District 9 Review
District 9
Directed by: Neill Blomkamp
Written by: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Vanessa Haywood, Johan van Schoor, Nathalie Boltt
First contact. Who thought it would be this messy?
War is hell. And now Neill Blomkamp, the director of District 9, vividly demonstrates that apartheid is also hell. In a blistering, hard-edged blend of science fiction storyline, corporate morals inspired by the Third Reich, and adrenaline spiked action, District 9 does for science fiction what Saving Private Ryan did for war movies. Let me quickly add there is no preaching. Blomkamp doesn’t show and tell. He shows and shows and shows again in a no-respite avalanche of agonized faces, seriously wrecked bodies, and searing emotions.
Along the way, the movie also delivers the first serious CGI candidate for an Academy Award. Not for effects. For best actor in a supporting role. District 9 aliens (prawns to the locals) are the first realistic attempt in this genre to use CGI for acting instead of just slashing and gnashing. Yes the aliens do stand out in a crowd. But in their 28 years stuck in South Africa they have learned how to communicate (subtitles help for those of us who are glottaly-challenged), network in the mixed cultures of Joburg, and challenge eviction notices. On that last one, it’s not very pretty. Rich in telling detail, the aliens and their District 9 habitat bring nothing less to mind than the meticulous approach of Ridley Scott in Blade Runner.
But let’s get to the story. And unlike so many SF action flicks, there is a story and it is pounded for all it’s worth. Metaphorically speaking, these 1.2 million aliens have run out of gas. All their giant mothership can do is hover over Joburg like a middle finger salute to us humans but with nothing to back it up. These guys are really down on their luck. They live in squalor. They get no respect from the humans. The ultimate insult occurs when the government outsources their welfare program to Multi-National United (MNU). It’s a conglomerate with ethically challenged scientists and hardcore mercenaries. Not a sociology degree in the bunch.
The catalyst for the story is Wikus van der Merwe played by Sharlto Copley. Installed as head bureaucrat to oversee the move of the aliens from District 9 to District 10 (nicely renamed Sanctuary Park) he embarks on his assignment with the enthusiasm of a newly minted social worker. As you might expect the move isn’t your typical Mayflower experience. The first day degenerates into chaos, death, and for Wikus, a physical set-to that changes him. In no time, everyone wants a piece of Wikus. In a movie chock-a-block with flying body parts, exploding animal carcasses, and inscrutable alien chunks, this is not a good thing.
At breakneck speed, District 9 – driven by the hunt for Wikus – uses the audience as a battering ram to smash through brutal confrontations and uncommonly realistic warfare at a frenetic pace that leaves you feeling like a grunt in the middle of a horrific street battle. If you saw the urban combat in Children of Men, it’s as good. Maybe better.
Lest you think this is just same-old, same-old, it’s not. Blomkamp finds ways to have his characters (yes, the aliens too) engage with each other so that the action is always motivated. It’s never gratuitous or worse, tedious. This engagement creates mini-breaks in the story for the audience to gather its wits before being thrown into the next confrontation. In the final analysis, these are all beings of various types engaged in a life and death struggle for their individual causes. District 9 never loses sight of that and the movie evokes a steel-edged reality because of it.
As in the best films, little details lift it to the highest level. There are no distracting movie stars. Wikus is played exceedingly well by Sharlto Copley in only his second acting role. Fast learner. Over the film he moves from bright-eyed do-gooder to battle weary warrior. It’s been done before but he nails it first time. The rest of the cast is equally unknown but it helps the movie establish its unbiased realism feel. Even something as minor as the South African accent works. (The sound is something like Bret and Jemaine’s accent gone bad). It reminds us constantly about us being in unfamiliar territory.
The actual movie making skills are all well-honed. (Not surprising. Peter Jackson was the producer and his touch is evident). The script is tight – sharp when it needs to communicate a nuance, minimal when the action cranks up another notch. The cinematic approach is effective too. The early documentary style segues into scorchingly edited sequences of shocking realization, horrific violence, and blistering action. When the story setting changes from the bleached beige dust of District 9 (not sets – the real shanty towns of Joburg) to the MNU labs, the scientists and Wikus are bathed in a sickly blue/yellow luminescence that leaves no doubt that no one – humans or aliens – is getting out of here alive.
What the movie does best is create a coherent, engaging, fast-paced story based on the agendas of the locals, the government, the MNU, the aliens, the mercenaries, and did I mention the Nigerian gunmen. When one of the aforementioned groups runs out of breath, another steps up to keep Wikus’ back against the wall or on the operating table. The bottom line is that Blomkamp’s story-telling skills are remarkably capable and fresh. And just when you think he’s reverting to convention (e.g. alien parent and child or an escaping alien ship), he flips you a different angle to keep you jacked in. After almost two hours (it goes by fast), he doesn’t say anything new about racial prejudice and stereotyping. He has just made it infinitely more visceral. And consequently more telling.
One question. I think the ending – if played slightly differently – could have ranked up there with Planet of the Apes. I wonder why he didn’t take the opportunity? — Curt
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: Alien Nation, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Black Hawk Down
