After delivering what felt like a dystopian yet authentic wartime experience withCivil War, directorAlex Garlandis back one year later withWarfare. Garland teamed up with Iraq War veteranRay Mendozato write and direct the film, which brings Mendoza’s real-life experience serving overseas to life on the big screen.Warfarealso features input from other war veterans, many of whom served with co-directorRay Mendoza. One of those veterans isJeff Kraft, who revealed that he wasn’t aware the film was being made until it was announced. During a special screening ofWarfarehosted by A24 at the American Legionaire Theater in LA with Garland, Mendoza, Kraft, and more in attendance, Garland apologized to Kraft for not including him earlier, and also highlighted others who were brought in later in the process:
“I’m really sorry we couldn’t get to speak to you. I really am. I’m deeply sorry, about everyone we were not able to speak to, “. What I’m going to do is tell a very short story, which is illustrative of how film got made. It says the film is based on memory, because memory is a complicated thing.”
Garland then went on to talk about thedifferent themes the film tackles, many of which veterans struggle with every day. He also spoke about how the story of the film was sculpted from real accounts and events from people who were there, instead of being fabricated and dramatized by Garland or another screenwriter:
“It is not like video, it is not like photographs. It is hugely affected by actually just by time passing, but it’s also affected by stress, and it’s affected by trauma, and it’s affected by concussion. And so there were many, many layers of reasons why memory was complex to work with. So this is the story. We have a handful of photos. We have eyewitness accounts. And it begins by talking to one person. Then we speak to another person. Then another person.”
This is unquestionably the best way to build a story that’s based on real events. The more input, the better, and while Garland and Mendoza couldn’t get everyone on board from the jump, it sounds like the two were able to get in touch with everyone capable of ensuring this story was told with both care and authenticity. StarCharles Meltonalso told the story of how the cast bonded and learned from both Garland and Mendoza toportray the unique connection of people who have spent time serving together:
“I think everybody, the whole cast, met with Alex and Ray individually because I think it required this commitment and trust in Alex and Ray. And when we got to London, we did a three-week immersive boot camp. It was a methodology that Ray and Alex kind of created. And it kind of just helped inform our roles. That would just inform the performance. We learned how to move like the Seals do. The terminology, military tactics, communications and, yeah, almost like 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. And for three months, we all got those guides. Ray said that it was a symbolic expression, starting at ground zero, which is pretty rare when you come on to a film set as an actor.”
Who Stars in ‘Warfare’?
In addition to Charles Melton, Garland and Mendoza have recruited a star-studded ensemble to bring the movie to life on the big screen.Joseph QuinnandCosmo Jarvishave both been tapped for roles in the film; the former recently starred inGladiator 2, and the latter made headlines for his performance inShōgun.Kit Connor, famed for his roles inHeartstopperandThe Wild Robot, also stars in the film alongsideThe RecruitveteranNoah Centineo.The Many Saints of NewarkstarMichael Gandolfinialso has a role inWarfare, along withWill Poulter, who recently portrayed Adam Warlock inGuardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.Finn Bennett,Taylor John Smith,D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, andHenrique Zagaalso star in the film.
Warfarehits theaters on April 11. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of the film and check out the official trailer above.
