“Civil War” Presents a Striking but Muddled State of Disunion

Strictly as a piece of staging, “Civil War” is as vividly detailed a panorama of destruction as I’ve seen since “Children of Men” (2006), or perhaps the Garland-scripted zombie freakout of “28 Days Later” (2002). Even Dunst has never stared down a more imposing vision—and stare it down she does, invariably through the lens of a camera. Her character, Lee, is a skilled photojournalist, and if your mind doesn’t automatically leap to Lee Miller, celebrated for her stunning images of the Second World War, rest assured that Garland’s script is eager to connect the dots. This Lee may not have her namesake’s celebrity glamour or her willingness to turn the camera on herself. But Dunst gives the character a comparable steeliness, a cut-the-crap professionalism that gets you immediately on her side. She has fearlessly covered sieges, firefights, and humanitarian crises the world over; now, with a tightly set jaw and an unwavering seriousness of purpose, she’s confronting the horror in her own back yard.