Joey Magidson
In theaters right now is Alex Garland‘s Civil War, a movie that’s managed to gain buzz and traction on a few different levels. As one of the biggest A24 releases, scale-wise, it has a certain cache. There’s also the fact that the film was thought to be a potential political powder keg. Obviously, that hasn’t come to pass, and the flick has received a fair amount of raves in the lead up to this weekend’s release. I know how I feel, but how do you all feel? That’s today’s Awards Radar Community Question…what is your reaction to Civil War?
Within my review of the film (here), I worked out my emotions like so:
Walking out of Civil War, I really wasn’t sure where I stood on the film. I knew that it was deeply upsetting, by design, and that it was meant to leave you grappling with its message. The movie takes many of the beats that we’ve seen played out in war dramas of yore, but splayed out on American cities and streets. Thinking about what that means, well, it upsets and distresses you. That, however, is the power of this work, and if it took a bit to recover from, just means that it’s doing its job. Rarely letting up but never conforming to the requirements of genre, this is, in some ways, a one of a kind picture. Consider it A24’s take on the action blockbuster, with ideas over set pieces.
Civil War is a threat, a warning, and still somehow also mainstream entertainment. How filmmaker Alex Garland manages to pull that off is some feat. To call it apolitical is a misnomer, since there is clearly politics at play (the President in the film is, in Garland’s own words at our post-screening Q&A, a fascist), but you’ll never hear Democrats, Republicans, or anything like that mentioned. The flick also never states why a civil war has come to America, since every character would already know it as a fact of life. You’re dropped in and just have to deal with it. It’s a credit to Garland’s vision that when the end credits roll, your heart is still racing, your emotions are fraught, and you’re terrified of what you just saw coming to pass in our own lives.
That was my take…what’s yours? If you saw the film and loved it, be sure to let us know. Was the movie underwhelming in some way? If so, we want to hear about it as well. Perhaps you can’t even bring yourself to see it for one reason or another? That’s valid too and worth discussing. Whatever your take, please do chime in now!
What are your reactions to Civil War? Let us know!
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