The rapidity with which society can disintegrate has long fascinated the 53-year-old British-born filmmaker who burst onto Hollywood’s radar with the screenplay for the zombie apocalypse thriller 28 Days Later. Western democracies, he says, can lean too much on their sense of exceptionalism.

Civil War isn’t an act of cynicism. It’s a warning shot. Things are always in a slightly more dangerous state than they might appear.

In previous election seasons, Hollywood has attempted to express, reflect, or capitalise on political turmoil. Ahead of the 2020 election, Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions published The Hunt,  in which leftists kidnap “rednecks” and “deplorables” to hunt on a private preserve.

The film was postponed when it received right-wing criticism (then-President Trump claimed it was “made in order to inflame and cause chaos”). When The Hunt eventually hit theatres in March 2020, it was a ‘more equal mockery’ of the left and right than some had feared.

While some critics have questioned the appropriateness of the timing for Civil War, there are however few direct allusions to the political fissures in America today. Joining Texas and California together removes any “blue state” vs. “red state” themes, and neither race nor income inequality appear to be issues of division. The president’s political party is also unspecified.

Civil War instead plays out with more subtle references to today’s politics and cultural splits. For instance, Jesse Plemons plays a heinous militant who interrogates the main characters, asking them: “What kind of American are you?”

“Yes, it was a delicate balance,” Garland says. “We thought about it, we discussed it, we talked about what was appropriate. Look, the plan is to make a compelling and engaging film, and the product of the compelling and engaging film is a conversation. So the questions are: How do you make sure that you’re not dismantling a conversation in the first part of that equation?”

Civil War, which cost R936 million to make, is the largest budgeted film yet from indie studio A24.

“A lot of the boldness is not actually mine,” says Garland. “I think it belongs to A24. You would find there are always people attempting to make these films. The question is whether they’ve been given the support to make them.”