Civil War

In the near future, the US is at the height of a civil war. Moments before the occupation of Washington, four journalists leave devastated New York City and rush to the capital to try and interview the president. This plot axis propels this dystopian parable. As in his previous films, Alex Garland proves to be a brilliant and formulated filmmaker. He relinquishes the political issues - which he leaves vague - and does not permit his viewers to choose a side. Through the eyes of his journalist heroes, Garland frames the war as a tragic reality that elicits immediate and irrational responses from those involved and produces intense imagery. The reaction to these images, as seen on the faces of the protagonists – specifically in Kirsten Dunst's performance - gives the film its emotional volume. Garland delivers "a drama of unparalleled intensity and film-making ambition" (Times).