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Matt Gurney: Why we're afraid of another American Civil War
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Matt Gurney: Why we're afraid of another American Civil War

Polls reveal a grim truth: many of the people you see while running errands are, at least in theory, open to killing you because of your politics.

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Matt Gurney
May 09, 2024
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Matt Gurney: Why we're afraid of another American Civil War
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A scene from 2024’s Civil War.

By: Matt Gurney

We don't do a lot of movie reviews here at The Line. But as I sat in a theatre recently, watching Civil War, from writer and director Alex Garland, I couldn't help but think back to two films from the early eighties, and wondered if Garland's film will be remembered in the same way: as a warning of a danger that was plausible, but never came to pass.

It's customary to pause at this point in any such column to add a "spoiler alert," meaning I'm going to discuss details of the film's plot below, which might ruin some of the surprise for those who have not seen it. Consider yourself so alerted. But Civil War doesn't have much of a plot to spoil. It doesn't have much in the way of characters, either, though the film's actors do admirable work with what they've got. The above shouldn't be considered a criticism of Civil War, which I enjoyed, but more of a caveat. Civil War isn't a film like most of the films you've seen, where a story is told. It's a film where the plot alone sort of serves as the entire point and message: this could happen here, so start thinking about it.

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