Ain’t nothing civil about this war.

As timings go, Civil War’s arrival is quite the ominous one. As we edge ever closer to another divisive US presidential election amidst one of the most turbulent periods in American history, it’s easy to see how the thundering release of a film as overtly provocative as this could ruffle feathers on all sides.

At a time when the US barely seems to be holding it together, does a film based on a fictional (yet, not at all far-fetched) civil war really what the country (or the rest of the world, for that matter) needs? Is there anything of any worth that Alex Garland can possibly add to the conversation here, or is the release of Civil War the cinematic equivalent of pouring petrol on an already raging dumpster fire?

Well, in many ways, the answer is a resounding yes to all the above - however, perhaps not for the reasons one might imagine.

In a dystopian near-future America ripped apart by a brutal internal struggle, war photographer Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and her fellow frontline journalists - Joel (Wagner Moura), Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) - embark on a perilous mission to reach Washington D.C. before rebel factions descend upon the White House. As the country edges ever closer to all-out war, Lee and her cohorts must put everything on the line in their quest to capture the truth.

Political or otherwise, you can’t go online or turn on the television without battle lines being drawn in every direction. Whether political ideology, religious belief, or nationalism, unrepentant tribalism has rapidly, and depressingly, become modern society’s norm.

Picking a side and sticking with it is very much how things operate in the here and now, and it’s something that has inevitably spilled over into the content we consume. It may, therefore, surprise you that a film as seemingly desperate to stoke this tribalism as Civil War is notable, not for the side it takes, but the very fact that it takes no real side at all.

As we’re launched like a grenade into the thick of the action, it quickly becomes apparent that Alex Garland has a very different mission in mind than one may have anticipated. Focusing squarely on the journalists at the heart of the conflict, Civil War is thoroughly uncompromising in its neutral stance, yet while that in no way means it has nothing to say (any film that presents the President as a fascist dictator has plenty to say, whether it likes it or not), it certainly makes for a refreshing approach.

Staunch in its neutrality, Civil War has the distinct air of a documentary, as Alex Garland has us tailing a ragtag collection of frontline journalists at such close quarters that this ends up feeling as much our war as theirs. Our close proximity to the action is at once haunting, daunting, and thoroughly overwhelming - a maelstrom of dizzying emotions, compounded by Garland’s overt desire to dispense with context and bias altogether.

Thrown straight into the heat of the battle and given little to no indication regarding the wider reasons behind the war, it’s the film’s lack of context that lends Civil War its unique, disorientating energy. But, while we may not be afforded the luxury of knowing how or why the war began, Garland does a fantastic job bedding us in and lending the story an organic, lived-in authenticity that can so often go AWOL in war movies.

Although Civil War may not be here to take sides or dictate emotions, this doesn’t mean it’s any less impactful; in fact, its insistence on throwing us into the shark tank and leaving us to swim our way out lends it a fair amount of dramatic heft. It’s an uncompromisingly immersive, boots-on-the-ground approach that dares us to make our own judgements, marinate in our own thoughts, and ask our own questions - whether we like it or not.

For some, this approach may be too much, and the lack of moral compass will undoubtedly repel others, yet suck it up and stick with it and you’ll be richly rewarded. Aided by Rob Hardy’s stunning cinematography, some truly vicious sound design, and camerawork that has you locked in from the get-go, the film is an uncompromisingly immersive viewing experience and an unflinching ode to those risking everything for that one truth-telling shot.

And it’s in these reckless risk takers that Civil War offers a way into what could otherwise have been an emotionally impenetrable watch. With chaos and cruelty swirling around them, it would’ve been so easy for Alex Garland’s protagonists to disappear into the din of war, however, in amidst the film’s bloodshed and rapidly mounting malevolence, the four journalists at its heart remain our eyes and ears and our emotional investment throughout.

Flaws and all, Kirsten Dunst’s Lee Smith and her journalistic cohorts are our physical and emotional anchor throughout this war, and it’s via them that the film finds its hook. Far from perfect and carrying some heavy-duty trauma, these protagonists aren’t exactly ones to root for, yet they are so painfully real and relatable that they’re incredibly easy to invest in emotionally.

Very much a ground level view on proceedings, Garland’s decision to have photographers, writers, and reporters be our in for all of this is an immensely clever one, helped greatly by a nuanced, easily relatable script and compelling performances from all involved.

As the film’s de facto lead, Dunst is as good as she’s been for years, and while her grizzled, withdrawn character is a tough nut to crack, her struggles with compounded trauma from years on the frontline and her gradual softening to others eventually earn our full investment. Around her, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, and A24 stalwart Stephen McKinley Henderson combine for a fully rounded quartet that lend Civil War just the right level of heart, even in its most devastating, emotionally detached moments.

As the undoubted standout of this quartet, Cailee Spaeny puts in one hell of a performance as the youngest member of the team and the character that witnesses the most development. Like the rest, Jessie is far from an angel and certainly not the innocent kid she’s initially presented as, yet there’s something so enthralling about the gradual blurring of her initial wide-eyed innocence, and it’s all portrayed so wonderfully by Spaeny, who builds on her breakout performance in Pricilla so well.

Although sprawling in scope, Garland’s core story is a remarkably focused one that has very little time for us to build relationships with any of the bit part players that enter our four protagonists’ orbit. Barring a film-stealing, fist-gnawingly tense cameo from Jesse Plemons as a truly terrifying ultranationalist militiaman, so few of the story’s side characters make much impression, a factor that frequently feeds into the film’s anarchic, disorientating energy.

Despite the chaos dancing around Civil War’s edges, the plot, like the characters at its core, is a simple yet remarkably effective beast. Taking the form of a post-apocalyptic road trip, the film’s narrative is a steadfastly linear one that shoots like a speeding bullet straight through Civil War’s heart.

With a striking resemblance to zombie flicks such as the Alex Garland-penned 28 Days Later, Civil War’s survival road trip structure is nothing out of the ordinary, yet the drive and purpose it possesses makes it feel far fresher and far more narratively focused than the sprawling subject matter suggests. The result is a rapid, remarkably well paced story that positively zips by, leading to a third act conclusion that will leave you shook.

Culminating in a nerve-wracking, skull-rattling gun battle finale that would make Heat blush, Civil War sees out what has already been a thoroughly traumatising viewing experience on a thoroughly harrowing, morally ambiguous note that will continue to ring in your ears and weigh on your mind long after you’ve left the cinema.

An unflinching, uncompromisingly immersive ode to war journalism, Civil War may not be here to take sides yet it’s no less impactful because of it, as we witness the carnage and sprawling chaos of war through the eyes of those risking it all for that one perfect shot. Fierce, frenzied, and wilfully devoid of context, Alex Garland’s film is a tense, timely, disorientating, aggressively neutral viewing experience that’s not easily forgotten.

Civil War is in cinemas worldwide now.