There Are No Facts, Only Interpretations: A Review of Civil War (2024)

Myles shares his immediate reaction to seeing Civil War in the cinema. If you want to hear further discussion of this film, check out the podcast episode coming in a few days.

The latest from dark horse director Alex Garland, Civil War (2024), proposes an interesting premise; what would happen if the world’s premier military superpower went to war with none other than itself? Unfortunately, that’s about as far as this film gets with dissecting this behemoth of a question. But that’s not to say all is lost... 

The story is simple. We follow Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), a veteran war photographer and her band of not-so-merry companions including journalist Joel (Wagner Moura), old hand Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and newcomer Jessie (Caliee Spaeny) as they embark on a mission to interview the doomed U.S. President (Nick Offerman) before the civil war engulfs the capital. A simple enough premise that forms the basis of what you might expect to be a complex story, brimming with critiques, commentary, and enough political opinions to start a digital civil war on social media. But, so far, everything seems rather quiet… And, according to director Alex Garland himself, that is on purpose. The director’s philosophy on this one seems to be that it’s all down to us to interpret the film how we will. Moreover, the emphasis here is on us to seek out those critiques and commentaries, almost as if this film is a $50 million thought experiment to see if today’s audiences can interpret the film in an ‘engaged’, critical way. 

Suffice to say, the film is a little barebones with its details here; how did the war start? Who are or were the main characters and just how did the rebellious WF forces turn the tide against the US Army? While I think Garland intended for us to try and invent our own answers (and draw from those what we will), how much the audience should have to do this is already the cause for some criticism of the film. Accused of bland, unempathetic characters, a meandering ‘Apocalypse Now’ style storyline, and ultimately amounting to little in the way of sustained commentary, how we’ll view this film in hindsight is yet to be seen. But for all this, Civil War still has a lot to offer. Powerful visuals, memorable moments, and fantastic practical effects and assets make this one you’ll want to see on the big screen. And that is ultimately my recommendation, to watch the film as Alex Garland intended; forget the trappings of modern movies, go in looking for questions, not answers. After all, there are no facts, only interpretations…