Alex Garland started shooting “Civil War” just a few weeks before premiering “Men” at Cannes in the Directors’ Fortnight section.
“Civil War” is his fourth feature film (and third A24 project) shot in Atlanta and London. The film, set in near future America, is said to be a companion piece to “Men.”
I gathered a small reaction from someone who attended the test-screening on Wednesday night:
Civil War is a very good film, but not quite on the same level as Ex Machina and Annihilation, in my opinion. It’s a road movie and a war film with satirical elements. The cast is excellent, especially Kirsten Dunst in the lead role as a war photographer. It looks great and is stylishly directed, with some fun needle drops. Jesse Plemons and Nick Offerman show up in small but key roles, which I haven’t seen reported anywhere!
I had posted another reaction a few months ago:
I caught Garland’s near-future war picture in the vein of an elevated shooter game. Sort of how I felt with Jordan Peele’s Us, maybe it's not saying anything important like prior movies, but I mostly enjoyed it. An entirely different beast than “Ex Machina” or “Men”. Less poetically artful or shocking, and a story that was difficult to follow. Whole cast was strong. I hope it’s not Garland’s last movie as he teased in recent interviews.”
No plot details for now. The film is shrouded in secrecy and to give away anything at this point would be sacrilege.
The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, Karl Glusman, Sonoya Mizuno and Jonica T. Gibbs. No release date or plot details have been released, for now. I’m tempted to think a Fall launch is to expected.
As mentioned, Garland’s last film was the very divisive “Men,” before that he directed the well-reviewed “Ex-Machina” and “Annihilation.” His unofficial directorial debut was “Dredd,” for which he was not credited.