While photographing a food riot Lee encounters a young woman, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), who wants to be a journalist and is carrying around an old film camera.
Expecting never to see her again, the following morning Lee finds Jessie in the last seat in the truck: she has persuaded Joe to let her tag along.
No good will come of this.
CW bloody violence, executions, lynchings, corpses littering the streets
Alex Garland does contemporary US politics with the numbers filed off but makes only a few comments on sides and issues.
Early on we see close quarter battles where it's not really clear who we are following, only that it's grim and bloody.
There's an element of surreal road trip and even some beauty along the way but forget the climactic battle for the White House, the most heart in mouth scene is a random encounter with three guys at a farm. Jesse Plemons' pink sunglasses wearing militiaman is terrifying.
Much anticipated on release, Garland leans too hard in to just showing random horror and there's a simplistic arc of Jessie replacing Lee as she grows into her chosen path while Lee crumbles.
A well done slice of bleak but mildly disappointing 7/10.