Civil war is a ghostly and corporeal dystopian thriller that submerges the audience into a gloomy future that is engulfed in a state of conflict of disorder and ethical doubt. Director Alex Garland creates a journey that is tense and atmospheric, as he takes the viewer through a fractured America, in which the boundaries between heroism and exploitation are unclear in the eyes of four journalists. The crude portrayal of violence, desperation and dehumanization of war in the movie made an unforgettable impression on me, arousing thoughts on the price of the truth and the boundaries of journalism in severe conditions.
The unstopping flow and down-to-earth realism of the story brings you into the brutality of their lives which is further compounded by the way the characters, and more so Jessie, underwent the process of becoming a viewer to obsessive witness despite the trauma surrounding them. In his direction, Garland underlines the anarchy of war, the sniper fights, the mass graves, the disintegration of social order and it has instilled a sense of fear and despair which only fades away once the screen is turned off. The oppressive mood of the film is intensified by the harsh cinematography and the eerie film score, every second of the movie is visceral and real. The acting, especially of the star cast, has an overwhelming feeling of fatigue, moral ambivalence, and the ugliness of documenting violence with one’s own voice.
The most moving aspect was the harsh truth in the film concerning the essence of war and the ethical sacrifices involved in it. It made me think of how search of truth may turn into a destructive power in case of unimaginable horrors. The film is hard to watch due to its stark way of portraying violence and poverty, yet in the end, it makes one consider how weak morality and brutality of reality can be when it comes to those who want to witness anything. Civil War is an effective and disturbing reminder of what war really costs and what sacrifices people have to make in order to tell the truth.
