In Alex Garland’s latest film “Civil War,” the director has crafted a visually striking and thematically resonant war drama that focuses more on the journalists covering the conflict than the combatants themselves. Eschewing a traditional battle-focused narrative, Garland instead opts to explore the critical role of the press in a functional democracy, with the story unfolding through the eyes of seasoned photojournalist Lee Miller (Kirsten Dunst) and rookie reporter Jessie (Cailee Spaeny).
One particularly standout sequence in the film occurs late in the story, as Lee, her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura), and Jessie silently drive through a burning forest, one of the casualties of the ongoing war. Cinematographer Rob Hardy and Garland collaborated closely with the special effects team to bring this harrowing scene to life in a mesmerizing and unsettling manner.
“There was a fire department and big hoses ready to put everything out if it got out of control,” Garland recounted, “but the really magic thing they did was — directly ahead of the hero vehicle with the actors in it, there was a truck. And in the back of the truck, there was a large metal cylinder that they created, which generated a massive amount of heat, like you would in a kiln or a pizza oven.”
The team then used dry charcoal to create flares of light and showers of bright embers that rained down on the car during the shoot, creating what Garland describes as “the most hypnotically beautiful thing I’ve ever seen on a film set.”
While the effects were visually stunning, Garland initially struggled with the challenge of doing justice to the imagery. “At first, it produced a surge of anxiety: What if we can’t do justice to this imagery?” he said. “But we just relaxed and realized, this isn’t a magic moment. These guys are able to do this again and again, and we should just calm down and find the shots.”
The resulting sequence is a harrowing yet mesmerizing tableau, with the characters exchanging grim, weary glances as the fires burn around them, captured through Hardy’s evocative cinematography.
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This visual flair is complemented by the film’s strong performances, particularly from Jesse Plemons as an intimidating, racist soldier who clashes with the journalists. Plemons’ chilling turn left a lasting impression on his co-stars, with Dunst, who is married to the actor, remarking, “We’re lucky Jesse did this for us. Alex is lucky that he’s my husband and he was free.”
Spaeny, who shares a tense encounter with Plemons’ character, echoed these sentiments, noting, “He was sort of hidden for the day. He didn’t join the rest of us actors beforehand on the set. We were sort of like, ‘Where’s Jesse?’ And then he came out and he was in character. It was so haunting. He did such a brilliant job, but my God, after two days of that, it was a lot.”
Ultimately, “Civil War” succeeds in transcending the traditional war film formula, using its visually striking aesthetic and powerful performances to explore the vital role of journalism in a democracy under threat. Through Garland’s deft direction and Hardy’s evocative cinematography, the film presents a captivating cinematic experience that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll.
