New ‘Civil War’ movie called an ‘election year provocation’ in early analysis of the film after SXSW premiere

Alex Garland's "Civil War" was connected to a "contentious election year," following its premiere at the SXSW festival, as some media outlets associated it with the "anxieties" of the 2024 election between President Biden and the presumptive GOP nominee, Donald Trump.

The Associated Press called Garland's film an "election year provocation," and said it was a "bold gamble to capitalize on some of the anxieties that have grown in highly partisan times and ahead of a potentially momentous November presidential election."

The website Deadline also associated the movie with "a contentious Red vs. Blue election year." 

"Civil War" is described in a tagline as "a race to the White House in a near-future America balanced on the razor’s edge." In the two-and-a-half-minute trailer from A24 published in December, the "razor’s edge" appears to be a modern civil war following the secession of 19 states.

A Conversation with Civil War Filmmaker Alex Garland and Cast as part of SXSW 2024 Conference and Festivals held at the Austin Convention on March 15, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Diego Donamaria/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images) ( (Photo by Diego Donamaria/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images))

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The narrative of the trailer follows a war journalist played by Kirsten Dunst who leads a team to reach the White House ahead of an invasion by the "Western Forces" of seceded states on July 4th. Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura and Stephen McKinley Henderson also play journalists in the film.

California and Texas team up as the "Western forces," who seek to take down the government of Nick Offerman, who plays a president who has served three terms. 

Deadline's report referred to Offerman's character as a three-term president as sounding "scary familiar."

According to AP writer Jack Coyle, "’Civil War,’ Alex Garland’s election-year provocation, debuted Thursday at the SXSW Film and TV Festival, unveiling a violent vision of a near-future America at war with itself."

"The film is intended to be a conversation. It is not asserting things. It’s not a lecture. So, you want to leave space for people to bring their part of the conversation," Garland said, added the AP. 

Peter Hall, Alex Garland, Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny and Wagner Moura at the premiere of "Civil War" as part of SXSW 2024 Conference and Festivals held at the Paramount Theatre on March 14, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Saucedo/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images) ((Photo by Chris Saucedo/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images))

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The movie is set to debut on April 12 in U.S. theaters. 

"In Alex Garland’s new film, Civil War, the United States has fallen into an internecine conflict pitting the government against separatist forces—a narrative with uncomfortable resonance in these politically polarized times. Unlike in our own world, it’s never really clear in the movie why the nation is fighting itself," the Atlantic's David Sims wrote. 

Garland told the SXSW crowd that he was often thinking about what to avoid while making the movie.

Kirsten Dunst at the premiere of "Civil War" as part of SXSW 2024 Conference and Festivals held at the Paramount Theatre on March 14, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Saucedo/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images) ((Photo by Chris Saucedo/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images))

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 "I was thinking about what can I avoid, what can I miss out and make it a sort of two-way exchange," he said. 

The film debuts in theaters on April 12, 2024. 

Fox News' Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.