Reel Entropy

Alex Garland’s Civil War is a pulse-pounding, eye-popping masterpiece from start to finish. The Londoner has seen this country’s heart, which is not difficult right now from that distance, and brought it to screen in such accuracy that many Americans still cannot recognize it.

New York City, the near future- the president of the U.S. (Nick Offerman) has secured a third term in office, causing three groups of states to secede from the union, most notable being the Western Forces of California and Texas. The president starts a war to keep the union together, and despite his constant claims of being on the cusp of victory, the W.F. is laying siege to Charlottesville, Virginia, from where they will advance to Washington D.C. with little resistance. Though his death will certainly not end the directionless civil war that has suddenly fallen over the U.S., the president’s days are numbered.

Journalists have been declared enemies of the state and are reportedly being killed on sight at the capital, but knowing their window is closing, renowned war photographer Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), a rookie independent photographer who idolizes her and reporters from Reuters and The New York Times (Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson) set out on a suicide mission to photograph and interview the tyrant before he is killed. Because the interstates have all been destroyed and Philadelphia is reportedly too dangerous to be within even 100 miles of, they take a circuitous, 1,000 mile-route around Pittsburgh and south to the front line.