Kirsten Dunst spells out the meaning of Civil War in one wordless moment
Alex Garland’s A24 movie Civil War has kicked off a vast, circular online debate over the way Garland frames his story, with minimal background detail about what led to the titular civil war or what the country’s various factions stand for. The argument over how, whether, and to what degree the film represents the actual state of 2024 America has overshadowed a lot of the conversation Garland actually wanted viewers to have after watching his movie. And in particular, it overlooks some of the movie’s finer nuances — like the crucial moment that really defines Civil War’s story.
Civil War focuses on two photographers: war-weary veteran photojournalist Lee Miller (Kirsten Dunst) and naïve but skilled newbie Jessie (Priscilla star Cailee Spaeny). When Lee and her longtime writing partner Joel (Wagner Moura) set out on a cross-country trip to Washington, D.C., Jessie eels her way into joining them, along with aging journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson). Lee and Joel hope to interview the president (Nick Offerman) before separatist forces take the capital. Jessie and Sammy just want to make sure they’re in the right place to witness and report on the new, crucial phase of history unfolding in America.
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Over the course of the film, which Garland wrote and directed, it’s increasingly obvious that Lee is burnt out, depressed, and suffering from PTSD. When her friends rush into combat to capture the moment, she cringes or cowers. She witnesses a raging forest fire from close range with a blank, thousand-yard stare. And she tries, again and again, to dissuade Jessie from coming on the trip, or from pursuing war journalism at all. Lee’s war-honed instincts let her protect Jessie from danger, and she takes charge in volatile situations, walking Jessie through the ways a journalist in a war zone can navigate threats. But Lee also lectures and belittles Jessie, as if she wishes she could retroactively talk her own younger self out of the career path she chose.
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