Civil War (2024)

Watched on 2024-04-21

I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. I think a lot of discussion around this film mistakes it for a piece about US domestic politics when really it's about US foreign policy, about dismantling American exceptionalism. The kind muscular military pseudo-realism we normally see playing out on our screens in Somalia or Afghanistan (or Bexhill in The Children Of Men) is instead played out on the eastern seaboard of the US, the heart of the empire.

The Jessie Plemmons scene is obviously a real pinacle in the film but Kirsten Dunst's performance is what I loved. Dunst really sells the character (I've met people just like her!) entirely without any big moments. It shouldn't be such a rare cinematic treat to see a middle aged female character doing her job concientiously and competently.