'Civil War': Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny break down 'heartbreaking' yet disturbing ending

Spoiler alert! We're discussing major details about the ending of “Civil War” (in theaters now).

Civil War” isn’t Kirsten Dunst's first time in the White House.

In 1999, the actress co-starred with Michelle Williams in the offbeat comedy “Dick,” playing ditzy teens who help expose Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. The film ends with a giddy roller disco scene set to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.”

“I just remember skating around the Oval Office,” Dunst says with a laugh. But there are no bell bottoms to be found in “Civil War,” which culminates in a nerve-shredding finale of rebel forces storming the White House and killing the tyrannical, third-term president (Nick Offerman). Dunst plays world-weary photojournalist Lee, who travels to Washington to capture the raid with rookie photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) and their teammate Joel (Wagner Moura).

Lee (Kirsten Dunst, left) helps look after fledgling photojournalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) in "Civil War."
Lee (Kirsten Dunst, left) helps look after fledgling photojournalist Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) in "Civil War."

The ear-splitting gunfire and explosions took a toll on the cast, who shot the sequence over the course of two weeks on a soundstage in Atlanta. “The loudness (you hear) in the theater was that intense when we were filming,” Dunst says. “It’s exhausting on your body to be in that noise.”

“It’s very rattling but also very effective for those scenes,” Spaeny adds. “There’s not much acting you have to do, it’s so jolting.”

'No dark dialogue!' Kirsten Dunst says 5-year-old son helped her run lines for 'Civil War'

How does 'Civil War' end?

Lee (Kirsten Dunst, left), Joel (Wagner Moura) and Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) trail freedom fighters as they infiltrate the White House.
Lee (Kirsten Dunst, left), Joel (Wagner Moura) and Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) trail freedom fighters as they infiltrate the White House.

After bombing the Lincoln Memorial, a militia breaks into the White House and searches for the president, who is holed up in the Oval Office as D.C. burns. Lee, Jessie and Joel tag along with the insurgents, snapping pics as they dodge gunfire from the president’s soldiers.

At one point, while Jessie is furiously shooting photos, Lee notices a gunman aiming at her young colleague. Lee jumps to push Jessie out of the way, taking the bullets and falling down dead. Jessie continues photographing, capturing Lee's lifeless body even as she tumbles onto her.

Cailee Spaeny says the ending of "Civil War" is both "striking and moving."
Cailee Spaeny says the ending of "Civil War" is both "striking and moving."

It’s a sobering callback to earlier in the film, when Lee and Jessie watch as two men get executed at a gas station. “Would you photograph that moment if I got shot?” Jessie tearfully asks. “What do you think?” Lee responds coolly. Lee begrudgingly becomes Jessie’s mentor as the movie goes on, and teaches her to compartmentalize her work and emotions.

“To me, it’s a bit heartbreaking, but it also feels inevitable,” Spaeny says of Jessie chronicling Lee’s death. “But it’s mixed. It could be a bit hopeful; someone else does have to take this on. This is an important job, but it’s also bittersweet, right? Mostly what I felt was slightly disturbed.”