In this age of fractured political discourse, I’ve heard the term “civil war” being bandied about by Americans perhaps a little too often for my liking. Is a civil war in the United States’ future? I hope not but, at the same time, I’m not optimistic. Writer-director Alex Garland (ANNIHILATION; EX MACHINA) is back with a new film entitled CIVIL WAR but his story has less to do with the left battling the right than it does with a group of journalists and photographers who are trying to cover the turmoil that has thrown that country into complete chaos.

As CIVIL WAR opens, the American president (played by Nick Offerman, DUMB MONEY; TV’s THE LAST OF US), who is in his third term in office, is addressing the American public. California and Texas, collectively known as the Western Forces, are engaged in a civil war against the Loyalist states and they’re losing the battle. It’s a lie. Other alliances have joined in the rebellion and, together, their forces are marching towards Washington, DC. Much respected war photographer Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst, THE POWER OF THE DOG) and her journalist colleague, Joel (Wagner Moura, TV’s NARCOS), are covering the fighting in New York City when they meet Jessie (Cailee Spaeny, PRISCILLA), a young photographer with ambitions to be a war photojournalist. With news that the President’s days are numbered, Lee and Joel decide to head to DC to meet with him before it’s too late. The roads are extremely dangerous though, so their colleague, veteran journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson, (DUNE; LADY BIRD), advises them to take a roundabout route through Charleston, where he happens to be going. Lee and Joel agree to drop him off along the way, and Jessie wangles a seat in the car too. As the foursome heads south, they meet a host of characters, some friendly and some not, and they put their lives in danger numerous times before reaching DC where all hell is breaking loose.

CIVIL WAR is every bit as powerful and every bit as unsettling as EX MACHINA. Garland wisely stays away from politics here. He doesn’t take sides although Offerman’s portrayal of the President is very recognisable from the get-go. Even so, it doesn’t really matter as that’s not what the story is about. Certainly, the fact the California and Texas can find common ground to fight the Loyalists shows that the underlying issues are not left and right. Instead, CIVIL WAR is about the journalists and photographers who are embedded with the military, or in this case, the militias. Their road trip to DC is reminiscent of the journey up the Mekong River in APOCALYPSE NOW! The highways are strewn with burnt out vehicles, snipers are positioned in parks to take out pockets of government supporters, and men toting AR-15s are taking revenge on people they may have had personal issues with before the war started. Once of those men is played by Jesse Plemons (KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON; ANTLERS) who, in just seven minutes, steals the film away from everyone else with his utterly awesome Armear red sunglasses.

The story moves along at a good clip but the tension never lets up for one moment. Performances all around very solid, although one of my colleagues complained that Spaeny was annoying. My reply was that her character was supposed to be annoying. Garland’s go-to cinematographer Rob Hardy shoots the film with the eye of a photojournalist, putting the audience right in the action alongside Lee and Jessie. It’s incredibly powerful and, like me, you will probably be exhausted by the time the final credit roll on the screen.

CIVIL WAR opens today (April 11^th) in Hong Kong and tomorrow around the world. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen so far this year.

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