Civil War viewers are stunned by Jesse Plemons’ ‘dead-eyed’ performance in dystopian thriller about a divided America – which imagines a US torn apart by a Trump third term

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Civil War.

A ‘bone-chilling’ scene in the box office smash Civil War, in which ‘dead-eyed’ Jesse Plemons unleashes vigilantism on those he deems ‘un-American’, left moviegoers stunned this past weekend.

The dystopian thriller also received high praise from critics and fans alike for its depiction of a country ravaged by violence, ruled by a despotic Donald Trump-like character.

The film, directed by British filmmaker and writer Alex Garland, grossed $25 million at the US box office last weekend.

In the Civil War, the breakdown of political discourse has caused conflicts to erupt across the country, with Texas and California bizarrely joining forces to secede from the union.

In the midst of all this, a team of reporters, led by Kristen Dunst, travel to DC to interview the Commander-in-Chief, played by Nick Offerman, who is in his third term and proclaims, without evidence, that the Civil War is nearing its end.

It is revealed that Dunst’s character gained fame by capturing a famous photo during ‘The Antifa Massacre’. The incident has not been elaborated on, meaning we don’t know if Antifa members were massacred or massacred themselves.

Along their journey, the group encounters an unnamed violent racist played by Plemons. Dressed in strawberry-colored sunglasses and military fatigues, the unnamed character acts as judge, jury, and literal executioner of those he deems un-American.

‘What kind of American are you?’, Plemons, Dunst’s husband, asks his group. It is clear that he is the leader of a group of militiamen surrounding the area. Right next to him sits a dump truck packed with corpses.

Plemons opens fire on anyone whose answer he doesn’t like.

As he is about to turn his gun on the youngest member of the group, Jessie, played by Cailee Spaeny, another of their group bursts into the scene of their truck kill, Plemons, allowing our heroes to escape.

Speaeny told Los Angeles Times that filming the scene with Plemons was ‘very scary.’

The actress explained that she and Plemons spent most of the day shooting together in character and improvising the scene.

Garland had set up the shoot so that no cameras were visible, making it more ‘immersive’ for the actors.

“So you didn’t see a man walking in the background eating a bag of chips — you didn’t have a traditional close-up,” she said.

‘It felt very immersive. That stunt sequence was incredible. And when we all got into that car when Stephen comes to pick us up, God, it really felt real. That whole sequence. The scene, the way it’s written, is just absolutely appalling.’

The scene has been described as both ‘pivotal’ and ‘horrifying’ in various reviews.

One X user described Plemons as giving a performance worthy of an ‘Oscar nomination’ even though he was only on screen for about 15 minutes.

Another noted that the costume team deserves ‘huge kudos’ for ‘fully understanding the menacing nature of tinted sunglasses.’

‘The Jesse Plemons scene in Civil War is one of the great suspense sequences of recent times. He’s such a great actor for the things he doesn’t do, so many funny facial tics while never raising his voice, said another.

Garland said in an interview that the monstrous glasses were Plemons’ idea.

Dunst also revealed during the promotion of the film that the original actor to play the role dropped out and Plemons volunteered to step in.

His character is not named as a supporter of the president depicted in the film, leaving a suggestion that he is a law unto himself.

In a review for Variety, Owen Gleiberman wrote of Plemons’ scene: ‘For a few moments, the film looks like a reflection of a part of America today.’

The Hollywood Reporter’s Richard Newby wrote that the scene epitomized ‘our modern political discourse’.

In an interview with Time magazine, Garland said the violent vigilantes were inspired by warlords from regimes like the Khmer Rouge.

There is no clear reference that Offerman’s character is based on Donald Trump, nor whether he is a Republican or a Democrat.

During a red carpet interview, Offerman explicitly stated that “(the Trump comparison) didn’t even come up,” according to the Reporter.

He also said that the film was not related to any actual factions or politicians. That’s what I think is so brilliant about this movie. Everyone on any side of the aisle or any faction has a lot to say and we are all immediately divided and biased in our conversations.’

But during his ill-fated 2020 presidential campaign, Trump openly stated that he was ready to ‘negotiate’ to secure ‘another four years’ in the White House, provided he won that year’s election.

Recently, Trump has said that he would be a ‘dictator’ for a day so that he could get revenge on his political rivals.

In a review, conservative pop culture site OutKick’s David Hookstead said they are taking ‘shots on both sides of the aisle.’

‘It is not liberal or conservative. It’s not Republican or Democrat. It’s a war movie about killing, and not just about killing random people — killing your fellow citizens,” Hookstead added.

Although liberal expiration The Daily Beast described it as an ‘explosive warning against a Trump takeover.’

In a scathing review, New York Post’s Johnyn Oleksinski wrote that the Civil War is ‘no more crucial to the discourse than the Purge and is about one percent as entertaining’.

Most fan reactions have been more positive, most praising the apolitical nature of the plot.

‘#CivilWar worked for me. I was nervous throughout the game. Masterclass tension and haunting sound design. A very convincing POV of war journalists. Smart move to keep it apolitical, imo. (Cailee) Spaeny is a star.’

The viewer was not entirely satisfied either.

‘My only downsides are a few stupid script decisions. A very scary and visceral film.’

‘Very much in the pro #CivilWar camp (the movie ofc; don’t get it twisted!). There’s no clear ideology to the central conflict, but the film *itself* has a clear ideology, which is what really matters,’ said another.

‘Surprisingly very impressed with #CivilWar. It smartly doesn’t pick a side, leading to a film that focuses only on journalists and their eagerness to capture the battlefield. There are some haunting moments and the performances are all very strong. Really thought provoking,’ opined another viewer.