America prides itself on being a land of law and order. Its constitution is often cited as the key democratic guardrail that keeps society on the right path. What would happen if those protective barriers were removed? How does one navigate a road where the laws are made up by the individual and not the collective?

Alex Garland’s latest work Civil War ponders these questions and more through the lens of the journalists who often bear witness to the fall of societal norms. Set in a near future, America is engaged in a second Civil War that is getting bloodier by the hour. Ignited by a President (Nick Offerman) who has taken it upon himself to dismantle the FBI, the only organization that can keep him in check; and has not spoken to the media in 14 months, the blazing fire of democracy has been mostly reduced to ashes.

Police now openly abuse protestors, armed men sit outside gas stations, vigilante justice is commonplace, and suicide bombers run into crowded areas proudly carrying the American flag.

Things have gotten so bad that states like Texas and California, once on opposite ends of the political spectrum, have joined forces to form the Western Front army. The last remaining entity trying to bring the president to justice.

Despite covering the horrors of war overseas, famed photojournalist Lee (Kristen Dunst) never thought she would see the collapse of democratic institutions at home. Once believing that her photos were providing America with a warning of what it should not become, she has grown weary of the destructive nature of humanity. Still fueled by her desire to uncover the truth, Lee and her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura) decide to go after their biggest news story yet.

They plan to drive from New York to Washington D.C. and attempt to get an interview the elusive president himself.

Considered a suicidal trek by some, the pair reluctantly agree to allow Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), Lee’s aging mentor, and Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), a budding photojournalist who idolizes Lee, to tag along. Of course, getting to the White House will be no easy task. Making the journey especially challenging is the fact that they will be traveling through a volatile landscape where deciphering who is friend and foe is near impossible.

As the quartet travel across America, Garland’s film finds plenty of tension in the pending sense of danger literally lurking around the next corner. As a dire encounter with a local (Jesse Plemons) reaffirms, navigating a country where individuals take it upon themselves to choose who is the right kind of American is like waking through a minefield blindfolded.

In a world where the rules of conduct vary with each encounter, Garland emphasizes the importance of the journalists to document the truths that those in power attempt to withhold. While the director places the journalist as the reluctant heroes of the piece, he makes it clear that such responsibility is a heavy burden to carry. Lee and her colleagues must witness the worst in humanity over and over in hopes of getting to the heart of what caused these actions.

On a merry-go-round of brutally that rarely slows down to let people off, Civil War captures the seemingly Herculean ways journalist must risk everything to get the story right. Taking audiences into the warzone that is America, Garland’s film is an electrifying exercise in tension and bravery in a world where journalism is the last remaining institution humanity can rely on.

However, in praising the importance of old-school journalism, he also captures the flaws of the sensationalized nature of the modern news media. Through Jessie, whose increasing adrenaline fuelled recklessness put those around her at risk, the film touches on the ways journalists can become their own worst enemy.

Jessie’s ambition to rise to the level of Lee often comes at the expense of others. This makes the ending of Civil War a bit of a puzzle box. While Garland makes it clear that the world needs journalism to hold corrupt individuals to account, it is unclear who gets to hold journalist accountable? Jessie’s actions are justified as long as she captures the tragedy she causes along the way on camera.

A thrilling work, Civil War succeeds in being a vital conversations starter. One that leaves it up to audience to ponder the wilting nature of democracy and the journalists who seem to be the only ones trying to uphold it.