areas populated with abandoned automobiles and lifeless bodies.

Despite the fact that the movie depicts the two photographers developing a tentative, albeit resentful, mentorship relationship, “Civil War” is essentially about its eerie atmosphere and isolated scenes, which are enhanced by the powerful sound design and soundtrack. None of those interactions end up being more terrifying than the one with the random soldiers, one of whom is portrayed by Jesse Plemons, the real-life spouse of Dunst, and who asks the reporters bluntly, “what kind of American” they are.

In some respects, “Civil War” feels like a missed opportunity for what it leaves unaddressed, content to let the jarring notion of a war movie on American soil – like watching “Platoon” or “Full Metal Jacket” – speak for itself.

The style of Garland’s earlier movies is somewhat different from “Civil War,” in that the viewer is left to consider unanswered questions. Since the director’s work is essentially a horror film rather than a political statement or warning, even though this possible future gains a great deal of impact by having roots in reality.

“Civil War” opens in US theaters on April 12. The rating is R.